NWU-Pukke men’s hockey team was all smiles this past week as they secured promotion to the 2018 USSA A-Section after winning this year’s B-section at the 2017 USSAs.
Pukke had to win their final match against UKZN and duly did so in an exciting 3-2 victory. NWU-Pukke hockey manager, Sheldon Rostron was satisfied with the overall performance of the men and believes there has been a lot of progress over the past two years.
‘The men played exceptionally well. They also showed a lot of maturity in their style of play and had the correct mindset. The most important thing is to be able to compete with the other universities.’ The Pukke ladies took the third spot in the A-section after losing a tough semi-final match against Tuks 1-0. According to Rostron, this is a credible performance, especially as there were a lot of youngsters in the team.
‘As a club, we are happy with the way we performed. There are currently 11 first-years in the team who are showing a lot of growth and potential to progress in next year’s USSAs. The Varsity Hockey competition also helped a lot with the preparation for USSAs,’ he said.
Pukke men’s results during the week are as follows:
Puk vs Rhodes – win 4-2
Puk vs CUT – win 6-2
Puk vs UWC – win 4-1
Puk vs TUT – lost 2-1
Puk vs UKZN – win 3-2.
