NWU lost their star goal shooter Alicia van Staden to a left foot injury in the build-up to this semi-final at Rembrandt Hall in Pretoria, and her absence was felt – almost from the get-go.

Tuks took the first centre pass and NWU soon turned possession over, but their stand-in goal shooter Bianca van Lelyveld missed the chance to get the scoring going.

The trend continued, while Tuks forwards Venetia Grobler and Chantelle Swart were much more ruthless as they quickly guided to the hosts to a 10-3 lead. It was 13-5, with 3:30 left in the first quarter when Tuks coach Jenny van Dyk called for the Powerplay. As it happened, each team scored a double-pointer during the two minutes, before the quarter then ended with Tuks leading 17-8.

NWU coach Elsunet du Plessis would have been desperate for her charges to produce better than the 50% goal percentage they managed in the first 15 minutes, but it only marginally improved in the next 15. Without much option upfront, du Plessis did switch her defence – without much changing.

Van Lelyveld and Jessica du Plessis did manage three bouts of three goals at a time, but Tuks still outscored them 15 goals to 13 to claim a 32-21 half-time lead.

The third quarter was always going to be decisive, and so it proved for Tuks. Despite it starting with an NWU centre pass, they were wasteful in possession for the umpteenth time. To add to their woes, the Stripe Generation racked up 12 unanswered goals before NWU’s new goal-attack Lucy Strydom got on the scoresheet.

The Tuks domination showed – despite NWU finding a modicum of rhythm – in that they claimed the quarter by a nine-goal margin to lead 48-28 going into the final quarter.

As it happened, the final quarter lacked the tempo the previous three had as both coaches cleared their benches. NWU also still had their Powerplay available but managed only the single double-pointer to Tuks’ two during the two minutes.

By the time the final whistle sounded, the NWU had outscored Tuks 10-9 in the quarter, but the hosts were left celebrating a 57-38 win with a home final against Maties to come in a week’s time.

 The Varsity Netball final will take place at Rembrandt Hall on Monday, 7 October 2019 at 18h45.