Kovsies are doing some proper homework on UJ before they take on the visitors in their Varsity Netball encounter in the Callie Human hall on the campus of the University of the Free State on Monday.
Kovsies come off some good victories over Tuks and TUT after they came up short against NWU Puk in the first round of the inaugural netball competition. UJ boast only one victory, against the University of Cape Town, but narrow losses against NMMU (57-52) and Maties (47-46) means that Kovsies can hardly underestimate the visitors.
“UJ is a really strong side and have shown in the first couple of rounds that you just can’t underestimate them. Therefore we will definitely do our home word and watch a couple of their videos just to make sure we know what we are up against,” former Proteas and now Kovsies coach Burta de Kock said.
Kovsies have the luxury of playing their next three fixtures in the competition at home and will look to make use of their home ground advantage. After the UJ game, Kovsies will play host to the University of Cape Town and Maties before they get back on the road to take on NMMU.
“We are lucky to have our home venue to our advantage the next couple of weeks. The University of the Free State management know how important it is for us and we are thankful that they have made the venue available to us even though some of the learners are writing tests,” De Kock said.
Another positive along with their home advantage is of course the return of their Proteas players Maryka Holtzhausen, Karla Mostert and Adéle Niemand after the national side’s tour to England for of series of three tests abroad. They will not only bring a heap of experience with them, but will help settle the nerves of some of the younger players.
“Maryka, Karla and Adéle will be landing in Bloemfontein on Sunday afternoon and could very well play a part in Monday’s game against UJ. Luckily the time difference in England is only one our so the players did not really need to adjust all that much in that regard. We look forward to having them back in the system,” De Kock said.
