In a thrilling first-round match of the Varsity Football tournament, the North-West University (NWU) and the University of Johannesburg (UJ) showcased their prowess on the pitch, ultimately sharing the spoils in an intense 0-0 draw.

The highly anticipated clash took place on Thursday, 27 July at the NWU Mahikeng stadium, where both teams were determined to kick off their campaign with a victory.

Caretaker coach Amos Xabanisa is brimming with confidence that the North-West University (NWU) football team is fully prepared to take on the challenges that lie ahead in the upcoming Varsity Football tournament.

In their bid to gauge their readiness, the team has engaged in a series of friendly matches. The NWU faced tough opponents, including Tuks FC, the Bafana Bafana team that recently participated in the Cosafa competition, and the SuperSport United FC MDC team.

There was little doubt that she would be able to do it. Scratch that – less than a little, but just more than none. Liezel Gouws says that perhaps she would not have ended on the podium in the long-jump event at the recent Para Athletics World Championships, but a top position was definitely booked for her.

“I started with long jump only recently, but unfortunately I could not participate in it in Paris. However, I do believe that I could have ended among the top four,” the 25-year-old student from the North-West University says.

Whether his graceful dive would cause his wings to be clipped was touch and go. He still gives a slightly embarrassed laugh when he thinks about it. It was Monday, 27 February in Potchefstroom during the Varsity Cup. The North-West University (NWU) Eagles were battling the Shimlas on the Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds in what was to end in a 63-16 victory against the visitors from Bloem. Just before the break the ball was played along the line and landed in Naiden Jaarts’s eager hands. This wing did what all try gluttons do.

It has been 148 years since Frenchman Pierre Babolat took natural gut–derived from cow intestine – to make tennis racket strings. Now, the top-ranked male tennis player at the North-West University (NWU) is using his Babolet Pure Drive racket to run opponents ragged on courts across the country.  

In fact, 20-year-old Johann Coetzee, who studies Business Management at the NWU, has four of these weapons at his disposal to launch his preferred assaults: “My favourite shots are my serve and my forehand,” he explains with glee.

She is one of the tallest netball players in the country, but there seem to be no end to the heights Elmeré van den Berg can achieve on the netball court.

The 1,91m beanpole who hails from Bloemfontein, matriculated from Jim Fouché High School before joining the North-West University (NWU) where she is currently enrolled in a sports coaching and human movement sciences course.

She quickly made waves on the netball court – catching the eyes of national selectors – and greater accolades soon followed.

They did it again! Tete Dijana and Adele Broodryk are on top of the ultramarathon world after both athletes delivered superlative Comrades 2023 performances.

Dijana won the men’s division in a record time of 5:14.01, which is the second consecutive win for the employee of Mi7, an external security service provider to the NWU, who can be found on the Mahikeng Campus when on duty.

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.