You have to admire the adventure and intent of UWC. They were largely outplayed by the NWU Eagles at the scrums and lineouts over the course of the contest on Monday. The speed and quality of their passing game, however, stretched the Eagles’ defence and created opportunities for lethal finishers such as Peter Williams on the outside. The UWC wing touched down in the eighth minute to give his side an unexpected lead. Thanks to the gargantuan presence of men like André Fouche at the breakdown, the NWU Eagles managed to stall the visitors’ momentum. They then proceeded to put their much-vaunted scrum and rolling maul into action.

With his team marching forward, flyhalf Nivan Petersen chipped the ball over the defence for his teammates to chase. Fullback Heinrich Botha claimed possession, and then threw a speculative offload to scrumhalf Riaan Genis. A third try and conversion stretched the NWU Eagles’ lead to 21-7. UWC hit back before half-time, though, by producing an enterprising surge to set Williams up for his second try.

This point-of-origin score, as well as the accurate goal-kicking of Lyle Hendricks, ensured that the visitors trailed by just two points at the break. The NWU Eagles lost Keano Windvogel to the sin bin in the 44th minute after the wing took Williams out in the air. UWC failed to capitalise on the one-man advantage, however, the hosts escaped the period of sanction without conceding points.

By contrast, the NWU Eagles were quick to punish UWC when the visitors lost a player to the bin later in the contest. When the ball bounced free from a lineout, Eagles prop Ruben du Plessis pounced on it to claim the bonus-point try. From there, the NWU Eagles finished with a flourish to secure the first win of their 2022 campaign.

Eagles:  Tries - Heinz Bertram, Riaan Genis, Vernon Paulo, Ruben du Plessis, Pienaar van Niekerk Conv. - Nivan Petersen (3), Martin Venter Pen. - Venter

UWC: Tries - Peter Williams (2) Conv. - Lyle Hendricks (2) Pen. - Hendricks