Netball fans are in for a treat or to be more precise a battle royal when Tuks take on Kovsies on Monday night in Bloemfontein in the first round of the Varsity Netball Tournament.

Their rivalry is, without a doubt, one of the most exciting in South African netball. There are never any guarantees as to who is going to be victorious. 

Tuks and Kovsies have so far clashed eight times during the Varsity Tournament with the team from Bloemfontein being victorious on five occasions. Kovsies won last year's Varsity-final beating Tuks 63-59. 

But then again Tuks seems to have the better of Kovsies in the USSA Tournament. During last year's tournament, Tuks won both encounters. This year in the playoff for the third place Tuks was again victorious. 

There is no relenting even when the players clash at a national level. It is always a case of you win one we win one. But this season the Tuks players seem to have had a slight upper hand beating the Free Staters twice in the Telkom League as well as winning the semi-final playoff against the team from Bloemfontein during the recent National Netball League. Tshwane (an all Tuks team) went on to win the tournament. 

The impact Tuks has on national netball is best illustrated by the following statistics. 55 players and six coaches from the club were selected to represent Tshwane Netball in the under-19, under-21 and senior tournaments. All six of Tshwane's teams (A and B-sides) won. 

One of the stars during the National Netball League was Tuks's Jamie van Wyk. She got the award as the best player during the under-19 as well as under-21 tournaments. To top it all, she has been selected for the South African under-21 squad. 

The 18-year old Van Wyk is going to make a Varsity debut on Monday. She is looking forward to the new challenge but admits to also being slightly nervous.

But those who saw her play believe she has got nothing to worry about. Some even openly state that the Tuks defender has what it takes to become one of South Africa's best as she is so pro-active on the court. 

Van Wyk is one of the players who do not wait for the play to get to her. Playing as goal defence she is all over the court, making things happen every so often. 

Although Van Wyk admits to admiring Carla Pretorius's (World Cup Player of the Tournament) way of doing things on the court, she is never going to be copycat. 

"I always try and do my own thing. I mostly go with my 'guts', and I feel that is why I succeed in certain fascets, especially making crucial intercepts. Being able to read the game is genuinely vital to me." 

The Tuks Varsity Team is Venetia Grobler, Chantelle Swart, Danielle van Zyl, Precious Maseko, Tshina Mdau (captain), Anique Grobler, Marlize de Bruin (vice-captain), Tracey Mthunzi, Lungile Mthembu, Jamie van Wyk, Akosua Mensah, Jasmine Ziegelmeier.

Monday's Varsity encounter against Kovsies will be played at 19:00.