The Callie Human Hall in Bloemfontein was a hive of activity on the last day of the three bumper weekends of the 2022 Varsity Netball tournament. And what a day it was, with Protea captain Bongi Msomi at the helm of one of the biggest upsets since the start of the competition in 2013.
Msomi’s UJ defied all odds and sent Tuks packing before the semi-finals for the first time in history. The Orange Army now get their shot against Maties next Monday (10 October) for a coveted place in 2022 final. The other semi-final will be contested between defending champions Kovsies and NWU.
Maties made sure they finished at the top of the log with an easy win over UWC while Kovsies had to dig deep to overcome NWU. In a bottom-of-the-log clash, the Madibaz had no trouble in beating TUT.
Madibaz close the campaign with a comprehensive victory over TUT
The Madibaz saved the best for last as they completely out-played TUT 75-35 in the two teams’ final outing of the 2022 Varsity Netball competition. This means the Madibaz finished 6th while TUT occupied the last spot on the log.
The first 15 minutes produced a quick physical battle with TUT’s Londiwe Mbuyazi the first casualty carried off the court. A single goal separated the two teams after the first quarter.
Madibaz captain Mothira Mohammad impressed the way she carried her tiny stature by taking long shots at goal and taking control of her space in the circle. Spectacular saves from her goalkeeper Kelly du Toit on the other end of the court enabled the Madibaz to stretch their lead considerably and limit TUT to only four goals in the third quarter.
TUT was slow to step onto the court for the last quarter with Manila Masinga next to find herself injured after a forceful contention for the ball. TUT looked demotivated and broken.
Bianca Blom (Madibaz): “It was a great match, especially since it was my last one. The girls enjoyed it!”
Quarter scores: 15-14| 35-21 | 55-25 | 75-35
Match stats: Goal Percentage – Madibaz 83% TUT 70%| Intercepts – Madibaz 11 TUT 3 | Penalties – Madibaz 65 TUT 52
Player of the match: Bianca Blom (Madibaz)
Maties secure semi-final spot with a win against UWC
For the second year running, Maties ended the round-robin matches of the 2022 Varsity Netball tournament undefeated when they brushed past UWC 65-33. UWC’s lone victory came against TUT in round 3 in Pretoria.
There was no pressure on Maties in the battle of the Cape Town teams. However, as it is known by now, Maties coach Zanele Mdodana’s strategy is not to regard any match as less important. After only managing three goals in the first quarter, UWC gained some momentum before half-time but they were still way off the mark.
Despite UWC upping the tempo and exhibiting some flashes of exciting play, the Maroon Machine kept going through the motions to march right into next weekend’s semi-finals.
Syntiche Kabuya (Maties): “My attitude today was just to be positive and go into the game with a good attitude, support the team and cheer them on.”
Quarter scores: 20-3 | 35-16 | 47-26 | 65-33
Match stats: Goal Percentage – Maties 81% UWC 73%| Intercepts – Maties 16 UWC 9 | Penalties – Maties 57 UWC 53
Player of the match: Syntiche Kabuya (Maties)
UJ create history with an epic victory over Tuks
The penultimate match of the 2022 Varsity Netball tournament between UJ and Tuks certainly lived up to expectations with victory non-negotiable for both teams.
In the end, it was cheering for UJ and tears for Tuks as the Orange Army’s 53-51 victory took them to the last four for the first time in the competition’s history. It is also the first time the former champions from Pretoria won’t contest the semi-finals.
UJ blasted out of the gate and scored a handful of unanswered goals before Tuks found their rhythm. The atmosphere was electric with UJ supporters singing and cheering their team on to a narrow lead at the end of the first 15 minutes. Tuks outscored their opponents the in the run-up to half-time but still couldn’t get their noses in front.
The third quarter produced stellar play with the lead exchanging hands several times. Bongi Msomi’s charges kept their cool in the last 15 minutes of the closely-fought contest and when the final whistle went, jubilations erupted as UJ realised what they managed to achieve.
Nosihle Mkhwanazi (UJ): “I’m not going to lie, I was so scared because this was the match to show us if we are going to the semi-finals or not. We won, so I’m happy now. The Orange Army means so much to us, we appreciate their support.”
Quarter scores: 12-9| 26-25 | 38-37 | 53-51
Match stats: Goal Percentage – UJ 93% Tuks 87%| Intercepts – UJ 12 Tuks 5 | Penalties – UJ 75 Tuks 60
Player of the match: Tarle Mathe (UJ)
Kovsies get the better of NWU in a close contest
Kovsies and NWU ended the round-robin stage of the 2022 Varsity Netball tournament on a high when the defending champions beat the Eagles 65-60 in a pulsating encounter. Next weekend it could be more of the same as the two teams face off in the second semi-final.
The enthusiastic crowd went into over-drive when Kovsies scored the first goal but they were on the edge of their seats when NWU went ahead at the end of the first quarter. The next 15 minutes was a see-saw battle Kovsies just managed to win.
Sikholiwe Mdletshe injected the extra energy the Kovsies’ midcourt needed in the second half, putting in her third player of the match performance in the last couple of weeks. For the last 10 minutes, NWU just couldn’t keep up with a determined Kovsies who wanted to give their home fans the victory.
Sikholiwe Mdletshe (Kovsies): “I’m tired but I knew what they needed from me, I just had to be there for my team. This was massive for us, we didn’t do ourselves justice at the beginning of the tournament, but we have to trust the process.”
Quarter scores: 14-15| 29-28 | 44-47 | 65-60
Match stats: Goal Percentage – Kovsies 82% NWU 87%| Intercepts – Kovsies 12 NWU 10 | Penalties – Kovsies 35 NWU 62
Player of the match: Sikholiwe Mdletshe (Kovsies)
VARSITY NETBALL LOG
PLAY-OFFS – 10 OCTOBER
17:00 – Maties vs UJ (semi-final 1)
19:00 – Kovsies vs NWU (semi-final 2)
*All games are broadcast live on SuperSport.
By Jurgen Smith
