Author: asawula

The picturesque Boden AstroTurf at Jeppe High School for Boys will play host to 2026’s first edition of the Johannesburg derby between Jeppe and King Edward VII (KES) on Saturday.

It will be the 68th meeting of the sides, and the action will be LIVE on SuperSport Schools from 11:15.

Jeppe has dominated the derby over the years, recording 32 victories to the 16 wins by KES, and nine matches have ended in draws.

Last year, the boys in black and white added two wins over their rivals to the Jeppe total. In the first meeting, they won 4-2 before outplaying the Red Sticks 4-1 later in the year.

History, however, will mean very little when the two meet again, and a lot has changed since their last encounter.

Both teams have new coaches in the dugout, with Gareth Heyns taking over from Siya Sityana, who jumped ship to KES.

That sub-plot enhances an already juicy affair, especially since Sityana led Jeppe to an unbeaten season in 2025. 

The hosts, under coach Heyns’s tutelage, have produced an uneven start to the season.

They began their campaign with convincing pre-season wins against Parktown Boys’ High and Trinity House in March.

Those were followed by a 3-0 win over St Benedict’s College and a 4-1 defeat of St David’s Marist Inanda before they played to a 2-2 draw with St Stithians College.

At the Nomads Hockey Festival in Pretoria, they suffered 0-1 losses against Selborne College and Wynberg Boys’ High.

After those defeats, the Cole Stanbury-led outfit demonstrated grit by bouncing back with a couple of impressive wins, beating Grey High 4-2, which ended the Gqeberha school’s unbeaten start to the season, before scoring a 2-0 win over Maritzburg College.

In midweek, they had a hit-out against Krugersdorp High School, which they won comfortably. 

While Jeppe’s form has improved recently, the Red Sticks have put together an impressive run of their own.

At their KES Easter Festival, coach Sityana’s charges finished unbeaten, beating a strong Northwood team 2-1 on the second last day after a 4-1 victory over Grey College and a 1-1 draw with St Andrew’s College

They wrapped up their assignments with a solid 5-0 win over Queen’s College.

On paper, Saturday’s contest should be an evenly matched battle. Jeppe will rely on their experience, having kept the bulk of their team from last year, while KES and their skipper Matthew Bromley will bank on their recent confident form.

The battle for control of the midfield will be one of the keys to winning. Converting chances into goals will also be critical, with penalty corner defence and offence likely to be deciding factors in the outcome of the game. 

Other matches

While Jeppe versus KES will be in the spotlight, there are more eye-catching matches on the schedule.

The weekend starts with a bang in Pretoria, where Affies tackles Paarl Gimnasium in a Friday Nite Lights clash.

While neither outfit has hit its peak this season, Affies have played some entertaining hockey and will back themselves to win at home. 

Pretoria Boys High has made a strong start to the season – most recently, they won four and drew one at the St Stithians Easter Festival – and they will again make their way to Johannesburg for a showdown with Parktown Boys’ High on Saturday.

FIXTURES

Friday, 10 April

18:00 – Affies vs Paarl Gim

Saturday, 11 April

10:30 – Parktown Boys’ High vs Pretoria Boys High
11:15 – Jeppe vs KES

The pre-season has come and gone, Easter festivals have wrapped up, and it’s time for some traditional schoolboy hockey clashes.

The Western Cape, a hotbed of the sport, known for its fabulous fun at Friday Night Lights clashes, features six of them.

There’s a juicy selection of interesting matches, and the action is LIVE on SuperSport Schools.

Three of the southern suburbs’ sides – Wynberg Boys’ High, Rondebosch Boys High, and South African College High School (SACS) – will be in action on Friday.

Wynberg hosts Rondebosch at the Astro of Dreams, with both sides eager to continue their impressive starts to the season.

Wynberg, under the leadership of coach Devin Stanton, was one of the top teams at the Nomads Hockey Festival in Pretoria, where they beat Jeppe High School for Boys 1-0, Hilton College 3-0, and Pretoria Boys High 4-2, but lost 1-3 against King Edward VII (KES).

