Shimlas staying grounded
FNB Shimlas recorded the most impressive victory in Round One of the 2012 Varsity Cup, but they will not be resting on their laurels when they entertain the FNB Madibaz in Bloemfontein this coming Monday.
The Kovsies began their campaign with a deserved 38-10 win over the defending champion Ikey Tigers - in Cape Town, where they had been winless in the Varsity Cup - but they won't let that give them false confidence.
In fact, Shimlas captain Lappies Labuschagnè - the Man of the Match in Cape Town - claims they have already forgotten about that victory... as famous as it was!
"We won't be holding onto the UCT victory.
"They might be the defending champs, but that is in the past now and NMMU are a whole different team... and ball game," Labuschagnè told this website.
"NMMU have recently become a much stronger side. We certainly won't be underestimating them on Monday night," he added.
Shimlas mentor Jaco Swanepoel also mentioned this week that NMMU had improved the most since last year's FNB Varsity Cup presented by Steinhoff International when they finished second last on the log.
"We're approaching this NMMU match very seriously," he said.
"They are the team who have improved the most since last year. They only lost by ten points against Pukke this past week... I think that they certainly want to prove themselves against us too."
At the same time, Shimlas wouldn't want to disappoint in their first Varsity Cup match in front of their always-supportive home crowd and they have been working hard on their attack and first line of defence in preparation.
"We've been building on what we've achieved thus far. Some aspects of our defence could still improve and also some parts of our first-phase attack," said Swanepoel, who is now in his fifth year of Varsity Cup coaching.
"Of course, it's always an advantage when playing in front of a home crowd," he added, "and the players can also enjoy the comfort of going back to their own homes after the match."
By Stefan Lotter
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