With the 2019 Varsity Netball season reaching ‘crunch time’, a player like Khanyisa Chawane could be the difference for defending champions Kovsies.
Chawane, fondly known as Kacey, brings a special type of experience to the relatively young 2019 Kovsies squad after being part of the Proteas squad since 2018.
Her now-bright netball career started at the age of nine when she started playing the sport at Laerskool Drakensig in Hoedspruit, Limpopo. Now, 14 years later, she finds herself in her fifth year at the University of the Free State studying a BSc in Geography and Agrometerology, and playing an integral part in the success of the Kovsies side as they try to defend their Varsity Netball title. As a wing attack and centre, Chawane is currently playing in her fourth Varsity Netball tournament for Kovsies and, no less, has her name on the Gilbert match ball courtesy of being the reigning Player of the Tournament.
In 2018, she was selected, along with teammate Meagan Roux, for the first time as part of the Proteas squad to play in the Quad Series against New Zealand, Australia and England. She made her debut for the national side on 15 September 2018 in their match against the Australian Diamonds and not looked back.
This year, she shone while playing the biggest stage in world netball at the Netball World Cup in Liverpool, where the Proteas exceeded all expectations, making it to the semi-finals and ultimately ending fourth.
“It was one of the best experiences playing on the biggest stage of netball, competing against the best and actually putting up a good performance,” Chawane tells varsitysportssa.com
The 23-year-old explains that her Varsity Netball career helped her in her journey to the Proteas because the competition between the universities is always intense and it places pressure on the players, allowing them to learn how to cope with playing under pressure. In terms of the World Cup and what experience she has brought back with her, she explained that she learnt to play good quality netball under pressure which she now handles much better, and it helped her to improve her intensity during games.
She will once again need to call on that steely focus on Monday, when Kovsies meet Maties in the semi-final following an epic clash this past week between the same two teams.
When asked what she thought her team needs to do to secure a place back in the final, Chawane said, “we need to believe that we can, play the quality of netball we always do and, most of all, enjoy what we do.”
While the Kovsies-Maties semi-final will be broadcast live on SuperSport 210 from 17:00, tickets to be inside the Callie Human Hall are available on the Varsity Sports App or here: https://varsitysportsa.plankton.mobi/. Alternatively, follow match updates on social media @VarsityNetball.
By Mary Gordon
