The University of KwaZulu-Natal find themselves at the bottom of the log, having registered just one point after four rounds of Varsity Football 2022. This week, they face the University of Free State, who already picked up seven points. Varsity Football spoke to UKZN’s Nr.1 goalkeeper Thandolwakhe Radebe, who’s hopeful his team can do more, finally turning their positive performances into results.
Only two teams remain winless so far in the Varsity Football tournament and those are Wits University; who find themselves seventh on the log with only two points, and the Impi, who sit rock-bottom having registered only a single point.
Despite being at the foot of the table, the men from the coast have notably improved in each game, showing better performances, although the results continue to be disappointing. Their latest impressive match against the Purple Army of NWU away from home last week proved this to be true as the KZN team lost the game in the last five minutes despite a dominant offensive display.
This week, UKZN face off with the University of Free State (UFS) who currently sit at third position after four rounds of the competition. Delron Buckley’s men will be looking at this fixture with their tongues out in anticipation.
Varsity Football caught up with UKZN’s Nr.1 and vice-captain, Thando Radebe in a one-on-one interview ahead of this oh-so important game.
Varsity Football: UKZN continues having disappointing results but many are seeing that your performances have improved very much. What’s the reason behind this improvement everyone is seeing?
Radebe: To be honest with you, even the people who watched our games would tell you, the results from those games are not a true reflection of our performance. Our coaches have done a magnificent job with this team. All credit goes to them for the energy that they have brought into the team as well as their motivations regardless of the results. They are always there to ensure that we keep our heads up and believe that we are still a good team which is what keeps us going. We have three games remaining now and we need to dig deeper for positive results. As coach Delron would say, ‘We need to grind’.
Varsity Football: Your supporters are very important in KZN. And UKZN is known for hosting a very difficult atmosphere for the opponents who come to your home games. But the disappointing results might be causing your fans to lose hope. What is your message to the supporters of UKZN ahead of your last home game of this season?
Radebe: Indeed our fans are very important to us, their support has been fantastic and is truly appreciated. We also understand their frustrations at this point, it’s normal when a team is not producing positive results and honestly, we are trying our best to make them happy. We urge our fans not to lose hope in the team and these are times where we need them the most, especially this coming Thursday as it is our last home game of this season.
Varsity Football: Any message to your next opponents (UFS) this week? And to your remaining opponents you will still meet?
Radebe: UFS is a good team but they are not going to have it easy down in Durban. In fact, no team is going to have it easy against us. The last two games may be away games for us but we will treat them as home games and just play our game like normal.
Varsity Football: Thank you Thando, good luck.
Ultimately, UKZN will be looking to upset some of their remaining opponents (UFS, Tuks and UJ) in their quest to finally capping their much improved performances with positive results.
UKZN take on Kovsies at the Howard College Rugby Stadium at 18:30 this Thursday.
You can get information on how to get tickets here.
By Mpendulo Letsoalo.
