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20 October 2020 | Story Tom Ferreira and Jóhann Thormählen | Photo Blue Bulls Company
Pote Human.
The former Free State forward and coach, Pote Human, is coming back ‘home’. He has been appointed as the new FNB Shimlas head coach for the 2021 Varsity Cup competition and will be in charge of the rugby team for the second time.
According to Human, he has always had a ‘soft spot’ for the Free State, where he coached at club, university, and provincial level.

The experienced coach, who coached the Bulls Super Rugby team in 2019 and 2020, will already be at the University of the Free State (UFS) on 2 November 2020 to start preparing the FNB Shimlas for the Varsity Cup. He takes over from the former Springbok flank, Hendro Scholtz, who is no longer available as head coach due to work pressure. Scholtz will continue to be a FNB Shimlas assistant coach.

Free State ties 

Human, who has a long association with Free State rugby, has been involved as a coach with teams such as the Bulls, Griquas, Tuks, and the Ricoh Black Rams in Japan.

He says he is very excited about the new challenge. “Bloemfontein has wonderful people and the FNB Shimlas have a great management team. I have known Jaco (Swanepoel), who coached my son Gerhard at Grey College, since my years as Shimla coach.”

The former loose forward coached the Shimlas from 2000 to 2004. “I am particularly proud that the Shimlas won the FNB Super Bowl tournament (similar to the Varsity Cup), the Bloemfontein club championship trophy (Stadsbeker), and the National Club Championships in 2004.

“Several of the young men who played for Shimlas at the time, including Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis, Gurthrö Steenkamp, CJ van der Linde, Ruan Pienaar, and Wian du Preez, later became Springboks.”

Human was replaced by the former Bok coach Jake White as the Bulls head coach in May. The Bulls, under Human’s leadership, finished as the leading South African team on the log in Super Rugby in 2019, and advanced to the quarterfinals.

A seasoned coach

He will now give back where it all started. Human played two matches for the Free State senior team in 1979 as an U19 player, and again played for the province from 1989 to 1993 – a total of 82 matches, 64 of them as captain. He also played 116 games for Eastern Province.

His coaching career began in 1994 as forwards coach for the Free State under the late Nelie Smith.
The Free Staters reached the Currie Cup final that year, where they lost to the then Transvaal in Bloemfontein. Human then coached the Police Rugby Club in Bloemfontein before joining the Shimlas in 2000.

“Pote is a seasoned coach who will bring something new to the team,” says Swanepoel, Head of Rugby Coaching and High-Performance Sports at the UFS. “As a former Shimla coach, he also knows the culture of the team. The UFS FNB Young Guns was the leading team in the Varsity Cup for U20 teams this year, so there is ample talent for him to work with.”

An investment in the future 

Jerry Segwaba, President of the Free State Rugby Union, says Human’s appointment is an investment in the future. “The FNB Shimlas have always been an important link in the Free State rugby chain, which starts at schools and extends to university and club rugby to professional rugby.”

“Pote and his coaching team will play an important role in developing quality players for the Cheetahs’ senior teams. We welcome him back home and wish him all the best.”

Ryno Opperman, chairman of the board of the Free State Cheetahs, also has a high regard for him. Opperman played under Human as Free State captain.

“He is the right man at the right time for the job,” he says. “His appointment is a vote of confidence in the future of Free State rugby. The Free State Cheetahs are the Currie Cup champions and must keep on developing talent for the future.”
“It is encouraging to see players and coaches such as Pote, Ruan Pienaar, and Frans Steyn returning to their roots in the Free State.”

News Archive

Spring graduation and diploma ceremonies
2010-09-17

The University of the Free State (UFS) has conferred 566 grade, 41 doctoral degrees and 274 diplomas at the spring graduation and diploma ceremonies. 

The two honorary doctoral degrees were conferred on Prof. Kalie Strydom and Dr Monty Jones. The event took place in die Callie Human Centre on the Main Campus. 

The UFS Management and personnel congratulates all our graduates on this achievement!
New UFS Chancellor confers his first degrees

The new Chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS), Dr Khotso Mokhele, conferred the first degrees since he has taken up the position as Chancellor. The UFS awarded 266 degrees and 20 doctorates to students from the Faculties of the Humanities, Health Sciences, Education, Law and Theology during its Spring graduation ceremony on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein today. Pictured at the ceremony, from the left, are: Dr Mokhele and Prof. Jonathan Jansen (Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS).
Photo: Mangaliso Radebe
 
UFS awards doctoral degree to 93-year-old graduate

This week Dr Anna de Jager received her doctoral degree in Religious Studies: Biblical and Religious Studies, during the Spring graduation ceremony of the University of the Free State (UFS) that took place in the Callie Human Centre on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein. Dr De Jager was the star of the day because she was the oldest person (93) who received her qualification during this graduation ceremony. The theme of her thesis is: Die belewing van geloofsekerheid by die Gereformeerde Afrikaanssprekende adolessente leerder.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

 
UFS honours an acclaimed educational researcher

The University of the Free State (UFS) conferred an Honorary Doctorate to Prof. Andries Hermanus (Kalie) Strydom during the Spring graduation ceremony held at the Callie Human Centre on the Main Campus today. Prof. Strydom is an alumnus and former academic of the UFS. His academic career can best be described as a lifetime of dedication to accountable research aimed at the advancement of higher education in South Africa. He is an acclaimed researcher in the field of higher education – nationally and internationally. His work over the last 30 years has not only been about supporting transformation in the education sector and specifically higher education, but also about capacity building of staff and supporting equity expectations without compromising quality.
Photo: Mangaliso Radebe

 
UFS confers another honorary doctorate

The University of the Free State (UFS) conferred another Honorary Doctorate today, this time on Dr Monty Jones (pictured), a Sierra Leonean who spent the last 32 years of his career in Africa working in international agricultural research for development institutions. Dr Jones is the Executive Director of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and co-winner of the prestigious 2004 World Food Prize. The UFS also awarded 300 degrees and 21 doctorates to students from the Faculties of Economic and Management Sciences and Natural and Agricultural Sciences; and 274 diplomas were conferred on students from all the faculties during the Spring graduation and diploma ceremonies on the Main Campus.
Photo: Mangaliso Radebe

 
UFS reaches another milestone in Sign Language

The University of the Free State (UFS) has become the first university in South Africa to award a Ph.D. in South African Sign Language. This honour was bestowed upon Dr Philemon Akach (pictured), Head of the Department of South African Sign Language at the UFS, during the Spring graduation and diploma ceremonies on the Main Campus. The UFS is also the first university in the country to have a fully-fledged and dedicated Department of South African Sign Language and it was the first university on the continent to offer Sign Language as an academic course in 1999.
Photo: Mangaliso Radebe

 
Proud day for UFS parent as daughter obtains first degree

On Thursday, 16 September 2010, Ms Rebecca Mohatlane from the University of the Free State (UFS) Student Academic Services had a day every mother dreams about when her daughter obtained her first degree. Puleng Mohatlane obtained a Baccalaureus Administrationis degree from the UFS’s Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences during this year’s September graduation ceremony. Puleng is currently continuing her studies at the UFS, working towards obtaining an honours degree.
Photo: Christiaan van der Merwe
 
Second generation student at Chemistry obtains doctorate degree

The Department of Chemistry at the University of the Free State (UFS) bore witness to a special event on Thursday, 16 September 2010 when another Conradie of the department received her doctoral degree. Marianne Conradie, daughter of Prof. Jeanet Conradie of the department, obtained her doctoral degree during the UFS’s 2010 Spring graduation ceremony. Adding to the already tight family connections, Prof. Conradie also acted as the promoter for Marianne’s thesis titled Rhodium and Iron complexes and transition states: A computational spectroscopic and electrochemical study.
Photo: Susan Conradie
 
Eastern Cape MEC obtains diploma at UFS

A member of the Eastern Cape’s Executive Committee (MEC), Mr Sicelo Gqobana, was one of the 800 graduates obtaining degrees or diplomas during the September 2010 graduation ceremonies at the University of the Free State (UFS). Currently serving as the Eastern Cape MEC for Local Government and Traditional affairs in the province, where he has been involved in politics since the 1990s. Mr Gqobana is also a former Chief Whip in the Provincial Legislature. Mr Gqobana, originally a teacher, obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Governance and Political Transformation from the UFS on Thursday, 16 September 2010.
Photo: Christiaan van der Merwe.
 

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