Tough games ahead for Madibaz

MADIBAZ coach David Maidza says his team have a big job on their hands if they want to accomplish their goal of reaching the semifinals of the Varsity Cup rugby competition this year.

"It is critical that we go to Pretoria for our next game against Tuks with the right mindset and that we play to the best of our ability. A win is critical in this game and there is still a big job to be done," Maidza said.

After two home defeats against Ikeys and Pukke, the Madibaz rallied to a much-needed 18-12 win over Wits in the fifth round of the competition in Johannesburg on Monday night. "We are in a precarious situation at the moment and we have to play catch-up rugby.

"Both our remaining games are vital. We have to do the job in this one first ... and make sure that we get the necessary points."

The Madibaz have moved up to fifth place on the log with 13 points and are now well positioned to make a late charge into the top four.

After Monday's game against Tuks, the Madibaz travel to Bloemfontein to face the Shimlas in their final round-robin match on March 17.

With a number of teams producing upset results, Maidza said the tournament was far from over.

"It's critical therefore that we concentrate on improving ourselves."

He said there was definite room for improvement in terms of accuracy when they had ball in hand.

"We turned over too many balls. We need to work on our passing and ball carriage and tick those boxes for the coming week."

On Monday Pukke handed defending champions Tuks their first defeat in the competition to claim top spot on the standings.

Coach Robert du Preez's team were ruthless in wet conditions in Pretoria as they shut out the home side to claim a convincing 18-0 victory and leapfrog them on the log in the process. -