Precious Mokomele has an infectious laugh. It drifts in and out like a tide. Sometimes it is a gentle cascade, sometimes it is uproarious, emanating from some joyous part within herself where she keeps all the treasures of her happiness.

“I laugh a lot,” she confesses, unsurprisingly with a laugh. “My friends tell me I laugh too easily.”

What is surprising though, is that her past did all it could to muzzle and mute one of her outstanding features.

Rugby has changed. It has evolved. Take a look at some of the games in the 70s, 80s and early to mid-90s. They were a bit of a mess, weren’t they? There was little structure (not like nowadays, anyway) and it was more of a scrap than a clinical exhibition. Yes, there were some spectacular tries, but they occurred because defence players relied more on defence than on drilled-in patterns and meticulous examination of the opposition’s attacking game. Those days are over and defence coaches like Jean Tiedt of the North-West University (NWU) are revolutionising the modern game.

There is a tenacity to Vernon Paulo’s approach to rugby that is, quite frankly, scary. The soon-to-be 22-year-old dynamo of a hooker has an appetite for destruction. Just ask Ikeys scrumhalf Asad Moos who, during the Varsity Cup final between the Eagles and the Tigers, decided to test the home team’s defence with a dummy. He failed. Paulo lined him up and smashed him back with impunity. Then there is his appetite for tries. He crossed the whitewash an incredible 12 times during the tournament. For a hooker … what is that all about? Those are numbers reserved for wings.

Three female alumni of the North-West University (NWU) and former university team boxers – Onalenna Tsae, Goitseone Kgopiso, and Keamogetse Lesole – opened the SK Boxing Academy in 2022 to develop and promote the sport in their community.

The academy, strictly owned and run by women, currently has two branches – one in Uitkyk Village and the other in Mmabatho.

The North-West University (NWU) is celebrating the recent announcement that one of their football players, Heaven Prince Julius Sereetsi, has been named the best player of the North West ABC Motsepe league.

Heaven, an NWU Soccer Institute attacking winger, has been recognised for his outstanding performances throughout the league season. He has been a key player in the NWU team, contributing to their success in the league and helping them secure a place in the playoffs.

There is no such thing as too much of a good thing, especially not when rugby at the North-West University (NWU) is concerned. Not in the slightest. On Monday, 24 April 2023 the NWU Eagles (Young Guns) were crowned the Varsity Cup Young Guns champions after beating Maties 27-26 in Stellenbosch.

By doing so, the fledglings emulated their older brothers who won the senior competition. Every Varsity Cup rugby trophy now resides in Potchefstroom, making the NWU the undisputed kings of university rugby.

The North-West University’s (NWU’s) Potchefstroom Campus can now rightly be called South Africa’s go-to tennis destination with the official opening of its clay court precinct on Friday, 28 April 2023.  

These five new courts are supplemented by 10 hard courts and two grass courts to make the NWU Africa’s undisputed leader in providing players the best and only complete offering of tennis courts. This, coupled with the NWU’s world-class facilities, has again shown why the university is a hub of sporting excellence. 

It has been a week since you were crowned Varsity Cup champions and I still struggle to find words for how proud I am of you. What a wonderful achievement. You took on the best university rugby teams and players in the country and you came out on top. But that is not all. The spirit with which you represented the North-West University (NWU) was nothing short of inspirational. The skills you displayed on the field were exceptional, but it was your determination, the respect you showed your opponents, your integrity and humility in victory that made you extraordinary.

They came, they saw, and they conquered. The North-West University (NWU) Eagles are the newly crowned Varsity Cup champions after beating Ikeys from the University of Cape Town (UCT) 27-25 at the Fanie du Toit Sport Grounds in Potchefstroom on Monday night, 17 April 2023.

The half-time score read 20-9 for the Eagles. This marks the first time the NWU Eagles won the trophy since 2016, and the second time overall.

The North-West University (NWU) Soccer Institute has secured a spot in the North West ABC Motsepe League Provincial playoffs and will be facing well-known opponent Orbit College FC.

The two teams will be facing each other in the provincial playoffs for the second year. In the 2022 playoffs, the NWU won the game, and they are geared to be crowned North West ABC Motsepe league champions for 2023 too.