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Kovsie’s Shimlas on the rise and grind

31 December 2018 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa | Photo Supplied

Johan Kotze, captain of the Shimlas, was announced as the club’s best senior player for 2018.

The 2018 rugby year proved to be a reconstructive one for the Shimlas after they parted ways with several members of their team in 2017. A fresh and inexperienced Shimla team, branded as the youngest squad ever, came two log points short of reaching the semi-finals of the Varsity Cup. Ten of the players in the squad were still U19 last year.

Several victories

After winning three of their first four encounters, including two away fixtures, the Shimlas were set for a spot in the semi-finals, which could possibly have been a home game. The three victories were against the defending champions Tuks by 19-17, 44-24 against Wits, and a 32-27 win over Ikeys.

The Shimlas played a total of 17 matches in 2018, claiming victory in 12. They finished fourth at the University Sport South Africa (USSA) tournament and won the Mangaung Metro league.

Players of the Year

Johan Kotze, Shimla captain and prop, was titled ‘Senior Player of the Year’. In the same breath, Lubabalo Dobela and Rewan Kruger, who both played for the Junior Springboks, were jointly selected as the ‘Junior Players of the Year’.

Vishuis was named the country’s best hostel rugby team for the third consecutive year. They defeated Patria of the North-West University in the finals by 55-29.

The UFS U20 team won all four of their matches in the group stage of the Young Guns competition before they lost to Tuks in the semi-final. The Kovsie Sevens team won the bowl competition at the USSA tournament and at the Varsity Sevens they ended in 6th position.

News Archive

Professor from Cambridge University addresses young scholars

2017-07-18

In the first conference of its kind on the African continent,
the Universityof the Free State’s Bloemfontein Campus
was privileged to host the Young Scholars Initiative conference.
Photo: Siobhan Canavan

“It doesn’t matter where a concept originates from if it works. The problem arises when the concept does not work.”

These were the words of Prof Gareth Austin in his address at the Young Scholars Initiative (YSI). His keynote focused on the “Economic History in Africa’s Decolonisation and Development”.

The African economic history

Prof Austin, a professor in Economic History at the University of Cambridge, discussed how African economic history has always been about development, and also gave a brief periodisation of the economic historiography of Africa.

In his closing remarks he focused more on history and economics. “Economics is a sensible approach to take, where history matters because of the sense of context.”

Reflecting on the African experience

A total of 65 young and senior scholars from five continents attended the conference Decolonising Africa? The Economic History of Development, hosted by the YSI in partnership with the International Studies Group at the UFS.

The conference, held from 8 to 9 June 2017, provided an opportunity to reflect on the African experience from an historical perspective and to assess the current position of the continent in the global economy. It discussed new themes in development, such as the role of women, minorities, and entrepreneurs.

The conference focused on how the business community has operated in an Africa that still faces inequalities and unfair terms of trade and lacks a unified political will.

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