The NWU Eagles will be looking for more clinical performance in the second bio-bubble of the Varsity Cup 2021 tournament in Pretoria, starting on 22 April. The Eagles snatched two wins and were handed their first loss of the tournament against the UP Tuks in the first bubble of the competition from 4 to 11 April.
The North-West University is currently fifth on the standings, leaving them just outside the playoff positions with only four more games to play. The opening game for the NWU in this year’s campaign was against the debutants NMU Madibaz.
The Eagles had a brilliant second-half filled with running rugby and big tackles. It saw them open their winning account with a 47–28 victory. The second game was by far a bigger test for the boys, as they had to come from behind to overturn a 16-point deficit to beat the UFS Shimlas 33–22. The last game before the break was against the tournament hosts, UP Tuks, at the Tuks stadium.
A good start by the Eagles helped them lead, going into the half time break 10–9. A different Tuks side domi- nated the second half, giving the NWU side their first loss of the competition 33–15.
“Execution was a problem in our last game. We created a few opportunities in the game but didn’t execute them. We’ll analyse the game, look at our mistakes, fix them and come back better in the next bubble. We will not let the game against Tuks determine who we are; it’s a lesson learnt,” says Lincoln Daniels, the NWU Eagles captain, after suffering their first defeat of the tournament.
“I think our discipline was one of our problems throughout the first bubble; we conceded way too many penalties and we can be a lot more physical and effective in the breakdowns. We will work and prepare harder on this for our upcoming games,” he says.
Upcoming Matches for the NWU Eagles NWU vs UWC – 22 April 15:00 Maties vs NWU – 27 April 19:00 NWU vs Wits – 30 April 19:00 CUT vs NWU – 10 May 19:00 NWU vs UCT – 13 May (TBC) NWU vs UJ – 16 May (TBC)
These will be closely contested games for the North-West University team, but we want to win all four games to build momentum and confidence ahead of the playoff games towards the end of May.
