Madibaz pumped up for semifinal showdown, says Manuel

The Madibaz want to avenge a heavy 63-8 defeat they suffered at the hands of Wits in a league match when the sides collide in a winner-takes-all Varsity Shield semifinal on Friday, says coach David Manuel.

The Gqeberha side clinched a berth in the semifinals when they thrashed Sol Plaatje University 63-36 in a high-scoring clash in Kimberley on Friday.

Manuel said it was a privilege for the Madibaz team to play in a semifinal and that his players wanted to showcase their talent in Johannesburg.

In another game on Friday, Wits underlined their dominance in the Shield with a commanding 46-15 victory over UWC to secure automatic promotion back into the Varsity Cup, while both sides booked their places in the semifinals.

Madibaz head coach David Manuel and his coaching staff have been preparing the Mandela University team for their FNB Varsity Cup promotion-relegation match against UJ in Pretoria on Monday — Madibaz head coach David Manuel. (VARSITY SPORTS)

WSU also secured a home semifinal spot with a narrow 15-13 win against UFH at Sisa Dukashe Stadium, while the Madibaz ended fourth on the log after a fine comeback win in Kimberley.

The top four teams on the final Varsity Shield log table advanced to the semifinals. It has been decided the team finishing first plays against the fourth-placed team, while the second-placed team takes on the third-placed team.

The top four teams after the final round of matches were

Wits (32 points);
WSU (28);
UWC (25); and
Madibaz (23).

“The Madibaz are very happy to have pulled through the win over Sol Plaatje University in Kimberley,” Manuel said. “It bought us another seven days within this competition, and it is a privilege to play a semifinal.

Madibaz are happy we can go to Johannesburg and play Wits and give ourselves an opportunity to fight and show we are better than we were in the previous game against them.
— David Manuel, Madibaz coach

“We know we have been disappointing in this competition, and we are a team that takes responsibility for that.

“The Madibaz are happy we can go to Johannesburg and play Wits and give ourselves an opportunity to fight and show we are better than we were in the previous game against them.

“For us it is about personal goals. We know that we have worked hard this season and we want to go to Johannesburg and showcase that against Wits in the semi.

“We spoke about that at training on Sunday, and we will speak about it for the rest of the week in the lead-up to the semifinal.

“The Madibaz are looking at the man in the mirror and making sure we can look each other in the eye in terms of our output come Friday.

“We are happy to be preparing for a semi and that is where our focus is. It is varsity holidays so the boys can be single-minded and focused on the task at hand.

“It was a tough game against Sol Plaatje University. They were very good in the first part of the game. I told the boys they showed massive character to come back from a 31-16 deficit away from home.

“So I am proud of the fight and the emotional and mental resilience they showed, and hopefully we can do that again in the semifinal in Johannesburg.”

The Madibaz try scorers in Kimberley were Ruwaan Zealand (2), Cullen Willows (2), Onelisiwe Fani, Edward Kruger, Brent Klopper, Christian van de Merwe, Qurin Cupido, and Sean van Zijl.