A lot of people are still talking about the unexpected upset by the Orange Army over the two-time winning UFS-Kovsies on Monday. This was the first time UJ achieved such a result against the team from the Free State, since the beginning of Varsity Netball. Such upsets make for an exciting and unpredictable tournament.
This clearly shows that the UJ team has improved and now the other teams will take note. Who would have ever thought that Kovsies would have only won half of their matches after six rounds of the competition and end up missing out on a place in the top four of Varsity Netball?
I wonder if we will see the same kind of upsets at the upcoming Diamond Challenge between the Spar Proteas, the President’s 12, Zimbabwe and Uganda from 2 October to 5 October at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, at the Westville campus? I hope both South African teams will not underestimate their opponents and end up with egg on their faces.
It is a great idea that Netball South Africa have decided to have two teams for this competition this year. One team can be a feeder for the other, but players will all be getting a chance to don the Green and Gold and represent their county. It will also make things easier for selectors, not having a back-to-back tournaments; there will be a big pool of players to choose from.
NMMU are also a side that are turning heads in this year’s campaign, although there are some areas that they need to work on. The confidence in their play shows that there is growth, even with the new younger players that have been introduced into the fold. I am now looking forward to seeing more of their players enter the national set up in the future. Their defeat of Pukke last night shows just how much potential and quality they possess.
I am still concerned with VUT and UCT’s slow growth in the competition. They can’t be the whipping girls of the competition every year. Their confidence will grow when they give the big guns a run for their money in matches, that is what is needed for the game to grow, for the interest to be more intense and for rivalry to be more fierce.
I am off to show my colours at the Rembrandt Hall on Monday for the last group matches. In the meantime, stay on side!
BY Busisiwe Mokwena, Daily Sun and Sunday Sun Sports Reporter
