Sixty minutes will decide the fate of the NWU this coming Monday, 24 September when they face their arch-rivals, Kovsies, in a do-or-die Varsity Netball encounter.
The NWU will have to win this huge match in Bloemfontein in front of Kovsies’ resurgent home crowd in what will be a proverbial quarter-final for the Potchefstroom players. Failure to do so will see Elsunet du Plessis’ team bow out before the semi-final stage this year. This will almost be unthinkable considering that NWU has competed in the past three Varsity Netball finals, winning the title twice in 2015 and 2016.

Kovsies has had a fantastic campaign thus far and is on top of the table, having played consistent netball. Their main weapons are goal shooter, Alicia Puren, Rieze Straeuli on wing attack and the ever-impressive defensive duo of Khomotso Mamburu and Tanya Mostert. Kovsies’ head coach, Burta de Kock, also has years of experience to her name and will make sure her team is tactically ready for this encounter.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, NWU is in fifth place, just outside the playoff places. The head coach, Elsunet du Plessis is facing a tough introduction to Varsity Netball as a coach and will need her side, filled with a mix of youth and experience, to put in a complete performance. NWU is still without the regular starters, Romé Dreyer, Sigi Burger and Monique Reyneke, who are on Proteas duty.

This will certainly make the job against Kovsies much harder. It will be imperative that goal shooter, Claudia van den Berg and goal attack, Jessica du Plessis fire on all cylinders.
Jomari Myburgh has also shown her stature in the middle of the court this year and, together with Didintle Keebine, will need to push the NWU forward efficiently to create scoring opportunities.
One aspect that has been worrisome is the lack of experience in the NWU defence but Leonie Maree has held her own in her first year of the Varsity Netball competition.
According to Du Plessis, her side will need to stick to their game plan against Kovsies and play disciplined netball.
‘We will need to keep the ball in the circle and make sure that we capitalise on all our opportunities against Kovsies,’ she added.
The match will start at 19:00 and will be live on Supersport 210