The Heimat Koshuis boys from University of the Free State, so far unbeaten in this year’s Koshuisrugby Championship, faced off against a spirited Medies team from Stellenbosch, who were losing finalists last year, at Shimla Park in a match that saw the boys from the Free state advance into the final after a late surge from the Medies.
It took a bit of enterprising play from Heimat hooker Jacques Steyn to get the first points of the game for the UFS-Shimlas’ boys, a quick tap by the burly front-ranker saw him crash over the line to put the home team up 5 – 0 after 14 minutes.
A second try followed soon after as Nakkie Naude latched on to a floated pass and was able to intercept on halfway, a 50 metre sprint for the line saw him dot down under the posts setting up an easy kick for Darren Baron which put the UFS-Shimlas boys up by 13 points before the first strategy break even had time to roll around.
The floodgates seemed to be open for the Free state team as Baron glided over in the left hand corner for the third try of the game – all for Heimat, he was able to convert his own try with a spectacular kick from the side line to put Heimat up 21 – 0
Medies showed some fight and grunt as big flank Adriaan Oberholster was strong enough to drive over the line to get his team their first points. Johan du Preez added the important three points as the Medies looked to bring themselves back into this semifinal game just before the half-time whistle sounded; the score 21 – 8 to Heimat at the break.
Medies continued their spirited fight back with a good try, after some sustained pressure, from Louis van Wyk, the No. 8 bashing over to allow Du Preez to convert and make it a five point game with just under half an hour to play.
With their tails up now, Heimat found themselves camped on their own try line as the Medies searched for their third try and conversion to take the lead, plenty of unforced errors from the home team was beginning to make it uncomfortable.
The pressure eventually broke for Heimat as a loose ball was scooped up by Baron who then send Marinus van der Merwe on a break away try, Baron was there to convert as Heimat was lucky to extend its lead to 26 – 16
Heimat were looking to secure the win with 15 minutes remaining so Nakkie Naude stepped up to take a penalty to extend the lead to 15 points.
Heimat were able to hold on after the late surge from the Medies to walk into the final against Patria with a 31 – 16 victory in Bloemfontein.
Scorers:
Heimat: Tries- Steyn, Naude, Baron, Van der Merwe Conv.– Baron 3 Pen – Naude.
Medies: Tries – Oberholster, Van Wyk Cons – Du Preez 2.
– Varsity Cup