They’re up against a Rondebosch side that’s full of confidence. While many schools were busy at various Easter festivals, Rondebosch participated in the European Hockey Club Organisation (EHCO) Trophy Tournament in The Netherlands.

There, coach Waseem Domingo’s side, the first team from South Africa to be invited to the prestigious event, which features club teams, finished third, grabbing the bronze medal by thumping RC Polo, from Spain, 7-2.

SACS returns to action against Durbanville. It will be the Newlands school’s first match since the Founders Hockey Festival, which took place at Queen’s College.

SACS was rampant in Komani, overwhelming Parktown Boys’ High 9-1, St Stithians College 10-2, Kingswood College 8-1, and Helpmekaar 7-0, before, in a big shock, losing 2-4 to Northwood in their last game.

Another clash to watch closely will be that between Parel Vallei (PV) and Paarl Boys’ High. The clash takes place in Somerset West at 19:40.

Both sides were in action at the Belgotex Sport Coastal Cup in Durban late last month, where they produced some entertaining hockey.

PV outplayed Glenwood High 7-0 and edged out Clifton College 4-3. They also played to a goalless draw with Garsfontein and lost 3-6 to the unbeaten Durban High School (DHS).

Boishaai, meanwhile, went down 2-5 against Clifton, lost 1-3 against DHS, and 1-2 against Michaelhouse before beating Garsfontein 2-1.

Fairmont High School is at home against the Langa Hockey Club while DF Malan tackles Curro Durbanville.

Fairmont defended their title at the Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Festival, so they’ll be confident against the boys from Langa.

Worcester Gimnasium, who were also impressive at the Belgotex event, where they finished fifth, will host Swartland.

On Saturday, SACS welcomes the Eastern Cape’s Grey High to the Brewery AstroTurf for a tasty showdown. The next day, Grey tackles Reddam House Constantia.

FIXTURES

Friday, 10 April 

18:15 – Fairmont High vs Langa Hockey Club
18:45 – Wynberg vs Rondebosch
19:15 – SACS vs Durbanville
19:30 – DF Akademie v Curro Durbanville
19:40 – Parel Vallei vs Paarl Boys’ High
19:40 – Worcester Gim vs Swartland

Saturday, 11 April 

11:25 – SACS vs Grey High

Sunday, 12 April 

10:45 – Reddam House Constantia vs Grey High

The hosts, King Edward VII (KES), Westville Boys’ High, and Pearson High, ended their respective campaigns at the KES Easter Festival in style on Monday.

All three sides had played entertaining hockey during the festival and entered the last day with unbeaten records.

On Sunday, KES held off Northwood School 2-1, while Pearson edged out Glenwood High School 1-0. Westville made a statement by outplaying Grey College 4-2.

The KwaZulu-Natal side had one last final hurdle to clear on Monday, and it was Selborne College, who had drawn 2-2 with Kearsney College the previous day.

While Westville were far from their best, and the fatigue of playing 10 matches in the space of two weeks started to creep in, they found a way to win. Coach Harold Siyaya’s side sealed a tight 1-0 victory with a penalty corner conversion in the third chukka by Ethan James.

Pearson had caught the eye during the festival, and they picked up from where they left off on Sunday, defeating St Charles College, 3-1.

Aenry Biggs was on the scoresheet, along with Deanu Bezuidenout and Callum Peltenberg.

The Gqeberha school plays its first Eastern Cape derby on Friday, 10 April, against Selborne College, and they’ll head into that showdown full of confidence after their impressive showing at KES.

The hosts, meanwhile, wrapped up their assignments with a comprehensive 5-0 victory over Queen’s College.

Andrew Arouca, one of their standout players this season, added to his growing list of goals, striking twice. Valentino Howe and Rofhatutshedzwa Mathabi converted penalty strokes, while Kamohelo Tsoka also joined in on the scoring action as KES delivered a spectacle for their home supporters.

In other matches, Northwood edged past Grey College 2-1, thanks to strikes by Ryan Hersalman and Cameron White.

Makhanda’s St Andrew’s College claimed the big scalp of Maritzburg College, winning 2-0 to end the Red, Black, and White‘s clean festival record, while Glenwood played to a thrilling 3-3 draw with Waterkloof.

