UJ continues their losing streak with a 27–26 defeat to CUT
AUCKLAND PARK – UJ fails to win in their last three games.
AUCKLAND PARK – UJ records their third consecutive lose in this year’s Varsity Cup.
The University of Johannesburg (UJ) cannot seem to get it right. This comes after their rugby team recorded their third straight loss of the year. Their latest loss came on the travels to Bloemfontein as they faced the Central University of Technology (CUT). They went down to CUT in a narrow 27–26 defeat which pushed CUT above UJ in the standings in 7th place while UJ moved up from 9th to 8th due to the superior point difference compared to the University of the Western Cape.
UJ started off the match well as they kept attacking right from the first kick of the game. Their efforts were rewarded in the fourth minute as they registered their first points following a try by Odwa Nkunjana and a cool, calm and collected conversion by Jeanluc Cilliers. Two minutes later CUT were awarded a penalty, which was scored by Heinrich Bitzi and in the 15th minute hooker Anrich Alberts made a try with Bitzi making the conversion. Just before the end of the first half, UJ retaliated by scoring two more tries, courtesy of Stephen Bhasera and Nkunjana once again. As the referee called an end to the first half, the score stood in favour of UJ at 19–17.
The intensity of the game did not stop as both teams returned for the second half. CUT took the led following a penalty scored by Bitzi in the 53rd minute and a try by Ruben Cross. These put the Bloemfontein side ahead by eight points. CUT extended the lead yet again thanks to a seven-point try by winger Shaun Williams. UJ tried to stage a late comeback but failed to overcome the deficit.
UJ ended up losing the game by one point with the final score standing at 27 – 26 to CUT. UJ will look to leave their 0–3 record behind them as they prepare to take on the University of Cape Town on 25 February 2019.
Related article:
Second UJ loss leaves them last on the log of 2019’s varsity Cup standings
