There was a palpable sense of relief in the Madibaz camp when they escaped with a 40-32 win over a never-say-die WSU side in a Varsity Shield clash in Gqeberha on Friday, coach David Manuel said.
At times, the home side looked like they had the game sewn up in front of a big crowd at the Madibaz Stadium, but the gallant visitors refused to lie down.
It was raining tries, and Madibaz dotted down six times, with Kyle Erasmus (2), Jaden Witbooi, Luan Verster, AJ Flemming and Dewald Gerber all getting their names on the scoresheet.
“We were just relieved to get away with the win,” Manuel said.
“We put ourselves in a good position in the first 30 minutes of the game, and then we allowed WSU to come in through the back door.
“We always knew that WSU was a team we needed to play and respect for the full 80 minutes.
“There were critical stages in the game where we may have got too relaxed, and we gave too many moments to them, and they were good and exploited their opportunities.
“Now we are looking forward to Wits coming to play us this week, and we understand we need to be much better than we were against WSU.
“We need to give an 80-minute performance against Wits
Jaden Witbooi opened Madibaz’s account by crossing the line in the 13th minute after opting for a tap.
Lock Luan Verster showed immense power in brushing off defenders to earn his side’s second five-pointer of the day.
Madibaz hooker Kyle Erasmus, whose love of the tryline is well-known in the Varsity Shield, added another five to the score when he caught a long ball out wide and went over.
Fellow front-rower AJ Flemming got on the scoresheet nine minutes later after a classic rolling maul by the Madibaz pack.
At that stage, the men from Mandela University looked impenetrable. But there is no such word in the WSU dictionary.
They produced an impressive maul of their own in the corner to put Mangaliso Zixesha in for the first of his two tries of the afternoon.
It was WSU who made all the running when the whistle blew for the second half, getting plenty of front-foot ball. Zixesha is unstoppable close to the line, and he proved it so again to bring up his brace.
From that point, the Madibaz played it far safer. Flyhalf Layron Milborrow landed vital penalties to keep the scoreboard ticking over in their favour.
With 10 minutes left, WSU threw everything at the home side, and the strategy paid off.
A try apiece for Inathinkosi Mhlakazi and Ahlule Zokoza put huge pressure on Madibaz in the dying moments, but they managed to hold on and move into second on the log.
Try scorers:
Madibaz 40: Tries: Jaden Witbooi, Luan Verster, Kyle Erasmus (2), AJ Flemming, Dewald Gerber.
WSU 32: Tries: Mangaliso Zixesha (2), Khanaye Mbakaza, Bulelani Nondlwana, Inathinkosi Mhlakazi, Ahlule Zokoza
Player of the Match: Kyle Erasmus (FNB Madibaz). - Additional reporting by Varsity Media
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