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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

UFS Faculty of Health Sciences celebrates its newly qualified doctors
2016-12-09

Description: MBChB final-year students Tags: MBChB final-year students  

The UFS medical students who obtained their
qualifications Cum Laude are: front row: Dr Madeli Jonker,
Dr Corli Leonard, Dr Jacques Kok, Dr Kelly Fuller.
Back row: Dr Henco Nel, Dr Dan Holmberg,
Dr Rikus Hoogenboezem and Dr Ben van Niekerk.
Photo: Marie-Louise du Toit


“Kovsies’ doctors stand out. They go the extra mile. Go out there and be a true representative of Kovsies’ servanthood.” These were the words of Prof Gert van Zyl, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, at the annual function that was held by the School of Medicine for final-year medical students.

The function celebrates students who have obtained their MB ChB degrees, becoming qualified doctors. Prof Van Zyl went on to congratulate the students for thriving in a difficult year.  “From today onwards, your degrees are in the bag, and nobody can take that away from you,” said Prof Van Zyl.

Class of 2016 praised for their tenacity
A total of 116 students obtained the qualifications, and were acknowledged as the class that showed the most tenacity, commitment and dedication to their studies. Nine students obtained their MB ChB qualifications Cum Laude. The medical students will be graduating at the UFS Summer Graduations on 8 December 2016.

Henco Nel, Michael Linström, and Daniel Holmberg were recognised as the best overall performing students in the class of 2016. Nel received prizes for best student in the departments of Urology and Orthopaedic Surgery; Linström walked away with awards from the departments of Anaesthesiology, Family Medicine and Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and Holmberg in Internal Medicine, and Paediatrics and Child Health.

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