University of Johannesburg rugby coach Werner Janse van Rensburg is determined to keep his squad firmly grounded despite some notable results in their recent Varsity Cup matches.
After two losses in a row, UJ have won their last three fixtures to move into fourth place on the log.
On Monday, they kept NMMU-Madibaz at bay in a 36-28 win, with wing Aphiwe Dyanti earning the Player That Rocks award.
University of Johannesburg wing Aphiwe Dyanti showed good form to be named the Player That Rocks in their Varsity Cup rugby match against NMMU-Madibaz this week. Photo: Saspa
They will be looking for another win against UCT in Cape Town on Monday, but Janse van Rensburg said they knew there were no guarantees.
“It’s very simple to stay focused because any team can win on any given Monday in this competition,” the UJ mentor said.
“As it is an away game nothing but our best will be good enough to get us over the line against a team with great fighting qualities.”
He said the squad’s self-belief had grown following their good results.
“The momentum we have gained has helped because confidence in the system is slowly spreading to everyone in the team.”
The UJ coach said they realised they could not win all the time and were focused on learning from any mistakes.
“The first reality is that you will lose at some stage,” he said. “It has not been a case of doubting, but rather understanding where we are as a new team and learning from our mistakes.”
Janse van Rensburg said their teamwork had been critical to their success, with players such as captain and hooker Jannes Snyman and loose forwards Driaan Bester and Len Massyn setting the example for others to follow.