Rhodent rugby takes a hit with 3 point loss

Gabi Bellairs-Lombard
Feb 16, 2017
3 min read

The FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International

Monday, 13 February 2017

To say it was raining would be an understatement; it was bloody pouring ma chana.

From the coach, to his managing team, to the brave fans, to all 30 players on the pitch – everyone was drenched. Yet still, the Rhodes University (RU) Great Field supporters’ stands were full to capacity.

Umbrellas in hand and rain coats hanging heavily on cold, shivering bodies: an impressive contingent of Grahamstown rugby enthusiasts came out to back the boytjies.

In the first round (9 February), Rhodes had suffered a 12-16 defeat to Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). So in this second round, they were looking for a win and the kind of victory that would cement their mark as deserving newcomers to the competition. In the ten years that Varsity Shield has been running, 2017 presents RU’s first year of qualification.

With the rain falling mercilessly and both teams fighting hard to break the ice early in the game, Rhodes finally got its opening points with a penalty in the nineteenth minute, kicking off the score with a 2-0 to Rhodes.

CPUT’s defense was impressive, holding that score line until they conceded what would be a missed RU penalty just a minute and a half before the match’s midway mark.

Things started to look up for the home side, who scored a try and converted just three minutes into the second half, making the score 10-0. However, it only took CPUT 13 minutes thereafter to counter RU, as they scored their first try but failed to convert – nervously maintaining the score at 10 – 5 to Rhodes for most of the rest of the game.

The boys tussled, tumbled and slid a muddy way towards the end of the game, with Rhodes looking like they were going to achieve victory after all.

And then it happened: CPUT snatched the night’s glory away from the home side with another try and a successful conversion with a mere 13 seconds left on the clock... to finish the game on 13 points to Rhodes’ 10. This confirmed a second loss for Rhodes in the competition’s early stages, and surely put them under pressure to perform and surprise in next week’s away game against the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in Cape Town. If you don’t want to miss out on our boys, you can see the Varsity Shield schedule here.

Although Coach Qondakele Sompondo said that "a lapse in concentration cost [them] a second game in a row", we have confidence that our boys in purple will have found their feet in the tournament by the time their next match comes. If you are interested in listening to the full interview with both the Coach and team manager, Elize Everton, the sound clip is featured below.

In the words of RU’s manager, Elize Everton, “we will never, ever stop believing in [our boys]” and so our “2, 3 Rhodes! 2, 3 Rhodes!” chants will continue to follow our team on their journey.

For the official Varsity Sports article, please read it here. But in the meantime, have a look at our video preview below!

Match stats

FNB Player That Rocks: Yalua Nodada (FNB Rhodes)

Scorers

Rhodes: 10

Tries: Okuhle Fumba | Conversions: Mike Steel | Penalties: Mike Steel

CPUT: 13

Tries: Malan Roode, Shaurick Blom | Conversions: Randy Brinkhuis

Words by: Anima McBrown and Gabi Bellairs-Lombard

Videos by: Athini Majali

Photos: Gabi Bellairs-Lombard and Stephen Penney