The trophy for South Africa’s premier intervarsity netball tournament, Varsity Netball 2022, is up for grabs following the elimination of the defending champions, the Kovsie netball team.
The University of the Free State (UFS) fell by the wayside, losing 61 – 64 to the gutsy North-West University (NWU) in the semifinal played on Monday (10/10) in the Callie Human Hall in Bloemfontein.
The Kovsies’ defeat prevented a repeat of last year’s final against the Stellenbosch University’s Maties, who they beat to claim the crown.
The Maties secured another final after beating the University of Johannesburg (UJ) by 43 – 35 in the other co-occuring semifinal. Maties will face off against the NWU’ Eagles in this year’s final.
The outcome of this tournament is now even more unpredictable after the elimination of the four-time champion. The Kovsies boast four titles, won in 2013, 2014, 2018, and 2021. Of the eight South African university teams participating in the tournament, Kovsies remains the only side to claim this many championship titles.
The NWU already has two Varsity Netball titles, while Maties are still working towards their maiden title. The latter have a chance to remedy this by stealing a victory from the NWU when the two teams face off in the finals. Maties will no doubt use their home ground advantage when they clash with the Eagles at Stellenbosch University on Monday (17/10). This final is also an opportunity for Maties to settle the score after losing to the Eagles in 2015.
The Eagles, making their fifth appearance in a final, beat Maties in 2015 and scored a nail-biting victory over the University of Pretoria’s Tuks a year later, winning their second successive title. Maties’ impressive run in the tournament make them favourites going into the final against the Eagles.
Both finalists look to guard against stumbling at the last hurdle when they meet in the all-important final on Monday.
