Wits need to make a statement
Wits lost out to CUT in the inaugural Varsity Shield Final last year and they will be determined to hit back and lay down a marker for this year when they meet their rivals in the first game of the season in Bloemfontein on Monday.
Coach Andy Royle's team hosted the final last year, and they have been through an intense pre-season schedule in order to ensure that they are in with a shout at the business-end of the competition again this year.
After warm-up matches against Varsity Cup sides TUT, Tuks and UJ, Royle is happy that his squad - which includes 12 players who will be making their debuts in the competition - is ready for what CUT have in store for them on Monday night.
He told varsitycup.co.za: "We know more or less what to expect from CUT, they are a well structured team who play a very hard and direct style of rugby and you also have to be careful because they always seem to have about three players who can hoof the ball about 60 metres.
"I'm not sure where they get them or how they breed them to do that sort of thing out there," he joked.
CUT came as close as possible to breaking into the Varsity Cup last year when they just missed out on beating Wooden Spoonists TUT in extra-time of their play-off match, and Wits underlined how narrow the gap between the top of the Varsity Shield and the bottom of the Varsity Cup really is when they beat TUT in a pre-season match at the end of last year.
With automatic promotion for this year's Varsity Shield champions and an opportunity of a play-off match for the beaten finalists this year, there is even more to play for and Royle believes that it will improve both competitions.
"I think the new rules will add a whole lot of spice to both competitions, it will improve the bottom of the Varsity Cup, and although it is still a huge step up for us I believe that the Varsity Shield teams are genuinely closing that gap," he said.
Although they managed to beat TUT, Royle said that his team did not look "completely polished" in all of their warm-ups and added that it will be vital for them to be focused properly for the clash with CUT in Bloemfontein on Monday.
"We want to be as well prepared as possible, it is just another game and will not make or break our season so we just want to worry about our own performance as much as possible," he said.
By Michael de Vries
| Add a comment |
