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04 April 2019 | Story Ruan Bruwer | Photo Varsity Cup
Lubabalo Dobela
Flyhalf Lubabalo Dobela will be an important cog in the wheel for the Shimlas against the Maties in the semi-final stage of the Varsity Cup. He has been named Player that Rocks twice this year.
The Shimlas (University of the Free State) will go into the semi-final against the unbeaten Maties with confidence, knowing that they can compete against them, said coach Hendro Scholtz.

The Shimlas will travel to Stellenbosch for the Varsity Cup clash on Monday (8 April). They qualified for the play-offs thanks to a 38-14 victory over the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in the final round of the competition on Monday 1 April 2019.

The Free State students lost to the Maties by 59-14 two weeks ago, and although the score reflects a big hiding, the Shimlas stood tall for most of the encounter.

“With 18 minutes remaining, we trailed by only ten points (14-24). We can gain confidence from that. We learned a couple of things about them. We will have to stop their driving mall and be sharp when it comes to our discipline. They will hurt us if we concede penalties,” said Scholtz.

According to him, it is important to get off to a good start. “You often sit with students who have other things to think about apart from rugby, such as upcoming tests, which can hamper their concentration. Against UJ in the wet, it was important to play the conditions right, and I think it made the players concentrate that little bit more.”

The Shimlas won four of their eight group matches and will look back on their defeats against the Pukke and Ixias as matches that they could easily have won on another day.

It is the fifth time in the 12 years of the Varsity Cup that the Shimlas have reached the final-four stage, with one win in 2015 over the Ikeys.

The Shimlas will be without two of their key men among the forwards – the injured flank Janco Cloete and hooker Hanno Snyman.

News Archive

Fire as a management tool questionable in arid and semi-arid grassland areas
2015-03-24

Wild fire in the grassland
Photo: Supplied


The influence of fire on the ecosystem in the higher rainfall ‘‘sour’’ grassland areas of southern Africa has been well established. However, less information is available for arid and semi-arid ‘‘sweet’’ grassland areas, says Prof Hennie Snyman, Professor in the Department of Animal, Wildlife, and Grassland Sciences, about his research on the short-term impact of fire on the productivity of grasslands in semi-arid areas.

Sour and sweet grassland areas can be defined as receiving either higher or lower than approximately 600 mm of rainfall respectively. In quantifying the short-term impact of fire on the productivity of grasslands in semi-arid areas, a South African case study (experimental plot data) was investigated.

“Burned grassland can take at least two full growing seasons to recover in terms of above- and below-ground plant production and of water-use efficiency (WUE). The initial advantage in quality (crude protein) accompanying fire does not neutralise the reduction in half of the above-ground production and poor WUE occurring in the first season following the fire.

“The below-ground growth is more sensitive to burning than above-ground growth. Seasonal above-ground production loss to fire, which is a function of the amount and distribution of rainfall, can vary between 238 and 444 kg ha -1 for semi-arid grasslands. The importance of correct timing in the utilisation of burned semi-arid grassland, with respect to sustained high production, cannot be overemphasised,” said Prof Snyman.

In arid and semi-arid grassland areas, fire as a management tool is questionable if there is no specific purpose for it, as it can increase ecological and financial risk management in the short term.

Prof Snyman said: “More research is needed to quantify the impact of runaway fires on both productivity and soil properties, in terms of different seasonal climatic variations. The information to date may already serve as valuable guidelines regarding grassland productivity losses in semi-arid areas. These results can also provide a guideline in claims arising from unforeseen fires, in which thousands of rands can be involved, and which are often based on unscientific evidence.”

For more information or enquiries contact news@ufs.ac.za

 

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