The seven previous winners of Varsity Netball will feature on a striking banner at Stellenbosch University’s Coetzenburg Indoor Centre during the 2021 tournament. Here’s how those titles were won …

2013 – KOVSIES

Kovsies proved that winning the important matches is what really counts by turning a couple of earlier losses into victories against the same opposition in the knockout stage.

Kovsies finished third on the log after two losses, against NWU (47-60) and the Madibaz (41-52). But a week after the Madibaz defeat, the Free State students achieved a comprehensive 61-49 win to reach the final where unbeaten NWU were waiting in Potchefstroom.

Kovsies were significantly strengthened by the return of their three national players (Karla Pretorius, Adéle Niemand and Maryka Holtzhausen) from national duty. Pretorius was the FNB Player of the Match, which Kovsies won 44-40.

2014 – KOVSIES

Kovsies were again able to perform when the pressure cooker was at its highest.

Tuks topped the log, unbeaten, and were the hot favourites for the final at home. Apart from their 54-48 victory over Kovsies, they had won all their matches by more than 20 goals. They also had four Proteas at the time (Melissa Kotze, Lenize Potgieter, Lindie Lombard and Vanes-Mari Proudfoot) to Kovsies’ one (Pretorius).

But in the final, it was the visitors who handled the pressure better to walk away as 49-42 winners. Kovsies’ Lauren-Lee Christians was the FNB Player of the Match and became a Protea the following year.

2015 – NWU

The 2015 tournament had a very similar tale as the previous one. This time it was Kovsies who seemed destined for a third successive title before suffering their first and only loss in the knockout stage.

NWU, who lost three matches in the league stage, kept their best performance for the semi-final in Bloemfontein. Kovsies could simply not contain NWU goal attack Renske Stoltz. She and Sigi Burger debuted for the Proteas in 2016.

In the other semi, Tuks also lost against the odds to Maties. However, the Stellenbosch students could not match NWU in the final and went down 37-50.

2016 – NWU

There was absolute heartache for Tuks in the 2016 Varsity Netball final in Pretoria when they lost by a single goal (55-56).

Scholtz and her fellow shooter Burger kept cool heads towards the end to sink their attempts at goal to clinch the nail biter. The final quarter started at 42-42.

Tuks were unbeaten going into the final. They smashed the Madibaz 87-22 in their semi-final, while NWU booked their spot in the decider with a 61-50 win against Maties.

2017 – TUKS

After falling short in two previous finals and two semi-finals, Tuks eventually went all the way.

The final, against NWU in Pretoria, went right down to the wire again, but this time the Pretoria students had fighting spirit and a calm and collected shooter in Ine-Marí Venter, who became a Protea the following year.

The final score was 43-41. NWU made a huge comeback in the third quarter from a 19-27 deficit to lead 35-33, but that probably took too much out of them for the final 15 minutes.

It was a night for a big party in the capital.

2018 – KOVSIES

After two previous away finals, Kovsies made their home-ground advantage count. In front of a packed crowd, they came out on top against Tuks (63-59) in a high-scoring affair after a great final power play. Kovsie goal attack Lefébre Rademan was prominent and earned selection for the Proteas in 2019.

The top teams struggled to build momentum. They were without their Proteas for a large part, while the national students were also in action at the World University Championship during the competition.

The champions suffered a shock defeat to the Madibaz in the league stage, but had the upper hand in all their other clashes.

2019 – TUKS

Tuks became the first team to top the log and win the final. Even though the score (48-43) suggests a close affair, Tuks were always in control against Maties in Pretoria.

The week before Tuks had been way too strong for NWU (57-38) while Maties surprised Kovsies in Bloemfontein with a narrow 62-60 win.

Tuks captain Tshina Mdau (2020) and shooter Chantelle Swart (2021) later got their Proteas colours.

By Ruan Bruwer