Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
31 January 2018 Photo UFS Archive
Young squad did it for Shimlas
The 11th season of this popular rugby competition started on Monday 29 January, with the scoreboard favouring Shimlas on 19 points versus the 17 points of Tuks.

The head coach of the Shimla rugby team is confident that the skills level of the players will stand them in good stead for the upcoming Varsity Cup.

The 11th season of this popular rugby competition started on Monday 29 January, with the scoreboard favouring Shimlas on 19 points versus the 17 points of Tuks. The Shimlas faced last year’s champions, Tuks, in Pretoria. 

The rest of the 2018 Varsity Cup season will have the Shimlas playing on 5 February against Maties (away); 12 February against Wits (home); 19 February against Ikeys (away); 26 February against UJ (home); 12 March against NWU (away); 19 March against Madibaz (home); and 26 March against CUT (home).

Head coach, Hendro Scholtz, believes his players have the ability to play at a high tempo for 80 minutes.

“We don’t have the biggest boys around, so we rely on our speed and ability to throw the ball around. You can focus on your defence as much as you like, but tries will be scored. You simply have to ensure that you outscore your opponents,” said Hendro.

With up to nine players from last year’s squad not available again in 2018, the Shimlas are entering the competition with a very young and inexperienced team. According to Hendro, the big dropout since last year is due to a number of reasons, such as students who finished their studies.

“We will have to battle this Varsity Cup with a very young team, of which 10 players were still U19 last year. We faced the University of Johannesburg in a warm-up match, and for many of them it was an eye-opener. The speed and intensity is at a higher level than they were used to at U19 level,” said Hendro, a former Shimla himself.

He will be assisted by Melusi Mthetwa and Jaco Swanepoel.

* The Shimla squad:
Backs: Sango Xamlashe, Carel-Jan Coetzee, Kurt Eybers, Dian Badenhorst, Frank van Heerden, Francois Agenbach, Arrie Pretorius, Rewan Kruger, Zinedine Booysen, Nakkie Naudé, Lubabalo Dobela, William Eybers, Francois Pretorius, Aya Oliphant, Charl Pretorius, Ruan Henning, Sechaba Matsoele, Athi Halom, Jarik van der Walt, Tiaan Schutte, Marnus Boshoff. Forwards: Johan Kotze (captain), Louis Cloete, Nardus Erasmus, JC Janse van Vuuren, Ruan Roelofse, Magau Mabokela, Jano Botha, Helgard Meyer, Wentzel Vorster, Hanno Snyman, Marco van der Merwe, Merwyn Roos, Raymond Woest, Sibabalo Qoma, Nathan Jordan, Benji Jan van Vuuren, Menzi Nhlabathi, Janco Cloete, Kobus Lombaard, Bertie de Bod, Rholane Ncubuka, Henk Pretorius.

News Archive

Land a fertile field for historians
2017-12-25


 Description: Dr Admire Mseba Tags: Dr Admire Mseba 

Dr Admire Mseba, historian and researcher in the International Studies Group (ISG).
Photo: Charl Devenish

The use of land and the economics of Southern Africa at present is a contentious subject at almost every level of society. A historian and researcher who revels in happenings in these two areas, is Dr Admire Mseba, a postdoctoral research fellow in the International Studies Group (ISG) at the UFS.

Dr Mseba grew up in the Mberengwa region in southern Zimbabwe, known for cattle farming and mineral mining. While at the University of Zimbabwe, he became interested in economic history and archaeology, and completed his PhD at the University of Iowa in the USA. During his time there, Dr Mseba also became passionate about environmental history.

A historian's ability to think and engage critically on diverse subjects drew Dr Mseba to his field. Currently, he is busy with three research projects. Firstly, he is working on a book on social relations, about access to land in Zimbabwe. He is also examining regional and national efforts to control migratory pests during the 20th century, in particular, the red locust. In collaboration with a colleague at the ISG, Dr Mseba is also researching monetary systems in central Africa, covering the present-day countries of Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Zambia.

Dr Mseba believes future research opportunities in the domains of economic and environmental history abound. For one, the land question has been very topical in Zimbabwe for more than a decade—as it is now in South Africa—and needs more scrutiny. Regarding agrarian pestilences, he indicates the recent phenomenon of armyworm invasion. “There are so many opportunities for historians to investigate. There are so many ways to think about these things and trying to put it in perspective.”

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept