Try fest secures fourth spot in Toti’s Moor Cup campaign

AMANZIMTOTI Rugby Club’s 1st XV ended their Fidelity Security Moor Cup campaign on a high note when they beat Pietermaritzburg (Pmb) Collegians 38-29 at Woodburn Stadium on Friday evening.

The cold and wet conditions did not allow for an entertaining spectacle, but Toti did manage to score six tries, one each from Michael Uppink, Kevin Buck, Christiaan Theron, Jose Rodrigues, Marcel Els and Brad Lange, with Rodrigues converting four of these.

With 15 minutes to go in the game, and with a commanding 38-15 lead, it seemed that Toti dropped their guard somewhat to allow the home side to score two converted tries – one a rather controversial touch down – to lend some respectability to the scoreboard.

At the end of a very tough league season, Toti finish in a very respectable fourth position on the premier division log, ahead of traditional big guns Nashua Crusaders and Varsity College, as well as Zululand Rhinos and Pmb Collegians, who will now face Jaguars in a promotion/relegation battle.

The struggle for third position on the log was eventually won by the young and exciting FNB UKZN Impi team, the current Varsity Shield champions, by virtue of the fact that they had secured an extra bonus point in one of their games during the season, and that was all that had separated 3rd and 4th place. When one looks at the logs, Toti and Impi have exactly the same win-loss ratio, with Toti having a far better points differential, but, that bonus point came back to haunt Toti in the end.

The focus for Toti now shifts to the defence of their Castle Murray Cup title, which begins on Saturday with a trip to Richards Bay to take on Richards Bay Spartans. Being a knockout tournament, anything could happen on the day, but the smart money will be on the Toti Terriers.

Spur man of the match vouchers went to Kevin Buck (forwards) and Matthew McDonald (backline).