JOHANNESBURG – The 2026 Varsity Netball women’s championship has reached its climax with the semi-final matchups finalised yesterday – Monday – after the conclusion of Round 7 at the Rembrandt Hall in Pretoria. The four qualifiers include three previous winners – the University of the Free State (UFS), North West University (NWU) and the University of Pretoria (UP-Tuks) – as well as the University of Johannesburg (UJ), who are hunting their maiden trophy.

The semi-finalists will meet next Monday – 21 September – to decide the finalists who will compete for South Africa’s premier university netball championship on 28 September. The organisers are yet to announce the hosting venues for both semi-finals and the final. The semi-finalists were paired according to their finishing positions in the series. UJ finished top on 25 points, UP-Tuks second with 22 points, defending champions NWU ended in third position on 21 points and runners-up Kovsies clinched fourth spot with 21 points.

Five-time winners UFS (Kovsies) have been pitted against title-hungry UJ, the Orange Army, while NWU Eagles will tussle with UP-Tuks. Both sides boast three titles each. Making their fifth semi-final appearance, UJ came closest to the trophy in 2023 and 2024, losing to UP-Tuks and Kovsies, respectively.

In the final round of the matches of played yesterday, UJ, UFS and UP-Tuks emerged victorious while defending champions NWU’s Eagles suffered a 54-47 defeat to determined Stellenbosch University’s Maties. UP-Tuks overcame cross-town rivals Wits University 70-50 in their outing.
A first Bloemfontein derby saw seasoned campaigners UFS claim the bragging rights, beating their local opponents and newcomers Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT) 60-46. Despite the loss, CUT Ixias retain their top division having finished in position seven on 6 points with one win, against Nelson Mandela University (NMU), Madibaz.

Red-hot UJ held off a motivated Madibaz and secured a 49-41 victory to finish this year’s edition of the competition at the top with a single loss. The Eastern Cape side Madibaz had a dismal run in this year’s edition, failing to secure a single victory. The result has subjected them to the promotion-relegation play-offs.

Also read: Powerhouses tighten grip as Varsity Netball enters business end.