Apart from reigniting old rivalries, the Varsity Netball semifinals will also be exact replays of last year’s play-offs.
There is never much need for hype when Kovsies play NWU-Pukke and UP-Tuks face Maties in any sport, and this time there is the added incentive of a place in the Varsity Netball Final on the line.
Last year it was the same teams at the same venues, with Kovsies and Tuks both winning at home to qualify for the main event which saw the Bloemfontein side claim their second consecutive title.
We took a closer look at each match and some interesting facts regarding both.
Kovsies v Pukke
– Nine of the current Kovsies team featured in last year’s semifinal win against Pukke, while seven of the current Pukke squad played in that match too.
– Karla Mostert from Kovsies has played Varsity Netball for Kovsies from 2013. Her sister Tanya has also played Varsity Netball since 2013 alongside her sister.
– This will be Karla’s last Varsity Netball tournament as she will be over the age restriction of 25, for Varsity Sport in 2016.
– The tallest player in the Kovsies team is the experienced Danelle Willemse at 1.90m while the tallest Pukke player is their new, young goal shooter – Sigi Burger at 1.93m.
– Kovsies’ Rieze Straeuli is the daughter of former Springbok player and coach Rudolph Straeuli.
Tuks v Maties
– Seven of the current Maties side played in the semifinal against Tuks last year, while only three Tuks players from last year will feature on Monday night.
– Tuks goal shooter Lenize Potgieter was part of the Protea National netball team at the Netball World Cup in Australia in August where she managed an impressive goal average of 95%.
– The tallest player in the Tuks team is their goal shooter – Ine-Mari Venter @ 1.91m, while in the Maties team their, goal shooter Nélandre Mostert stands tallest at @ 1.86m.
– Maties coach, Christine Behan, is daughter of former Springbok rugby coach Andre Markgraaff.
