After having been stripped of 10 points last season for fielding a non-eligible player in their opening two Varsity Shield games, Walter Sisulu University (WSU) coach Sipho Metula says they will be meticulous in their campaign for the league title this season.
WSU began their pre-season training this past week and will today take on Buffs at the Baysville Special School field in a friendly.
Metula said they were ready for the new season, and registration of their players would commence next week. He said they were going to get things done by the book time this around.
“95% of our squad from last year have returned to the team because we had a few guys graduating last year.
“The registration starts next week and we are waiting for the administration department to let us know when can we start and get that out the way. This time around we are confident that things will go smoothly,” said Metula.
“We won’t have a problem with players that are older now because we have new good players under 21 years of age.”
Metula said his charges were in good shape thanks to the off-season training they had been doing through December.
“Now we just need to build on with pre-season training, and that’s why we are playing Buffs today.
“This game is just to check our preparations and also our combinations because we have new players.”
The WSU mentor said although it was the first time for the Berlin outfit to participate in the Varsity Shield last year he was happy they managed to perform better than anyone expected.
“Now we are aiming to qualify for the Varsity Cup, and having most of our players back does give us the edge when it comes to the experience we gathered last year.
“And with the new blood that’s coming in, we’ll be in a position to rub off that experience onto the new guys so that we can achieve.”
Last year WSU appeared before the Varsity Cup’s internal disciplinary committee where they pleaded guilty to the charge that they had fielded first-year players above the age of 22 in their opening two matches. This is a violation of the competition rules.
According to the Varsity Cup rule 4.1, universities are only allowed to play four first-year students in the competition out of the 23-man squad, all of who have to be under the age of 22 (may become 22 in the year that they play).
WSU then had all 10 points obtained in their opening two matches against UFH and UKZN deducted. The scores were adjusted to reflect 0-32 victories to the opposition, respectively.
WSU ready to contest Varsity Shield
WSU began their pre-season training this past week and will today take on Buffs at the Baysville Special School field in a friendly.
Metula said they were ready for the new season, and registration of their players would commence next week. He said they were going to get things done by the book time this around.
“95% of our squad from last year have returned to the team because we had a few guys graduating last year.
“The registration starts next week and we are waiting for the administration department to let us know when can we start and get that out the way. This time around we are confident that things will go smoothly,” said Metula.
“We won’t have a problem with players that are older now because we have new good players under 21 years of age.”
Metula said his charges were in good shape thanks to the off-season training they had been doing through December.
“Now we just need to build on with pre-season training, and that’s why we are playing Buffs today.
“This game is just to check our preparations and also our combinations because we have new players.”
The WSU mentor said although it was the first time for the Berlin outfit to participate in the Varsity Shield last year he was happy they managed to perform better than anyone expected.
“Now we are aiming to qualify for the Varsity Cup, and having most of our players back does give us the edge when it comes to the experience we gathered last year.
“And with the new blood that’s coming in, we’ll be in a position to rub off that experience onto the new guys so that we can achieve.”
Last year WSU appeared before the Varsity Cup’s internal disciplinary committee where they pleaded guilty to the charge that they had fielded first-year players above the age of 22 in their opening two matches. This is a violation of the competition rules.
According to the Varsity Cup rule 4.1, universities are only allowed to play four first-year students in the competition out of the 23-man squad, all of who have to be under the age of 22 (may become 22 in the year that they play).
WSU then had all 10 points obtained in their opening two matches against UFH and UKZN deducted. The scores were adjusted to reflect 0-32 victories to the opposition, respectively.
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