Marius Oosthuizen scored a try in the 78th minute to snatch a 24-16 win for FNB NNMU over a vastly-improved FNB Wits in Varsity Cup action in Port Elizabeth on Monday night.
Oosthuizen’s match-winner, coming from an unstoppable driving maul, saw the Madibaz take the lead for the first time despite having dominated possession for most of the match.
Wits were asked to make double the amount of tackles of the hosts and showed great attitude and commitment on defence in this hard-fought FNB Varsity Cup, presented by Steinhoff International, second round clash.
Unfortunately for the visitors, though, they had no answer for NMMU’s driving maul, which earned the Madibaz two of their three tries and first win of the competition after their 5-all first-round draw with FNB UCT.
Coming off a 61-7 hiding by FNB UFS-Shimlas, Wits needed a good start to regain some confidence and earn NMMU’s respect. They weathered the anticipated early storm, albeit with the aid of several handling errors by the hosts.
Another Madibaz mistake resulted in the first try of the match as hooker Martin Ferreira, who had a solid overall outing, threw long from a defensive five-metre line-out and Wits No 8 Carel Greeff was on hand to score. New Zealand flyhalf Latiume Fosita added the conversion to give Wits an 8-0 lead after 12 minutes.
NMMU settled down after the 20-minute strategy break and replied with a well-constructed set-piece try, flank Ulrich Pretorius flopping over at the back of a driving maul and Justin van Staden converting to level the scores.
The hosts made good ground through strong ball carries by the likes of Ferreira and Xolani Mnisi but couldn’t find any rhythm with elementary errors continuing to hamper them on attack.
Instead, it was Wits who struck again. Where Greeff was gifted the opening try, he showed real mongrel to score his second just before half-time when he powered through three defenders to dot down under the posts, Fosita kicking the conversion.
The Madibaz looked set to hit back immediately when Ferreira went on another powerful surge and crossed the tryline. Centre Jared Meyer, however, prevented the outstretched hooker from grounding the ball.
They weren’t to be denied two minutes after the break, though, as lock Louis Fourie was fed with quick ball from a turnover and had the legs to run in his team’s second eight-pointer.
The teams remained deadlocked at 16-all as the match entered its final quarter with both sides switching to a more tactical approach in search of field position.
Wits were under immense pressure due to their misfiring line-out and found themselves having to defend inside their 22 where wing Jacques Erasmus produced an early candidate for tackle of the tournament with a thumping hit on Lonwabo Ntleki.
NMMU were relentless in their pursuit of the winning try and it finally came two minutes from full-time to the delight of the home crowd.
