FNB Varsity Cup Final: Tuks Steals Dramatic Match Against Maties at the Death to Defend Title

• The University of Pretoria defended its FNB Varsity Cup title after shocking the University of Stellenbosch 29-23 at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch
• With the victory, Tuks joined Maties as the joint-most successful teams in the history of the competition with five titles apiece
• This was the fifth time that both institutions had met in the final, with Tuks extending their good record to four wins to just the one by the hosts

A sensational last-minute try by scrumhalf Bernard van der Linde after a dramatic linebreak by fullback Stefan Coetzee saw Tuks defeat Maties in the FNB Varsity Cup final, defending the title they won last year.

Winger Mike Mavovana scored a try for the hosts, with flyhalf Nevaldo Floors contributing six penalties from the boot. Van der Linde and winger Kabelo Mokoena each scored a brace of tries, with Coetzee chipping in with a penalty and flyhalf Walter Visser kicking over a conversion.

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In the process, the University of Pretoria drew level with the University of Stellenbosch as the joint-most successful teams in the history with five titles each. Also, this was the fifth time the teams had met in a final, with Tuks moving ahead to 4-1 in the series.

FNB Maties – 15 van der Bank (c), 14 Mavovana, 13 Solaan, 12 Schoor, 11 du Toit, 10 Fleurs, 9 Bursey, 8 Miller, 7 Nel, 6 Dlamini, 5 Gray, 4 Beukes, 3 Manganyi, 2 Swart, 1 Matongo.

Subs: 16 Rossouw, 17 Rijnsburger, 18 Weilbach, 19 Johnson, 20 Matanda, 21 Volmoer, 22 Mathee, 23 Titus.

FNB UP-Tuks – 15 Coetzee, 14 Mokoena, 13 Reynders, 12 Daniels (c), 11 Manuel, 10 Visser, 9 van der Linde, 8 Koikanyang, 7 Smit, 6 Schoonees, 5 Venter, 4 Stamper, 3 Klopper, 2 Williams, 1 Burger.

Subs: 16 Fourie, 17 van der Merwe, 18 Wessels, 19 Nkombua, 20 Gie, 21 Valentine, 22 Galant, 23 Zenzile

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Varsity Cup final preview: Will odds continue in Tuks favour as they enter Maties den in Varsity Cup final?

The FNB Varsity Cup will conclude this evening with what promises to be a humdinger of a final between the University of Stellenbosch and the University of Pretoria.

As reported on Sports Brief, the match will take at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch, where a capacity crowd is expected to be very much partisan towards Maties.

The home side swept aside their arch-rivals UCT Ikeys 58-19 in Cape Town last week in the semifinals, while the visitors marched into Bloemfontein to upset the UFS Shimlas 29-19.