History made as Witsies hold Maties in FNB Young Guns final round
- Tshepiso Mametela
Wits concluded their passage in the FNB Varsity Young Guns (YGuns) competition on a high after eking out a 34-all draw against Maties at the Coetzenburg Stadium in Stellenbosch on Monday, 11 April.
The dark horses of the 2022 tournament finished in fourth place on the log after securing three wins from their five encounters in Group B. “We wanted to end on top of the log and were hoping for a place in the playoffs.
“A couple of things did not go our way, but we are happy with what we achieved on the field,” said FNB Wits YGuns head coach Roland Bernard, admitting the outcome was not what his side anticipated going into this year’s campaign.
Despite this, the coach said several boxes were checked, with Wits showing glimmers of what they are capable of in the under-20 format comprising the ten competing FNB Varsity Cup universities.
Bernard added he was impressed by the slice of history his chargers made good on as Wits had never beaten the Maroon Machine at this level.
“You need to take your chances when they present themselves, learn from your mistakes and rectify them quickly. Probably not all the boxes but all in all, we are happy with what we achieved. We are grateful to be part of a little piece of history,” he said.
“We believe we could have achieved a win if we tweaked a thing here or there, primarily starting better. It seems to have been something that plagued us during the season; gifting points to the opposition and only starting to play once we were in an unfavourable position.
“Had we started the game [against Maties] better, who knows what the outcome might have been? At the beginning of the season, we set out to change the perception of simply being participants but competitors. We always believed, and, I think, scoring that try just before halftime ignited more belief in the lads.”
Bernard said Wits has since set a few objectives to carry the momentum forward, with a little more than half the year remaining. Chiefly, he said the institution aims to shine at the 2022 University Sports South Africa (USSA) Rugby Championships in July.
He said the coaching staff appreciates they have a solid platform to build from and not merely be a flash in the pan squad “but add value to Wits Rugby in terms of culture and play.” He added: “We would like to approach the USSA campaign with confidence and work hard not to waste what has already been achieved.”