‘Today, we played for one another,’ – Wits 2022 FNB Varsity Cup captain
- Tshepiso Mametela
Wits sent out a stern warning through their captain of the 2022 Varsity Cup campaign, Ebot Buma, who spoke with a clear voice masked by a hint of emotion as he reflected on his side’s historic 53-31 win over Shimlas.
And an emotional affair it was for the dark horses of the tournament, who’ve become accustomed to being written off early by their detractors, the same way it happened in 2018 when Wits put a cap on their best-ever showing in the competition by finishing in third place.
If the display on Monday at the Wits Rugby Stadium is anything to go by three seasons since Wits fell to Maties in the semi-finals, the side will look to unearth more surprises on their way to a potential title challenge this year.
Buma is under no illusions of how big a boost their latest performance is to this cause. Winger Wian de Lange’s two tries and 26 points from the boot of flyhalf Chris Humphries can mostly be credited for the offensive against a strong UFS outfit, who, until that point, had gone unbeaten in the competition.
“Today, we played for one another,” said Buma as he attributed the success on the field to a team effort. “We’ve had a great start to the season by winning three out of four, but we can’t be too overly confident or arrogant.
“I think we need to slow it down, stick to our structures and our basics. We can’t be too excited and need to take it one game at a time. It was a tough, physical game, but we were at home. We pride ourselves in our fortress and felt we couldn’t let anyone down today.”
Clear that complacency would not have a place in the team as they prepare to visit their Johannesburg rivals UJ next week, the skipper, not wanting to dwell too much on the expectedly fierce contest, said everything will be left on the field. UJ, who sit one place behind Wits on the log, have only managed to eke out one win from their four outings.
The Orange Army came close to pulling off a shock win in Stellenbosch over a Maties side that overcame Wits at the same venue last week – having had their noses 12-3 in front before eventually slipping to a 40-38 loss.
“Going into next week, we’ll see what happens. We’ll obviously do a video analysis of UJ’s games and then make a plan on that”, said Buma, whose choice not to say too much on the upcoming crunch fixture was betrayed only by his scoff.