PRETORIA – The stage is set for the first-ever Bloemfontein derby between the University of the Free State (UFS) and the Central University of Technology (CUT), Free State, in the Varsity Netball tournament at the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Rembrandt Hall. The derby is a crucial match for both teams and historic in the series, which will determine the semifinalists.
They face off at 13:00 today – Monday 14 September – against the five-time champion Kovsies – under illustrious head coach Burta de Kock – looking to tighten their grip on a semifinal berth. The CUT players, under Martha Mosoahle-Samm, will be fighting to guarantee their status in the top-tier university sport competition. The teams that already qualify for the semifinals include the University of Johannesburg (UJ) with 21 points, the defending champions North-West University (NWU) Eagles with 20 points, and University of Pretoria (UP-Tuks) with 18 points.
Kovsies are in the fourth spot with 17 points, while the CUT are placed seventh on the log with five points – safe from relegation but desperately hunting their second win in the competition. The CUT’s first win in the competition was 41 – 36 against a lacklustre and winless Nelson Mandela University (NMU) Madibaz from Gqeberha. Kovsies already did the CUT a favour, beating the Madibaz 67 – 37 on Sunday 13 September, thus compounding the winless Eastern Cape team’s situation at the foot of the log.
Both Kovsies and the CUT have significant insight into each other. Their players train, play and compete alongside and against one another at various levels, including for the invincible, provincial Free State Crinums team that won the 2026 Telkom Netball League. The gutsy CUT have proven their pedigree in the tournament, making it hard for opponents to get the better of them. They narrowly lost 52 – 50 to the Stellenbosch University Maties in another crucial fixture played on Sunday, owing to the Maties’ greater experience.
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