MAHIKENG -The stage is set for a showdown between the country’s two premier university netball powerhouse — one defending its crown, the other desperate to finally wear gold. The defending Varsity Netball champions, North West University (NWU) Eagles, have their crown on the line as they take on title-hungry University of Johannesburg (UJ) in the final tonight at the NWU Great Hall on the Mahikeng Campus. The first centre pass is at 19:00.

The Eagles beat the University of Pretoria (UP-Tuks) 52-50 in a tightly contested semi-final in Pretoria, while UJ saw off the University of the Free State (UFS) Kovsies 57-54 in another hard-fought semi-final that went into extra time in Bloemfontein.

UJ’s Orange Army are taking to the court hoping it is third time lucky, to atone for heartbreaking defeats in the previous two finals — against five-time champions the Kovsies in 2024 and UP-Tuks in extra time in 2023. UFS won 58-55 while UP-Tuks defeated UJ 63-61. This will be NWU’s seventh final as they chase a fourth crown while UJ are hunting their maiden title in South Africa’s premier university netball competition.

UJ, under former Proteas captain Bongiwe “Bongi” Msomi, and an NWU side coached by Elsunet du Plessis meet for the first time in the final. In the round-robin stage, UJ won 60-43 when the sides met. Msomi’s side are looking to pull off a major upset against the title holders, get the monkey off their back and have their name engraved on the prestigious trophy.

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