It all comes to this, the Varsity Netball grand final between unbeaten hosts Tuks and Maties – who ended the back-to-back hopes of Kovsies a week ago.
Will Tuks become the first team in Varsity Netball history to go through a tournament unbeaten or will Maties cause an upset like they did four years ago in Pretoria?
Here varsitysportssa.com looks at all the facts and figures which could play a role come Monday evening (18:45 centre pass) at Rembrandt Hall.
>>> The finalists have met eight times in the competition before. Only on one occasion has the Maties been able to pull off a win. That was in the semi-final of 2015 when they caused an upset by beating Tuks 55-50 in Pretoria.
>>> It will be the first time the two teams meet in a final.
>>> Tuks will make a record fifth final appearance. They previously reached the final in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
>>> Maties have only appeared in one final, back in 2015. Jo Prins, Sasha-Lee Petersen and Stephanie Brandt are the only remaining members of that team.
>>> Tshina Mdau, captain of Tuks, will become the first player to appear in five Varsity Netball finals.
>>> If Tuks win, they will join NWU as the second most successful team in the competition with two titles each behind the Kovsies with three.
>>> It will be the fourth time this year that the two teams lock horns. At the University Sport South Africa (USSA) tournament in July, Tuks prevailed by 46-40 in the group stage before losing 41-44 in the semi-final. In the group match in round four of Varsity Netball 2019 (in Port Elizabeth), Tuks ended on the winning side with a 53-46 scoreline.
The teams for the final:
Tuks: 5 Marlize de Bruin (vice-captain), 16 Anique Grobler, 13 Venetia Grobler, 8 Akosua Mensah, 7 Lungile Mthembu, 12 Tracey Mthunzi, 2 Tshina Mdau (captain), 1 Mbali Ntuli, 4 Chantelle Swart, 3 Jamie van Wyk, 6 Danielle van Zyl, 11 Jasmine Ziegelmeier.
Coach: Jenny van Dyk
Maties: 12 Stephanie Brandt, 3 Claudia Jarrard, 11 Khomotso Mamburu, 4 Chrisley Marshall, 1 Sian Moore, 10 Sasha-Lee Petersen, 8 Jo Prins, 13 Nicola Smith, 9 Caleigh Stuart, 2 Nicholé Taljaard (captain), 6 Adri Uys, 5 Carla Werth.
Coach: Zanele Mdodana
The Varsity Netball 2019 Final gets underway at 18:45 at Rembrandt Hall, Pretoria and will be broadcast live on SuperSport 210. Tickets are available via the Varsity Sports App (iOS and Android) as well as here: https://varsitysportsa.plankton.mobi/. For match updates on social media, follow @VarsityNetball… #ShowYourColours.
By Ruan Bruwer
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