The battle for Varsity hockey supremacy reaches fever pitch this weekend, when the last round-robin matches and play-off games take place at the astro field of the University of Pretoria.
Three teams – Kovsies, Maties and Tuks – will arrive at the hockey field with a mathematical chance to join Pukke in Sunday’s final. The team from Potchefstroom booked their place after only five round-robin matches, and is still unbeaten.
Kovsies has the inside lane in this battle. The Bloemfontein team and Pukke were the most consistent contenders, and deservedly sit at the top op the points table.
Pukke leads the way with 25 points, while Kovsies has 21 . This puts the Free State team in a position to take the first place, if they beat UJ and score four goals on Sunday, and Pukke lose to UCT.
Both these scenarios are unlikely, though.
Kovsies will surely not approach Sunday’s action with that in mind – they will know full well that a victory over their Johannesburg rivals will be enough to put them in the final.
Should they lose it opens the door for Maties, who has 19 points and can pass them on the log with a victory agains Wits.
If the Witsies beat the girls from Stellenbosch, it would be the biggest shock of the competition – especially since Maties has recovered from a slow start to the competition and played wonderful hockey in their last four games.
For Tuks (17 points) to reach the final, both Kovsies and Maties would have to lose, and the Pretoria team would need a bonus point for four goals. They have an excellent chance of achieving that against NMMU, but will know well that might not be enough.
Tuks will definitely miss their goalkeeper, Phume Mbanda, and striker Lilian du Plessis, who are currently in China for a Protea training camp.
Pukke will go into the final as big favourites, regardless of who they meet. They recorded five wins and a draw in their six round-robin matches, and have played some scintillating hockey, especially thanks to the talents of strikers Sulette Damons and Celia Evans. Luckily for them both are available, since they decided not to go to China for the Proteas training camp.
Kovsies will have to do without Tanya Britz, but can count on the services of the national under-21 captain, Izelle Lategan.
Maties will lean heavily on the inspirational contribution of the national players Illse Davids, Farah Fredericks and Quanita Bobbs.
Schedule:
Sunday 19 May: 14:30 Wits vs Maties; 16:00: Kovsies vs UJ; 17:30: Pukke vs UCT (on SS5); 19:00: Tuks vs NMMU (on SS5).
Monday 20 May: 15:00: Position 7 vs Position 8; 16:30: Position 5 vs Position 6; 18:00: Position 3 vs Position 4; 19:30: Position 1 vs Position 2. All final matches live on SuperSport 5!
