Kelly Minnie
This year has been a good year for sports at the NWU. The NWU ended the season by winning the Athletics and Hockey Varsity Cup, were the NWU female team competed. With some ups and downs, our rugby team ended third on the log, but a good result nevertheless.
After the University of Pretoria, TUKS, had been the reigning champions for three years, the NWU Athletics side brought this to an end. The NWU won both legs of the competition in Potchefstroom and Stellenbosch.
They also came back with some record-breaking athletes. NWU long jumper Eljone Kruger was named Victrix Ludorum after breaking her Varsity record with a winning leap of 6.49m, improving her previous mark by four centimetres.
“I’m just so glad to be able to do it in front of the home crowd. It really was an amazing event,” Kruger said.
The Varsity Cup hockey team is alternated every year between the male and female team. In 2019 the NWU female team had the opportunity to represent the university.
While TUKS ended as the winners for 2018, the NWU female team showed that they have what it takes to bring the trophy home. NWU overcame a determined Maties side to win the final 2-1 at the Maties Astro turf in Stellenbosch.
The match failed to produce any goals in normal time and was eventually decided on penalties.
NWU captain, Charné Maddocks, said after the match that their hard work had paid off.
“We put in the hard work. We have been hard at work since the 14th of January already so I think the hard work has paid off. I am super proud that we actually made it through to the final and yes, the best team won,” she told SuperSport’s Fiso Mazibuko, at the post-match presentation.
Varsity Cup 2019 Finals highlights
The NWU rugby team's performance in the 2019 Varsity Cup was an up-and-down one.
According to Mervyn Taylor, head of the NWU Rugby Institute, the team qualified for the semifinals with one game in hand against Wits.
They ended the game with a 74-15 victory, raising the spirits for the semifinals. The semifinals face-off was against TUKS on their home field, leaving NWU behind and third on the log with a 24-18 loss.
Evardi Boshoff, Pienaar van Niekerk and Reuben du Plooy are among the players who have been taking the field for the NWU team. They have the passion and drive for the game.
"I am very honoured to have been a part of this team," said Boshoff.
Overall it has been a really good season for the NWU sides in these sporting codes.
Comments