Defending champions Kovsies will be on the hunt for a record fifth title when the 2022 Varsity Netball competition kicks off in Pretoria this weekend. The Free State team won back-to-back titles at the start of the competition (2013 and 2014) and followed it up with a third win in 2018 and a fourth in 2021.

Things are back to normal this year following the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic and fans can look forward to three bumper weekends of netball action.

Eight teams (NWU, UJ, Kovsies, UWC, TUT, Madibaz, Tuks and Maties) will play each other over seven rounds on three consecutive weekends. All 31 matches of the 2022 Varsity Netball competition will be broadcast live on SuperSport, including the final on Monday, October 17, at 19:00.

The first weekend packs in three days of action (September 17–19) at Tuks in Pretoria. The second weekend (September 25–26) sees the squads travelling to NWU in Potchefstroom, with Kovsies playing host in Bloemfontein for the last two rounds (October 2–3). The semi-finals take place on October 10 and the final a week later, on October 17, with the venues to be determined.

Here is what the coaches have to say:

Burta de Kock (Kovsies): “Our preparations have been going really well and I’m extremely proud of all the hard work the players have been putting in. We know it is not going to be an easy task and, in the end, it is going to come down to who executes the basics the best.”

Zanele Mdodana (Maties): “We are looking forward to the challenge. We are ready for a life-changing experience.”

Jenny van Dyk (Tuks): “Winning will always be a part of the equation, but we’ve done a lot of work around gaining the valuable experience in order for us to consistently give competitive performances.”

Elsunet du Plessis (NWU): “The whole team is excited about this year’s Varsity competition. The aim is to get a spot in the semi-finals.”

Nomsa Zungu (UJ): “It’s not about how many games we win, but it is about setting up our own goals and then achieving them.”

Danlee Mathews (UWC): “We would just like to play clinical, consistent netball and to do this, the basics need to be in place.”

Lana Krige (Madibaz): “Of course, we always hope for the best. If we can make it to the semi-finals, then anything can happen.”

Emily Mathosa (TUT): “Every time the team steps onto the court, the aim is to do better than before.”

For a full list of fixtures, visit https://varsitysportssa.com/varsity-netball-fixtures-results/.