Another year, another Varsity Netball Tournament, but the one thing that has stayed the same is Tuks winning.
After the first round of play, Tuks is still unbeaten. Against TUT, the score was 96–9, and against Wits, it was 64–39. Since last year, Tuks has now won 11 games on the trot in the Varsity Tournament.
Needless to say, Tuks is topping the log, having scored the most goals. Kovsies and UJ are the other two teams that have yet to lose.
The Springbok rugby player, Naas Botha, once famously said the Currie Cup rugby tournament was not won in May. The same goes for Varsity Netball. It is not won after one round of play. The Tuks players are fully aware of this. Coming Sunday, they will play Madibaz and Northwest in Gqeberha. The team from Potchefstroom will be Tuks first real test. They need to win as they lost to Kovsies on Monday. If Northwest lose, again qualifying for the semis could be difficult.
On Wednesday, Erin Burger (Tuks’s head coach) was still deciding who her “troops” for the next two fixtures would be. Simone Swanepoel, who has been selected for the Proteas under-21-side, is one of the youngsters hoping to get the nod to make her Varsity debut. If she does not, it won’t end the world.
“I know my time to play for Tuks will come, and it will be exciting. Not playing means I learn a lot to become a better player. Every player brings something unique to the game, and I want to bring some of that into how I play. I was especially impressed by how the goal shooters move around in the circle, as I also play as a shooter.”
Asked what she considers her best traits as a goal shooter, Swanepoel said her ability to score from quite far in the circle.
“My height is a definite advantage. I am 1.95 metres tall and pretty good at scoring mid to long-range goals. I also pride myself on being quite accurate. To be able to do so takes hours of extra practice. The thing about playing as a shooter is to avoid getting rattled when you miss. I quickly put it out of my mind and focused on the following scoring opportunity. Watching the Varsity games, I realised I am too static in the circle. I need to move more. I can’t only rely on my height to score.”
Regarding role models, Swanepoel enjoys how Australia’s Sophie Dwyer plays.
“She is still a youngster. She is only 23, but she can dominate the circle every time she plays. I would love to be able to do so also.”
On Sunday, Tuks at 13:00, Tuks play Madibaz, and on Monday, at 15:00, against Northwest.