Third time’s a charm for the NWU Eagles!

The Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds in Potchefstroom was bursting at the seams when the North-West University (NWU) Eagles took on the University of Pretoria (UP) Tuks, on Monday, 7 March 2022.

The NWU, who was ranked seventh on the log following their third-round loss against the University of Johannesburg last week, came up against a UP squad ranked well above them. With UP-Tuks logged in the fourth position, the NWU Eagles were the clear underdogs as the match was whistled into motion on Monday.

The last game played on home turf against UP-Tuks was three years ago in 2019, where the NWU were unable to put up a score and lost the game 28-0. 

Pienaar van Niekerk (23), NWU winger, one of the only players currently in the squad who was part of the line-up that faced UP-Tuks three years ago, says that “the matchup between us and them [UP-Tuks] in 2019 was good, but they pulled out a few wild cards to take the win”. 

The outcome this Monday night, however, was very different to what was witnessed in 2019. An early red card to UP-Tuks’s fullback penalised for running an NWU player’s feet from under him, caused the side from Pretoria to play with one man down, counting in the Eagles’ favor. Van Niekerk said that there was a hunger to win in the NWU camp. Thanks to consistent play, which was lacking in previous games, they were able to pull off a much needed victory, beating UP-Tuks by 17-8.

Just before this very important match NWU team management and players were shocked with the news that Conrad Nienaber (34), video analyst of the team, died on Sunday, 6 March.

André Pretorius, NWU head coach and close friend of Nienaber, said that the news of his death inspired the team to put their best performance out on the field. “Conrad wanted to win this game so bad! This game was for him.”

Ruan “Sampie” Swiegers (24), captain of the NWU Eagles, praised his team for the way they picked themselves up after everything that had happened the previous weekend. He said that their commitment on the field Monday night was evident and said that the atmosphere at the Fanie du Toit absolutely contributed to this. “If 2 000 voices that are chanting for your team is not enough motivation, I don’t know what is,” Swiegers said, while in the same breath thanking fans for their continuous support.

Preparations are well underway for the NWU Eagles’ round-five match against the University of the Free State’s Shimlas in Bloemfontein this coming Monday, 14 March 2022.