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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

Investigations into incidents on the Bloemfontein Campus: 22-26 February 2016
2016-03-16

Investigations underway into incidents relating to the Varsity Cup rugby match at Xerox Shimla Park and all other criminal acts occurring during protest action

The senior leadership of the University of the Free State (UFS) commissioned a number of investigations into incidents relating to the Varsity Cup rugby match at Xerox Shimla Park on 22 February 2016, as well as into acts of criminal conduct occurring throughout the protest action in the week of 22 to 26 February 2016.

These investigations include:

1. An independent commission led by senior officials in the judiciary. The enquiry will establish the events before and leading up to the match, the tragedy on the field itself, and events immediately afterwards as the crisis spread around the campus, including the incident at Vishuis Men’s Residence the same night.
2. An inquiry about disciplinary and criminal responsibility. This includes the responsibility of students, staff where applicable, and outsiders on campus before, during and after the match, and during the protest action in the week of 22 to 26 February 2016. This will enable the university to take action for disciplinary purposes and to enable the laying of charges with the South African Police Service (SAPS) in criminal cases.
3. Led by the core team of 2006 auditors who did the first study on the transformation of the UFS, an empirical account will be provided on how far, or not, the university has come since the first comprehensive study on the subject. This report in part addresses the charge from some students or student leaders that nothing has changed or that transformation has not happened at the UFS.

The UFS Council endorsed and gave its full support to the investigations during its quarterly meeting on 11 March 2016.

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