Fort Hare’s men’s and women’s teams may well prove to be diamonds in the rough at this weekend’s USSA Sevens rugby tournament in the historic mining town of Kimberley.
Though the men’s focus has mainly been on the prestigious Brutten Cup in recent weeks, they have managed to assemble a competitive squad for the two-day event in the Northern Cape.
The women, meanwhile, will look to make amends for their disappointing seventh-place finish at last year’s University Sports South Africa tournament.
Despite it being a different format, the 2024 Varsity Cup champions recognised that they had a lot to live up to.
Intriguingly, three members of their 12-player squad represented UFH at the USSA Netball championships earlier this year.
These ladies had previously expressed an interest in playing rugby and coach Ntyatyambo Mkhafu, known for his out-the-box thinking, decided to unleash them in the home of the Big Hole.
“Even though it is their first time, they have adapted very quickly. I think they are quite ready for these sevens,” he said.
“They were well-conditioned before joining us, so their fitness is not a problem at all.”

Apiwe Sidloyi will skipper Fort Hare’s men’s sevens team at the USSAs in Kimberley this weekend. Photo: Full Stop Communications
All the teams will play three matches on Saturday, with the top outfits advancing to the playoff rounds on Sunday.
The Baby Blues come up against Eastern Cape rivals Walter Sisulu in their opening match, followed by clashes against Maties and Kovsies.
They will bring a lot of confidence into their first game, having racked up more than 50 points in three friendly sevens matches against WSU in the lead-up to the USSAs.
Mkhafu expected UJ, Maties and Tuks to be among the top contenders but was quietly confident that his charges could equal, or better, their runners-up place from 2022.
It goes without saying that they would love to add the USSA Sevens title to their remarkable Varsity Cup triumph.
Men’s coach Yamkela Mahintsho said his team had only assembled a week prior to the national tertiary competition given the importance of the Brutten Cup.
“We have been working on our structure, running lines and deciding who follows up. It’s really been about getting the gist of sevens and how we want to play,” he said.
While several key Blues players will be missing after being called up to the Border U21 side, the squad is still about “75 per cent” of its full strength.
The men claimed the Sevens Shield title at last year’s USSAs, having been knocked out of the main Cup competition in the quarters. It was an impressive achievement given that they had lost three players midway through.
Mahintsho has picked players who can show just as much grit.
“I need people who can fight when circumstances are against us. I need warriors there.”
Though there are no easy pools in sevens, Fort Hare felt that the luck of the draws was with them on this occasion. Aside from perennial rugby powerhouse Kovsies, the others in their group are lesser-known eta College and CUT.
This gave captain Apiwe Sidloyi and his team the belief that they could make the playoffs.
“The talent is definitely there. Now it’s a matter of resilience,” Mahintsho said.