Swart scores hat-trick in Maties' 50-point humiliation of UCT to book final spot

Maties hooker Sean Swart scored a hat-trick as Maties saw off their old foe 58-19 UCT Ikeys in their Varsity Cup semi-final at the UCT Rugby Grounds in Cape Town on Monday.

Ikeys had finished second behind Shimlas in the Varsity Cup standings to book a home semi-final berth at the ground where they beat Maties 44-27 three weeks prior.

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But they could not repeat the trick as Maties ran them ragged almost from the first whistle in the windy Western Cape, scoring eight tries in total.

Victory meant the five-time Varsity Cup champions reached their 10th final of the competition’s history, an unparalleled achievement.

After UCT suffered an early yellow card, Maties went in front through a 7-point try (9 after the Nevaldo Fluers conversion) through No 6 Gift Dlamini.

But Ikeys hit back through their captain Luthando Woji, who was adjudged to have dotted the ball down after the TMO’s review.

The two Cape adversaries kept each other off through some body jabs, but Maties again swung for the knockout.

Swart scored from the back of a 20m lineout drive that broke Ikeys defence into biscuit crumbs to restore their 12-point advantage.

Then, De Wet Marais produced a brilliant offload that fullback Sibabalwe Xamlashe gobbled up to score a brilliant runaway move in the corner.

Fleurs, again, had jaws on the floor with a touchline conversion to keep his 100% kicking record at that point.

After 32 minutes, UCT had missed 10 tackles to Maties’ none missed - a stat that told the story of the game at that point.

Maties went into the break three tries to one up and with a comfortable 31-7 lead after Fleurs added a second penalty before half-time.

After Fleurs added another penalty, Swart scored his second try from the back of a lineout as UCT seemed to run out of fight barely 10 minutes into the second period.

When loose-forward Siphumezo Dyonase scored, and Maties suffered a sin-bin immediately after, the home crowd thought another historic comeback could be on the cards.

But Swart scored a hat-trick try from another maul right after the Ikeys score, dousing any chance that UCT could overhaul their handsome lead.

Former Selborne College scrumhalf Thomas Bursey scored the seventh try, and wing Anton du Toit added an eighth as Maties clocked half a century in points to complete the humiliation.

Scorers

UCT Ikeys - (7) 19

Tries: Luthando Woji, Siphumezo Dyonase, Thomas Meyer

Conversions: Duran Koevort (2)

Maties - (31) 58

Tries: Gift Dlamini, Sean Swart (3), Sibabalwe Xamlashe, Thomas Bursey, Anton du Toit

Conversions: Nevaldo Fleurs (4)

Penalties: Nevaldo Fleurs (3)