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30 October 2019 | Story Ruan Bruwer | Photo Sonia Small
Springboks
Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, paid a special visit to the Springboks in 2018 before they faced England in Bloemfontein. From the left are Jacques Nienaber (Springbok assistant coach), Oupa Mohoje (Springbok), Prof Petersen, Rassie Erasmus (Springbok head coach), and Swys de Bruin (Springbok consultant coach at the time). De Bruin, Erasmus, Nienaber, and Mohoje are all Kovsie alumni.

Like the rest of the country, we are behind our Springboks all the way. This is what Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS), told alumnus Rassie Erasmus in a letter this week.

Prof Petersen wrote the letter to Erasmus, the head coach of the Springboks, to wish him everything of the best in the team’s preparation and for the game on Saturday (2 November 2019) at which they face England in the Rugby World Cup final in Japan.

"On behalf of the staff and students of the University of the Free State, I would like to wish you and the Springbok team all the best with your preparations this week and for the final. I know that Saturday’s match will be played with vigour and determination,” Prof Petersen wrote.

Prof Petersen said the UFS community was extremely proud of the Springboks’ achievements during the 2019 Rugby World Cup – especially with Erasmus at the helm of the team. The Boks defeated Japan in the quarter-final and Wales in the semi-final to reach their first final since 2007.

“As a former Shimla player and Kovsie Alumnus of the Year 1998, we are truly proud of what you have achieved during your career in South African rugby, and especially during the World Cup tournament. We are also proud of our other alumni – Jacques Nienaber as defence coach, and referee Jaco Peyper.”

Peyper refereed one of the quarter-finals and will be an assistant referee in the bronze medal play-off between New Zealand and Wales on 1 November 2019.

Under Erasmus the Springboks won the Rugby Championship this year, the first time since 2010. Erasmus and Nienaber have a long relationship. They met in the army in 1991. Later Nienaber served as physiotherapist with the Shimlas and Erasmus captained the team. They worked together at the Cheetahs, Cats, Stormers, Munster and now the Springboks.

News Archive

Free State takes all at the National Netball Championships for seniors
2010-06-04

 Anja Opperman
Netball at the University of the Free State (UFS) had a very successful season. The Cheetahs won gold for the first time since 2005 at the National Netball Championship for seniors that took place during the past weekend in the DF Malherbe Centre at the University of Stellenbosch. The Cheetah team consists only of Kovsies (eight Kovsies and four old Kovsies).

This year Free State won the national U.19, U.21 and senior Netball Championships.

According to Ms Burta de Kock from KovsieSport at the UFS, students from the Cheetah group work extremely hard. “The players practice every day between three to four hours. It was clear from the beginning that the players form a unit and will do everything in their power to make us proud. Their loyalty, perseverance and determination were unbelievable, she said.

The championship was a round robin and the Cheetahs easily beat the other eight provinces namely Ingwes (Mpumalanga), Crocodile (Limpopo), Unicorns (Northwest-South), Flamingos (Northern Cape), Mermaids (KZN), Tornados (Western Cape) and Thunderbirds (Gauteng).

In the semi-final the Cheetahs beat the Tornados 44-30 and they qualified for the finals. They played against the Thunderbirds, which included six Protea players, in the final. This only motivated the Cheetah players. With outstanding play and hard work they won the match 43-37 after they were behind in points.

Adéle Niemand was nominated as the best defence player, Maryka Holtzhausen the best goal player and Anja Opperman as best player of the championship.

 

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