Pukke aim for Sevens heaven

There is no denying that NWU Pukke’s 7’s coach, Pieter van den Berg, knows his stuff. He has a CV par excellence in this format of the game having guided the Leopards to the national 7’s crown and the side was the runner-up in 2014. In the Northern Region Championships, the side has reigned supreme for three years running and his NWU Pukke side finished third in last year’s Varsity Cup 7’s tournament. Not enough? How about a stint with the Zimbabweans during the Hong Kong 7’s?

Now, that is some pedigree. So, when the man makes a prediction it is well worth taking notice: “I would not be surprised if it is us against Maties in the final.”

Noted.

“Although sides like UJ, Tukkies and UWC are always formidable, I think Maties are the firm favourites. I do think we can win it, however,” says Van den Berg.

The NWU Puk will head to Cape Town for the Varsity Cup 7’s tournament this weekend, for what promises to be a festive occasion. It’s 7’s, after all.

“We have a really strong group of players. If we can keep onto our possession and play to the best of our ability, we have a really good shot at clinching it,” Van den Berg explains.

The squad has been honing their skills and setting their strategies for three weeks now. They’ve recently been boosted by the addition of some of the NWU Pukke’s Varsity Cup players, the most notable being Marno Redelinghuys – the man who scored the winning try in the final against Maties.

“A lot of credit has to go to Jonathan Mokuena (now coaching the Leopards) for releasing the players. He is looking after the welfare of the entire club and that is only good for our rugby,” says Van den Berg.

Squad: Riaan Brummer, Ryno Wepener, Elden Schoeman, Marno Redelinghuys, Hein Kritzinger, Wandile Mazibuko, Eugene Hare, Eloff Scheepers, Diederik Oberholzer, De Wet Terblanche, Kowie Groenewald, Timmy Prince, Ian Heyns (captain), Gideon van der Merwe and Eddie Engelbrecht.