Sport
Flip through Perdeby online www.perdeby.co.za
Varsity Cup sevens title eludes UP-Tuks
Photo: SASPA
THORISO PHASHA With the conclusion of the Varsity Cup a few weeks ago, ten teams recently hit the sevens circuit in the Varsity Cup sevens tournament. The competing teams included the eight teams
that recently competed in the Varsity Cup rugby competition and two additional entrants, Walter Sisulu University (WSU) and the University of Fort Hare (UFH). The competition took place over three days from 30 April to 2 May at Villagers FC in Cape Town.
UP-Tuks went into the competition trying to redeem themselves after the shortcomings they endured in the 15-man format of the Varsity Cup but were left shell-shocked when they lost 31-12 to UWC in the opening fixture. They soon shook off the loss with a 31-7 victory over Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. North West University (Pukke) picked up a 19-12 scalp over UP-Tuks to hand them their second loss of the tournament. UP-Tuks regained composure to beat the University of Cape Town 29-14 and Stellenbosh (Maties) with a 24-0 scoreline to stay within title contention. UP-Tuks opened round two on 1 May with a 31-0 drubbing of WSU. Team morale was on a high as UP-Tuks surged passed the University of the Free State with a 29-12 victory to record their fifth win of the campaign. The winning momentum saw UP gain a 26-19 victory over the University of Johannesburg and overwhelm tournament stragglers UFH with a 43-0 demolition. The string of victories ensured they qualification for the play-off stages as they finished the round fixtures second on the log. UP finished with seven out of nine wins and a point difference of 139 heading into the semi-finals. The third and final day of the tournament commenced on 2 May with a face off against Maties in the semi-finals. UP came up short, losing 12-5 to Maties which sealed off UP’s title ambitions, but the bronze final was still up for grabs with familiar rivals Pukke standing in their way. The first half was scoreless with both teams refusing to budge, but Pukke proved too tricky for UP-Tuks, winning the match 17-0. Maties was the eventual champion as they beat UWC 19-5 in the cup final.
Road to Rio for TuksSwimming TAY LETHULOE With the 2016 Rio Olympics rapidly approaching, Perdeby looked at the four UP swimmers who have recently qualified to compete in this event ahead of the 30 June deadline set by Sascoc. Cameron van der Burgh, Douglas Erasmus and Jarred Crous hope to represent South Africa in the Olympic Games this year, while Emily Gray hopes to partake in the Paralympic Games. These athletes have formed part of the TuksSwiming professional structure. Cameron van der Burgh is one of the standout names that Sascoc will be relying on to bring home a medal, as he did in London 2012. He stood out at the first South African Olympic trials held at the Kings Park Complex in Durban. He qualified for the 100 m breaststroke with a time of 59.66 s, which put him in place to defend his Olympic gold medal. He also qualified for the 200 m breastroke with a time of 2:10.13. “Obviously Cameron’s chances are very good to win again, but he has very tough competition and has a score to settle for his loss in the Commonwealth games,” says head of TuksSwimming Rocco Meiring. Jarred Crous became the seventh South African and the second UP swimmer in the elite club to qualify for Rio and did so in the 200 m breastroke behind Van der Burgh with a time of 2:11.65. Crous had also looked in shape for the 100 m and managed a time of 1:01.09, just missing the Rio qualifying time of 1:00.57. He will be aiming for the qualifying time again before the Sascoc qualifying deadline on 30 June. The third UP swimmer to meet an Olympic qualifying time in Durban was Douglas Erasmus, who swam a time of 22.26 s in the men’s 50 m freestyle event, a mere 0.01 s
Paralympic swimmer Emily Gray. Image provided.
within the qualifying times. Erasmus is also the protégé of veteran Roland Schoeman, who himself just missed out on what would have been an unprecedented fifth Olympic games. “A qualifying time is always around the 16th best time in the world […] so the realistic chance, for [Crous] and for [Erasmus] is to make it to the semi-finals at the Olympics,” says Meiring. TuksSwimming also have a Paralympic hope in Emily Gray, who qualified for the 400 m freestyle (S9) in a time of 5:05.36 and the 100 m backstroke (S10) in 1:17.17. “She has qualified to be in contention to be selected. They will only select the top three qualifiers from South Africa for the Olympic team, but we would like her to be selected. We’re holding thumbs for her,” says Meiring.
Meiring is happy with TuksSwimming’s performance during qualifiers but feels that it’s the individuals who can take claim for their performance. Meiring said, “It’s the determination and commitment of the swimmers [that] allows them to fulfil their dream. TuksSwimming’s role is to assist swimmers who are absolutely determined, [but] it starts with the swimmer and it ends with the swimmer. TuksSwimming, with the support of TuksSport, is there to facilitate them and to support them through funding and maintenance of facilities so that the swimmers are able to train uninterruptedly. We are [also] always trying to improve the coaching standard, improve the technical aspects of the swimmers, and push every day to be better.”
TuksCricket at National Club Championship. Image provided.
TuksCricket fall short at National Club Championships DYLAN JACK UP-Tuks cricket fell at the last hurdle as they lost by eight wickets in the final to NorthWest University (NWU) at the National Club Championships held in Pretoria from 22-27 April. The competition was divided into two pools of six teams, with the leaders of each pool going through to the final. UP drew into Pool 1 along with Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), the University of Johannesburg (UJ), Kempton Park Cricket Club, Burma Lads Cricket Club, and Old Selbornians. UP finished their pool unbeaten as they trampled over UJ by 22 runs, Burma Lads by 69 runs, Old Selbornians by nine wickets, Kempton Park by 77 runs, and NMMU by two runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method after the match was delayed by lightning. UP then faced a similar unbeaten NWU in the final at the Tshwane University of Technology Oval on 27 April. UP won the toss and elected to bat first but got off to a rough start as opener and captain Murray Coetzee went out for zero in the first over. Sean Phillips and Tony de Zorzi got UP back on track as they made 87 and 74 respectively, forming a 148-run partnership. However, when Phillips went out in the 31st over and De Zorzi in the 38th, UP struggled to keep the run rate up, with only Heinrich Klaasen and Evan Jones making it into double figures. UP were all out for 209 in the 45th over. UP had a strong bowling start when Lungi Ngidi bowled NWU opener Janneman Malan for five runs in the second over. Richardt Frenz and Wihan Lubbe kept the run rate high for NWU, and Frenz made 87 while Lubbe was bowled by Corbin Bosch for 45. With Lubbe out in the 20th over it seemed as though UP were back on track, but a 59 from Andre Malan, which included 3 fours and 1 six, steered them to victory by eight wickets. When asked about the impact of the tournament on the team, Coetzee said, “It’s obviously very disappointing to make it all the way to the final and then lose. [However,] I think we can still take a lot of positives out of the week and after we get back from our break in the off-season, we’ll be working hard to win the Red Bull Championships in Sri Lanka.” The team will have a break as the off-season approaches and will then play in the Red Bull Campus Cricket Finals to be held in Sri Lanka from 1 September.