Wits remains grounded despite roaring success

FNB Wits have a chance to continue their dominant form in the FNB Varsity Shield today, February 19. Wits have won two of their two matches and sit on top of the log with ten points, just one point clear of FNB UKZN. Elsewhere, FNB UWC will host bottom-of-the-log FNB UFH and both games will begin at 18:30.

UWC’s new captain Jose Julies will hope that he can continue his good form to help the Bellville side improve on their poor showing from last season, which saw them finish second from bottom. Julies helped UWC register their first win of the season earlier in the week. The Riversdale-born man says he is looking forward to express himself and encourage his team on a game-by-game basis. He took over the captaincy this year after former captain, Freddie Muller, opted to focus on Sevens.

“Freddie was a brilliant captain but I can’t be him, I have to be myself. I will share my experience and try to learn from other members of the team. At the end of the day we need to have a good relationship and work together for the team,” said Julies.

“These youngsters are willing to go the extra mile to get into the team. They always pitch up before training and spend more time on the field after the training session. There are more players vying for the same positions and the spirit in the team is high,” he added.

In Johannesburg, Wits will be keen to continue their dominance which saw them trash FNB UKZN 56-13 earlier in the week. TUT have won just one of their three games, so Wits are favourites on paper, but coach Hugo van As said he is not getting carried away.

“We won’t call it success,” Van As said.

“We knew our first two weeks would be challenging in the fact that we had to travel to East London and Pietermaritzburg for our first two games. We got a lot of preparation done, according to the challenges we faced.”

Injuries could hamper Wits’s charge, especially after the quick turnaround time for this week’s matches, but the coach is confident that the systems in place will help his team put in a good performance in their first home game of the season.

“We picked up quite a few injuries again this week. We lost a few guys against Fort Hare in the first week, but our medical team worked hard to bring them back, so we are struggling at the moment with two or three injuries.

“I must say that we are chuffed with our team protocol, in the sense that under the structures the next guy will have to come in and do the job for us.

“It is our first home game so we are excited about the opportunity. We travelled back on the Tuesday and then 24 hours later we have to be prepared to take on TUT, so it’s a big challenge.

“We won’t underestimate anyone and our challenge is just to get the team ready, get them recovered and get them back on the park,” he added.