New coach and new energy at UWC
The departure of FNB UWC head coach Deon Davids to the Golden Lions Rugby Union has given his assistant Oliver Jansen an opportunity to prove his ability at the business-end of the first-ever Varsity Shield tournament.
Jansen is a former UWC player himself, having represented the University between 1999 and 2003.
He started coaching four years ago and late last year he was given the chance to coach the Varsity Shield team's backline in the inaugural competition.
With Davids now working with the Lions Vodacom Cup side, Jansen got his opportunity in the hotseat and he started his time in charge with a timely 19-11 victory over log leaders, FNB Wits.
That victory has put UWC right into contention for a place in the play-off, but for Jansen the big focus is on the next game and not on their overall ambitions for the campaign.
He told varsitycup.co.za: "We are going to take it step by step and see to our next target which is obviously CUT, and then we can worry about what happens in the other games.
Jansen believes that the vociferous home support will play a big role in helping his team to beat FNB CUT on Monday night.
He said: The support is brilliant at all times at UWC; it is always nice to play at home.
"Our aim is for at least four points, we would like to get five but it will be extremely difficult against CUT."
The UWC coach believes that his team have learnt from their last outing against CUT in Bloemfontein when they conceded a late defeat.
He explained: "We lost against CUT last time, but I think that the wind played a major role.
"We were leading 28-17 at half-time, but we played with the wind in our faces in the second half and they overtook us in the last twenty minutes of the game."
UWC's obvious strength is their speedy backline, but Jansen is also quick to point out the positive impact that their forwards have had on their game this year.
"We have got a lot of pace at the back but I think credit must also go to our pack. We don't have the biggest forwards in the competition so they are working extremely hard to to give us at least 40-50% of the ball," he said.
They will need a huge team effort to overcome a well-drilled CUT outfit who sit comfortably on top of the Varsity Shield log with a game in hand over the chasing pack.
By Michael de Vries
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