FNB Maties Women beat FNB UFH Women33-7 at the UWC Sports Stadium in the second semi-final of the inaugural FNB Varsity Women’s competition. They will now battle FNB UJ for the title on Thursday 13 April.
Despite not getting on the scoreboard in the opening half, it was Fort Hare who was relentless in the first 15 minutes. The fight for quality possession and territory was a brave one with players like skipper Sivuyiseko Makhomazi and front rower Nombuyekezo Mdliki leading the charge upfront.
It was Maties however who got over the whitewash four times in the opening half. The teams headed into the halftime break with the side from the Cape Winelands in a commanding 26-0 lead.
Players like flyhalf Lara Schats, who scored the opening try, prop Janke Oosthuizen, who tackled equally as hard as she carried the ball, and Elitha Sylvester were standout performers for the Maties in the first 40 minutes.
Alongside Schats, captain Bianca Augustyn, and fullback Danelle van Zyl, both scored early on in the first half. Elitha Sylvester rounded the first of her two tries with a sensational 70-metre point-of-origin Try (POR) on the stroke of half-time.
Sylvester completed her brace in the second half, following Fort Hare's first and only try courtesy of Ongeziwe Msengi.
Maties' clinical effort and discipline at the breakdown ensured the team from the Eastern Cape was restricted to just one try.
FNB Maties Women 33 (26) – Tries: Lara Schats, Bianca Augustyn, Danelle van Zyl, Elitha Sylvester (POR try), Elitha Sylvester Conversions: Elmé Kruger (3)
FNB UFH Women 7 (0) – Try: Ongeziwe Msengi Conversion: Zanele Touto
FNB Player That Rocks: Elitha Sylvester (Maties)
