Last year Tuks stunned the Shimlas in Bloemfontein in the semi-finals of the Varsity Cup, to go on to be crowned the eventual champions.

The Shimlas raced to a 21-0 lead in Pretoria, but Tuks fought back to make it the scoreline 14-21 at the half time break.

The match went down to the wire with Tuks giving themselves an opportunity in the final minute with a scrum in the Shimlas 22 area slap-bang in front of the posts, however, a massive scrum by the visitors forced a penalty, which allowed them to exit.

The Shimlas won the lineout that followed and made brilliant use of an attacking maul and fought until the final whistle which allowed them to hoof the ball in tough and stun the champions.

The coach, André Tredoux, told OFM Sport that the win is testament to the character of the young and seemingly exciting team his has for the season.

“You come just come to Pretoria to play against the defending champions and expect an easy win,” said Tredoux.

“I thought that we started well and took them on physically. I think they targeted us to try and dominate us upfront.

“We've got such a young bunch because we lost up to 13 players and the character that the boys showed to win when it was tough is exactly the adaptability that we have been speaking about.”

Next week the Shimlas will travel again to tackle the North West University Eagles in Potchefstroom.

Tuks :  Tries - Kyle Cyster, penalty try, Alister Williams Conversion - Jandré Burger Penalties - Burger 2.

Shimlas : Tries - Asanda Kunene 2, Kwezi Dlamini, William Moffat Conversions - Ethan Wentzel 2.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport