Cape Town - After trailing 11-5 at the break, the Maties scored four second-half tries to beat the Madibaz 35-16 at a very windy Danie Craven Stadium.
Madibaz played with the wind in the first half and put Maties under severe pressure, especially at scrum time. They were rewarded for their efforts by scoring just before half time, through Wynand Grassmann. That came after Maties took the lead through a try by Niel Oelofse.
Maties immediately used the wind to their advantage at the start of the second half when Ian Groenewald crashed over. That was followed by tries by Brendon Nell, Craig Barry and Michal Haznar as they pulled away in the final 10 minutes.
The Madibaz were dealt a massive blow in those 10 minutes when they had two players, Stephanus Nieuwoudt and Henry Brown yellow carded, which meant they finished the match with 13 men. That ultimately led to Maties scoring two tries in the final three minutes.
Player That Rocks: Brendon Nell (Maties)
Scorers:
Maties: 35
Five-point tries: Niel Oelofse, Ian Groenewald, Craig Barry, Michal Haznar
Seven-point tries: Brendon Nell
Penalties: Chris Smith (4)
Madibaz: 16
Five-point tries: Wynand Grassmann, Rouche Nel
Penalties: Thomas Kean (2)
Teams:
Maties
15 Craig Barry, 14 Duncan Saal, 13 Michal Haznar, 12 Braam Venter, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Brendon Nell, 8 Devon Nash, 7 Kobus van Dyk, 6 Mitchell Carstens, 5 Johan Momsen, 4 Ian Groenewald, 3 JE van der Merwe, 2 Craig Corbett, 1 Niel Oelofse
Substitutes: 16 Freddie Kirsten, 17 Wesley Adonis, 18 Wikus Groenewald, 19 Ernst van Rhyn, 20 Johann van Niekerk, 21 Logan Boonzaaier, 22 Chris Smit, 23 Tiaan Swanepoel
NMMU
15 Lindelwu Zungu, 14 Athenkosi Mayinje, 13 Siphumelele Mtsutwana, 12 Andile Jho, 11 Ivan-John du Preez, 10 Thomas Kean, 9 Rouche Nel, 8 Kevin Kaba, 7 Henry Brown, 6 Stephanus Nieuwoudt, 5 Gerrit Huisamen, 4 Wynand Grassman, 3 Nicolaas Oosthuizen, 2 JP Jamieson, 1 Xandre Vos
Substitutes: 16 Jedwyn Harty, 17 Thembelihle Yase, 18 Nicolas Roebeck, 19 Janse Roux, 20 Robert Izaks, 21 Lovu Claassen, 22 Jordan Koekemoer, 23 Jixie Molapo