On Monday night South Africa’s Varsity Cup Final produced one of the most thrilling late comebacks ever seen as UCT Ikeys (University of Cape Town) scored three tries in five minutes to beat Pukke (North-West University ) 39-33 after trailing 33-15.
Potchefstroom played host to a historic Varsity Cup Final as the home fans witnessed an incredible comeback from visiting UCT, who scored a dramatic late try after a missed dropgoal.
Varsity Cup has traditionally been used to experiment with the laws of the game, and as you’ll note in the footage, there are a few unique elements on show. For example, there are two referees. The points scoring is also slightly different – 3 points for a conversion, 2 points for a penalty/drop goal.
The latter is there to encourage running rugby, with a converted try being worth 8 rather than 7.
The pink shorts that you may notice are there to indicate the best player from the previous match. The colour is part of Varsity Cup’s drive to raise awareness for domestic abuse.
Pukke looked comfortable with five minutes left but Ikeys fought back, leading to a home mistake with time up, and a snatched try by Nathan Nel after some excellent play up the left wing.
“We are a family and we knew that we would have to dig deep to get the victory,” said skipper Liam Slatem. The character of this team is indescribable and that was evident last night. It is a very special team and I’ve said it since we began this road.”
Supersport’s coverage takes us through the final seven minutes in full, with commentators Owen Nkumane and Warren Brosnihan calling the final moments as the stunned home crowd watched on.
You can also watch a shorter highlights package with all other tries on page two of this post.
On a side note, there was an unfortunate incident post match, where some players from the two sides got in a fight in a fast food restaurant, and a female fan joined in and was hit in the face. You can view the CCTV footage and read more details about the story by jumping to page three.
Full highlights of the Varsity Cup Final between Pukke and Ikeys at Fanie Du Tout Stadium
Credit to Superport
Above you can see footage of the aforementioned incident that has implicated a number of players, specifically one from UCT who can be seen striking a 21-year-old female student. Shortly before that, she can be seen continuously striking the player on the head with what appears to be a shoe.
She has said that she suffered from concussion and needed five stitches in the face.
“I continued to help my fellow Puk member and then the UCT player gave me a right hook in the face,” she has been quoted as saying.
“He tried to hit me again but someone stopped him. We have video proof and witnesses. The video clearly shows the attack on me and the (Pukke) player Edmar Marais.
There have been allegations of pepper spray being used, which explains some of the reactions near the end of the video. The entire incident is being investigated by the Ikeys Rugby Club.
“We take the allegations seriously and will fully co-operate with an investigation. While the processes are under way the player accused is entitled to the presumption of innocence, but if the accusation is proven we will take appropriate action,” they said in a statement.
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