Dismay as Madibaz bow out after heavy semifinal loss against Wits

The under-performing Madibaz ended their season on a low note when they were crushed 68-10 by Wits in a one-sided Varsity Shield semifinal in Johannesburg on Friday.

Wits, who have already clinched promotion to the Varsity Cup by ending at the top of the Varsity Shield log, will face WSU in the final, while Madibaz will remain trapped in the lower tier of varsity rugby in 2027.

WSU secured their berth in the final when they produced a powerful second-half comeback to beat UWC 42-32 at Sisa Dukashe Stadium in East London on Friday.

A rampant Wits side outscored the Gqeberha team by 12 tries to two in a dazzling display of adventurous attacking rugby.

It was the second heavy defeat Wits inflicted on the Madibaz after they thrashed them 63-8 in a league clash in Gqeberha in March.

Because it was Easter Friday, the Wits Rugby Stadium wasn’t at full capacity, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the Wits Blues.

The Madibaz want to avenge a heavy 63-8 defeat they suffered at the hands of Wits in a league match when the sides collide in a winner-takes-all Varsity Shield semifinal on Friday, says coach David Manuel. The Gqeberha side clinched a berth in the semifinals when they thrashed Sol Plaatje University 63-36 in a high-scoring clash in Kimberley on Friday. Manuel said it was a privilege for the Madibaz team to play in a semifinal and that his players wanted to showcase their talent in Johannesburg. In another game on Friday, Wits underlined their dominance in the Shield with a commanding 46-15 victory over UWC to secure automatic promotion back into the Varsity Cup, while both sides booked their places in the semifinals. WSU also secured a home semifinal spot with a narrow 15-13 win against UFH at Sisa Dukashe Stadium, while the Madibaz ended fourth on the log after a fine comeback win in Kimberley. The top four teams on the final Varsity Shield log table advanced to the semifinals. It has been decided the team finishing first plays against the fourth-placed team, while the second-placed team takes on the third-placed team. The top four teams after the final round of matches were Wits (32 points); WSU (28); UWC (25); and Madibaz (23). “The Madibaz are very happy to have pulled through the win over Sol Plaatje University in Kimberley,” Manuel said. “It bought us another seven days within this competition, and it is a privilege to play a semifinal. Madibaz are happy we can go to Johannesburg and play Wits and give ourselves an opportunity to fight and show we are better than we were in the previous game against them. “We know we have been disappointing in this competition, and we are a team that takes responsibility for that. “The Madibaz are happy we can go to Johannesburg and play Wits and give ourselves an opportunity to fight and show we are better than we were in the previous game against them. “For us it is about personal goals. We know that we have worked hard this season and we want to go to Johannesburg and showcase that against Wits in the semi. “We spoke about that at training on Sunday, and we will speak about it for the rest of the week in the lead-up to the semifinal. “The Madibaz are looking at the man in the mirror and making sure we can look each other in the eye in terms of our output come Friday. “We are happy to be preparing for a semi and that is where our focus is. It is varsity holidays so the boys can be single-minded and focused on the task at hand. “It was a tough game against Sol Plaatje University. They were very good in the first part of the game. I told the boys they showed massive character to come back from a 31-16 deficit away from home. “So I am proud of the fight and the emotional and mental resilience they showed, and hopefully we can do that again in the semifinal in Johannesburg.” The Madibaz try scorers in Kimberley were Ruwaan Zealand (2), Cullen Willows (2), Onelisiwe Fani, Edward Kruger, Brent Klopper, Christian van de Merwe, Qurin Cupido, and Sean van Zijl. Friday’s semifinals 2.30pm: WSU v UWC, 5pm: Wits v Madibaz. Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world. The Herald

Wits started like a house on fire and scored three cracking tries in the opening 20 minutes.

Lian Terblanche got the ball rolling in the second minute after a couple of phases inside Madibaz’s 22 metre line.

Soon afterwards, flyhalf Rekkie Gerber showed immense strength to shrug off several defenders and score before Liam Santos crossed over in the 17th minute.

Madibaz finally responded through Corne Cloete after the strategy break

However, that try was cancelled out by three scores by Lindani Dweba, hooker, Bonga Nxumalo and Santos.

Wits led 36-5 at the break.

The visitors struck first in the second stanza when prop AJ Flemming broke the line and ran 40 metres before offloading to Cloete who went in for his second try.

The fact that the Madibaz went down with all guns blazing as they stumbled to their third loss in the FNB Varsity Shield last Friday just about drew a smile from coach David Manuel. Not that he is happy with his team’s 32-25 defeat to UWC, but because his charges showed the fight he had drilled into them after their blunder against Wits in the previous round. They took a long, hard look at themselves after the latter and there was some tough talk about attitude in the build-up to the UWC encounter. Despite the agony of the final result etched on his face, he is as pleased as one can be in the circumstances. “We spoke a lot about staying in the fight,” Manuel said. “Against Wits we lost key moments and then dropped our heads, which is not who we want to be. This time, we stayed in it until the end.” The fact that the match was in the balance until the final whistle, including a prolonged passage of attacking play from the Mandela University side at the death, underlines his sentiments. “If Cole Hilpert had scored in the last minute and we had converted, we could have won the game,” Manuel pointed out. “I’m proud of the fight we showed. It looked much more like the Madibaz team that never gives up that we have become used to.” He is now asking his charges to maintain that fighting spirit while working on their ability to manage key moments, as it is about “winning those moments and stacking them on top of each other”. “If we could have scored when the chance came, if we could have dealt with the high ball better, if we could have handled our defensive situations better – those are the moments that change games. “We just need to be better in those pressure situations.” Another hurdle for the coaching team was to teach the value of trusting the process to young players who were still finding their feet in Varsity Shield rugby, Manuel explained. “It is part of the journey of developing young players into consistent performers.” The latest defeat forces a shift in mindset for the team, who have finished second on the log and progressed to the playoffs against Varsity Cup opposition for the past three seasons. With a top-two placing – and promotion to Varsity Cup – now out of the question, Manuel’s new goal will be to qualify for the semis and get through that. Manuel believes realism and adaptability are essential. “We’ve been driven by the goal of getting into the Varsity Cup, but sometimes you have to be honest about where you are as a team. If that’s not on the cards, you reset and identify the next goal.” It was now about pushing to reach the Shield final and giving themselves “a chance to win it”, he said. The coach stresses that adversity is a powerful teacher on and off the field. His own role, for example, extends beyond results into the realm of personal development. “My focus is to develop boys into men of character. We can’t lose sight of that. That’s the bigger picture.” Setbacks often reveal underlying issues previously masked by success. “This game exposes the cracks. It’s our responsibility to fix them step by step.” Madibaz, who languish in fourth place, play their final round-robin fixture against Sol Plaatje in Kimberley on Friday. Kick-off is at 7pm. - Full Stop Communications Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world. The Herald

That sparked the hosts back to life and they responded with two back-to-back tries by Nxumalo, and electric winger, Dustyn Holmes.

It was a quiet period thereafter until Wits scored a whopping four tries in six minutes.

Replacement winger, Oluwole Oluwatimileyen dotted over twice while skipper, Latica Nela also bagged a late brace.

Scorers:

Wits 68: Tries: Liam Santos (2), Lian Terblanche, Rekkie Gerber, Lindani Dweba, Bonga Nxumalo (2), Dustyn Holmes, Oluwole Oluwatimileyen (2) Latica Nela (2)

Madibaz 10: Corne Cloete (2)

Player of the Match: Liam Santos (Wits). - Additional reporting Varsity Media

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