The University of the Free State Kovsies are on course for a fifth Varsity Netball title after reaching the final of the highly popular competition. Kovsies will face the University of Johannesburg in the final of the 2024 competition.
On Monday night, Kovsies secured their spot in the final, which will be played in Bloemfontein, with a good win against the University of Pretoria Tuks. The team from the Free State made use of their home court advance at the Callie Human Hall in Bloemfontein to knock out the defending champions with a 68-62 victory.
While the scoreline suggests that it was a tight game, there was not one stage of it in which the UFS were not in control. The four-time champions held a narrow 15-13 lead after the first quarter and extended that to 35-31 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Free Staters shifted gear to hold a healthy 10-goal lead going into the final 15-minute period. Tuks upped the tempo slightly in the final period in a desperate effort to keep their title defence alive.In the first semi-final on Monday in Bloemfontein, the in-form UJ once again proved why they are the surprise package of the tournament and finished second on the log, behind Kovsies, after the round-robins. UJ beat North West University from Potchefstroom 55-48 to secure their spot in the final.
UJ are the only team to have beaten Kovsies this season, and they want to draw on that 51-46 win. It will, however, be a very tough ask for the team from Gauteng, as Kovsies will no doubt draw on their passionate support, while they are also a star-studded team with a coaching staff loaded with Proteas, which includes the national captain, Khanyisa Chawane, as well as Karla Pretorius, Ané Retief and the legendary head coach, Burta de Kock.
The Kovsies captain, Refiloe Nketsa, told Bloemfontein Courant, that they are confident and ready.
“For this game, we decided to just choose wisdom over wounds and I think that statement on its own just explains how ready we are as a team,” said the Protea.
“It will be a huge game and we’re not going to take it lightly. We know that UJ at one point were on top of the log. We’re not going to shy away from the challenge and the fact that the game will be tough.
“But we are ready to show how tough we are as a side, and we’re just not going to allow them to take it away from us.
“It is a different ball game once again, but it is one last big hurdle for us to just go through and jump together as a team.”
Should Kovsies claim the title on Monday night, the university will own the distinction of being the reigning Varsity Netball as well as the Varsity Cup rugby champions. In April the UFS Shimlas beat the UCT Ikeys 45-42 in a thrilling final in Bloemfontein to win the Varsity Cup title for a second time.
Monday’s big final at the Callie Human Hall on the campus gets underway at 19:00. – MORGAN PIEK
