Gutsy Tuks snatch victory to claim Varsity Sevens title

The University of Pretoria (Tuks) showed guts to snatch victory at the death against the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in the University Sports South Africa (USSA) Sevens Tournament in Margate, KZN, on Sunday.

With less than a minute to play and UJ leading 5-0, Tuks’ Stephen Coetzee crashed over for a try to level the scores, leaving WJ Strydom with the conversion for a 7-5 win.

What made this special was that it was a similar climax to last year’s USSA final when UJ were leading Tuks with the stopwatch ticking down.

But it was the Pretoria team who had the final say, scoring the winning try in the dying minutes.

“It is absolutely crazy and amazing to have been part of the team where every player was prepared to put his body on the line,” said an elated captain Dewald Naude.

Tuks’ semifinal encounter against the University of Western Cape (UWC) was an as closely contested affair.

With about a minute’s play left on the clock, the score was tied at 7-7 before Cornell Korf dotted down to ensure his team made it to the final.

Earlier during their quarterfinal encounter, Tuks outplayed Wits 40-15.

In partnership with ANA and Sports Leo