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31 March 2022 | Story Jóhann Thormählen | Photo ASEM Engage, C&C Photo Agency
Shimlas
The replacement Kwezi Dlamini scored one of the five tries for the Shimlas against the University of Johannesburg on Monday (28 March 2022). His wing Asanda Kunene (left) also crossed the line earlier.
The University of the Free State (UFS) Shimlas started working harder for each other.

According to Thabang Mahlasi, the Shimla captain, this is one of the reasons why his team managed to pull itself together to get back to Varsity Cup winning ways.

The UFS is back at the top of the log after two consecutive wins against the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the University of Johannesburg (UJ). And it remains on course for semi-final spot.

The Shimlas are in first place with 27 log points, followed by UCT (26), the University of Pretoria (UP) (25), and Stellenbosch University (SU) (24), making up the top four.

Although the UFS is sitting pretty after two rounds, with games against UP at Shimla Park and the Madibaz (Nelson Mandela University) in Gqeberha ahead, it wasn’t just smooth sailing.

The Shimlas defeated the University of the Western Cape (56-16), SU (50-28), and the Central University of Technology (48-27) in their first three encounters, but then lost their way by losing to Wits University (31-53) and the North-West University (22-32).

Mahlasi and his troops had to dig deep and came back with wins over UCT (58-7) and UJ (35-26) on Monday (28 March 2022) .

Lessons learnt

The Shimla leader says his side is happy with its current log position and has been rewarded for its effort so far.
But the UFS has learnt some valuable lessons along the way.

“I think in the two matches we lost, we went into those matches with a bit of comfort,” says Mahlasi.

“We now know that there is no room in this competition for being comfortable. You need to graft week in, week out, because every team is competitive. We started working harder for each other.”

Showing true character 

In Johannesburg, the Shimlas had to fight back to beat UJ 35-26 this week, after trailing 16-23 at half-time.

Mahlasi says the match was a bit scrappy and his team decided to go ‘back to their systems’.

“We had to show massive character, because the crowd wasn’t making our job out there very easy.”

We had to show massive character, because the crowd wasn’t making our job out there very easy. – Thabang Mahlasi (Shimla captain)
The UFS next play the University of Pretoria, the defending Varsity Cup champions, in Bloemfontein on Monday (4 April 2022).

According to Mahlasi, it is tough for any team coming to Shimla Park.

“The first 20 minutes will be very important. We will have to make a massive statement and play our brand of high-intensity running rugby.”

 


News Archive

Intravarsity brings Kovsie Campuses together
2012-05-09

 

Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses find each other in sport, arts and culture.

 

Intravarsity Photo Gallery
 

Intravarsity

Two campuses, one university, students coming together for a weekend filled with sport, arts and culture. That was the backdrop to Intravarsity 2012, which was held at the University of the Free State (UFS) on 4 and 5 May 2012.

Students from the Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses came together on the Main Campus to compete in soccer, netball, cross-country, basketball, debating and chess.

The Qwaqwa Campus raked up victories in soccer with their men’s and women’s teams beating their Bloemfontein counterparts. The women’s team won 3-2, while the men triumphed with 1-0.

Bloemfontein Campus beat Qwaqwa Campus 34-12 in netball, 2-0 in chess and 36-34 in basketball.

However, Intravarsity is not just about sport. Students from the two campuses also engaged in art, cultural and leadership events. These events included a musical festival with top local DJs and a leadership breakfast attended by the student leadership from both campuses.

Talking at the leadership breakfast, Prof. Kwandiwe Kondlo, Head of the Centre for Africa Studies, urged student leaders to strive for selfless leadership. “We want our student leaders to be better leaders than we are. Perhaps at one moment some of you may end up leading this country. I hope when your time comes you will save South Africa from the democratisation of shamelessness and corruption, which has gained the upper hand.”

Mr Rudi Buys, Dean of Student Affairs, told the student leaders that the institution was in crisis five years ago. “Today our campuses are together. I hope the significance of the weekend is not lost.”

Intravarsity 2012 replaced this year’s Intervarsity. The annual Intervarsity between the UFS and North-West University (NWU) has been postponed to 2013.
 
Kovsie student leaders discuss leadership at Intravarsity


Student leaders from the Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses attended a leadership breakfast during the Intravarsity weekend of 4 and 5 May 2012. The breakfast, held on the Main Campus, was hosted by the Division: Student Affairs.

Taking lessons in leadership from Prof. Kwandiwe Kondlo, Head of the Centre for Africa Studies, the Kovsie student leaders discussed the duties and responsibilities of leadership, not only on our campuses but also throughout the country.
 
Highlighting the role of student leadership Prof. Kondlo told students they needed to be active partners in building a cohesive and united university.
 
“Student leadership is important in the life of any university; it creates conditions the university requires for the construction and production of knowledge. This is very important; hence cooperation between student leadership and management is so vital.”


Prof. Kwandiwe Kondlo’s speech that he delivered at the leadership breakfast. (pdf format)
 

 

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