SPAR Madibaz captain Jeanie Steyn says they will focus on limiting the fast nature of the game when they tackle UP-Tuks in the Varsity Netball semifinals in Pretoria on Monday.
She said the Tuks outfit liked to play at a high tempo, but they would attempt to disrupt their opponents’ rhythm.
“After the Maties clash [on Monday] we know what we have to work on in our game,” she said.
SPAR Madibaz captain Jeanie Steyn is looking forward to taking on UP-Tuks in the semifinals of the Varsity Netball tournament in Pretoria on Monday. Photo: Michael Sheehan/Varsity Sports
“In addition, Tuks sometimes battle to adapt to a slower pace and if we can change the pattern of the game, we have a good chance.”
The Nelson Mandela University outfit finished their league programme by beating Stellenbosch this week to finish level on points with UP-Tuks – 26 each.
However, the Pretoria side, who were the only team to beat Madibaz in the first phase of the tournament, took second place because they had a superior goal difference.
Free State University, who defeated North-West University in their final match to top the log, will face Stellenbosch in the other semifinal in Bloemfontein.
With everything coming down to the final round of matches, Madibaz held their nerve to finish in the top four.
“The most important thing was to focus on what our strengths were and not to over-think it too much,” said Steyn.
“We didn’t go in with the attitude of ‘this is make or break’. Rather we just focused on what we needed to do to get the right result.”