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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

Small-town girl dreams big
2017-02-16

Description:Andiswa Methu Tags: Andiswa Methu longdesc=

Andiswa Methu, a first-year
BCom Accounting student at
Kovsies and one of the
top-achieving matriculants
in the country.
Photo: Siobhan Canavan

Andiswa Methu will miss her mother, but will work hard to send her first salary to the woman who raised her to stand proud as one of the top-achieving matriculants in the country.

Excited to make new friends at UFS

The 17-year-old Andiswa, from Petrusburg in the Free State where she attended Ipetleng Secondary School, is a first-year student at the University of the Free State in 2017. She is studying BCom Accounting and will become part of the Welwitschia female residence on the Bloemfontein Campus.

Although she was not too keen on moving away from home, Andiswa is excited about making new friends and loves meeting new people. “I’m going to miss my mother so much and I know that this will be a different environment for me, but I’m excited for the journey that lies ahead.”

Working hard to make her mother proud

The first-year, who loves working with numbers, says she will work hard to make her mother, Nozibonelo Methu, proud. “I am going to study accounting,” she says. “My first salary will definitely go to my mother.”

 

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