‘There is something about this competition that drives all teams’

The moment of truth in the tussle for 2016 Varsity Hockey dominance is drawing near.

UJ is the only place to be on Monday, May 23 when the full-throttle sound of the hooter signals the 6.45pm start time of what promises to be a final that will still be talked about in the years to come.

Defending champions University of Johannesburg (UJ) won the inaugural
2014 final in this biannual men’s competition while University of Pretoria (Tuks) are the reigning University Sport South Africa men’s hockey title holders, so the winners’ podium is not an unfamiliar beast for the senior players and coaches who are set to go toe-to-toe on Monday.

Success breeds the desire for more success and certainly for Tuks coach Guy Elliot it’s been an interesting ride over the past two weeks.

There were few pundits in the festive Maties Astro crowd on Monday night, May 16 who would have taken issue with the commonly-held contention that Tuks were the definite underdogs going into what was to be an epic semi-final against hosts University of Stellenbosch.

“Yes, winning that semi-final was a remarkable feat, but for us it was never unlikely,” says Tuks coach Guy Elliot. “We are a team with massive character and fight, and coupled with some players who can change games, we always knew we were in with a shout.”

Elliot agrees that Tuks have not hit their stride as yet. And as the coach points out, it’s also off-side for hockey fans to compare the Tuks Class of 2016 with the fabulous USSA championship-winning team of 2015.

Indeed, for hockey fans to say that Tuks have only been in third gear during Varsity Hockey 2016 is unrealistic. The comparison to last year’s team is without value. The truth is that with changes in personnel as players graduate and move on, the guys who are still in the side from 2015 and earlier, and the new students, the 2015 and 2016 teams are different creatures.

“With the omissions from 2015 and the intake in 2016, I feel that we are a completely different side. There has not been a straight swap of players, thus we have had to change the way we play to suit our new make-up, as a different type of player has come in,” is the coach’s pragmatic and effective assessment of his team.

But that 6-1 Friday night, May 13 defeat to home team Maties during the league phase of the competition still haunts some of the more cautious Tuks supporters.

In customary fashion, Elliot gets straight to the point: “A 10-minute spell changed that game. I feel we have always been the same team and it’s unfair to judge the guys on a poor 10 minutes out of a whole tournament. I never felt that we were operating in a comfort zone. There is something about this competition that drives all teams and no game is easy.

“One of our team’s qualities is heart. Often that is the difference in sport. They rose to the occasion [in the 1-0 semi-final win] against Maties and I trust they will do the same this coming Monday night in the final.”

A major share of the UJ and Tuks players have been in big semi-finals and finals over the past two months – and indeed the last two years. Being a part of match days of this magnitude, how critical is that experience to the key learnings players need in order to successfully negotiate these do-or-die showdowns?

Elliot is in no doubt: “It plays a massive role in preparing players for the big games.”

The good news for Tuks supporters is that as of now there are no injury concerns in the squad, as is the case with UJ.

“Apart from being a final it’s a massive derby as well, which is always nice to be a part of. I think it will be a tough game; I don’t suspect a lot of champagne hockey will be played, due to the fact that it is a final. No quarter will be given by either side.

“We are looking forward to what promises to be a cracker of a game.”