On Monday, 27 March 2023, the University of Johannesburg (FNB UJ) senior men’s rugby squad defeated another Cape Town side, Stellenbosch University (FNB SU Maties), in round six (6) of the 2023 FNB Varsity Cup rugby tournament. It was raining tries at UJ Stadium, with several FNB UJ players contributing to a thrilling 49-42 final tally at fulltime.
FNB UJ opened the scoring with a 5-point try from Nkondlokamthimkhulu Radebe. Tries by Prince Nkabinde, Siphesihle Nkabini, Hlone Mputhu, and Mpho Kubheka in the first and second halves, as well as five successful conversions by Rowan Malgas, gave the Orange Army a much-needed victory, keeping the hosts ahead from start to finish.
The hosts continued pushing for more, dotting a point-of-origin try immediately after the start of the second half. In no time, two more tries extended UJ’s lead to 40-17. However, the visitors applied pressure to FNB UJ, scoring a handful of late tries to remind FNB UJ of how they lost their matches in the past four rounds.
At fulltime, the scoreline stood at 49-42 as FNB UJ put themselves in a safe zone to avoid the relegation playoff going into the final round. The Orange Army will take on relegated University of Pretoria (UP-Tuks) on Monday, 3 April 2023.
