Statistics don’t always tell the full story but they certainly help to illustrate how Fort Hare won the inaugural Brutten Cup on Saturday.
In a remarkable show of character and resilience, the Blues made 127 tackles to Swallows’ 42 – a Herculean effort that proved decisive in their 13-7 victory.
For head coach Chase Morison, this defensive display had been one of the most satisfying parts of a game that would be remembered by the Blues faithful for decades to come.
“When a team is willing to make tackles for each other, to put in effort after effort after effort, it tells you you’ve got something good going in terms of team culture. A great win for the boys,” he said.
Morison knew from the outset that his charges were ready to take the grand prize in Mdantsane. Such was their focus that even the pre-game chat was more formality than need to motivate the players.
Their game plan was always to storm out of the gates and it only took three minutes for the Blues to make good on their strategy.
They kicked for touch after being awarded a penalty in their own half, set up the maul from the ensuing lineout and came within two metres of the Swallows line before their opponents were penalised again.
Fort Hare forwent the opportunity for three points and set up the lineout in the corner. This time the maul proved too powerful to resist, with hooker Bunono Jamani crashing over.
The Fort Hare Blues celebrate their triumph in the Brutten Cup final on Saturday. Photo: Supplied
After going to the break at 5-0, UFH again piled on the pressure at the start of the second stanza.
After periods of kicking pinball, Swallows made the cardinal error of spiralling one down the throat of a Fort Hare attacker, who then set up his forwards.
After a few phases, the Blues played quickly out wide, where centre Ryan Maree found himself marked by a lone Swallows front-rower.
With a two-on-one situation, Maree put winger Okuhle Pangwa away to speed in for their second try.
While the conversion missed, the Blues managed to extend their lead via a penalty with about 20 minutes left on the clock.
Though they were not able to score again, and conceded a converted charge-down try in the last quarter, they held on for a famous win.
Morison said aside from dominating the tackle count, his side had also been colossal in the lineouts. The only area where Swallows were able to truly compete was the scrums.
With next year’s Varsity Shield looming, the delighted coach was determined for Fort Hare not to take their foot off the gas.
The players have been given three weeks off to focus on their exams and will be back on the training ground from November 18 to December 13.
Their pre-season will resume after the Christmas-New Year break on January 6.
“It’s important we carry this momentum. We are now champions and what we have achieved in a short space of time is somewhat remarkable,” he said.
“We’ve something good here but now any extra players [who come on board] are joining a championship team. And there are certain principles and values that championship teams have in order to remain successful.
“That will be our focus.”