Helpmekaar and Kearsney had mixed results during the course of the festival, but they finished on a high, recording wins over Dale College and Parktown Boys’ High, respectively.

St John’s College put three past Eldoraigne to end their campaign with two wins, a draw, and one loss in four matches.

RESULTS

Monday, 4 April

Westville 1-0 Selborne College
Northwood 2-1 Grey College
Pearson High 3-1 St Charles
KES 5-0 Queen’s College
Glenwood High 3-3 Waterkloof
St Andrew’s College 2-0 Maritzburg College
Kearsney College 2-0 Parktown Boys’ High
Helpmekaar 2-1 Dale College
St John’s College 3-0 Eldoraigne

CLICK HERE FOR DAY 1 RESULTS

CLICK HERE FOR DAY 2 RESULTS

CLICK HERE FOR DAY 3 RESULTS

The hosts, King Edward VII (KES), along with Westville Boys’ High, Pearson High, and Maritzburg College, ended day three of the KES Easter Festival in Johannesburg on Sunday still unbeaten.

Catch Monday’s action LIVE on SuperSport Schools

That quartet was far from its best, but did just enough to seal victories on the Weinberg AstroTurf.

KES picked up arguably their biggest scalp of the season so far, beating high-flying Northwood School 2-1 in the match of the day.

The Red Sticks had played to a 1-1 draw with St Andrew’s College the previous day, but they came out looking a different outfit. They were full of energy and attacked for the majority of the game, eventually scoring through Kamohelo Tsoka and Andrew Arouca in the third chukka.

Northwood left it too late and replied in the dying moments through a short corner strike by their talisman Luc Boyall.

Westville Boys’ High was also in top form on the day, beating Grey College 4-2. The boys from KwaZulu-Natal were on cruise control from the opening chukka and built scoreboard pressure throughout the clash.

Luke Lambert opened the scoring early before Keagan Wessels pulled one back for Grey College late in the first chukka.

Bo Mokoena, who has been in fine form, got Westville back into the lead before Luqmann Mahomed buried a scorching goal to make it 3-1 at the break.

The Griffins, led by coach Harold Siyaya, then made it four in the third chukka after an Ethan James thunderbolt drag flick. Grey scored their second with just four minutes remaining, but Westville kept them at bay the rest of the way.

In other matches, Maritzburg College mustered a 1-0 win over Parktown Boys’ High, while Pearson edged out Glenwood High 1-0 in a highly entertaining clash.

Hoërskool Waterkloof was one of the big winners on the day, thumping Dale College 8-0. It was an emphatic performance from the Pretoria side, for whom Henry Smit netted a hat-trick, and Lucas Regardt bagged a brace.

Malan van den Berg was also on the scoresheet, along with Reno Schoonwinkel and skipper Ruben Haasbroek.

St John’s College continued their impressive run at the festival, beating Makhanda’s St Andrew’s College 3-1.

Three matches ended in stalemates. It was goalless between Eldoraigne and St Charles, while cracking goals from Selborne’s Reid Drake and Inathi Gxobole weren’t enough to secure victory against Kearsney College.

Queen’s College and Helpmekaar also drew 2-2 after the side from Komani scored in the final minute to salvage a share of the spoils.

The final day’s action kicks off with a clash between Selborne and Westville.

RESULTS

Sunday, 5 April

St John’s College 3-1 St Andrew’s College
Helpmekaar 2-2 Queen’s College
Eldoraigne 0-0 St Charles
Pearson 1-0 Glenwood High
Westville Boys’ High 4-2 Grey College
Waterkloof 8-0 Dale College
Kearsney 2-2 Selborne College
KES 2-1 Northwood
Maritzburg College 1-0 Parktown Boys’ High

FIXTURES

Monday, 6 April

07:30 – Westville vs Selborne College
08:50 – Grey College vs Northwood
10:10 – KES vs Queen’s College
11:30 – Glenwood High vs Waterkloof
12:50 – Maritzburg College vs St Andrew’s College
14:10 – Kearsney College vs Parktown Boys’ High

@St John’s College 

07:30 – Pearson High vs St Charles
08:50 – Dale College vs Helpmekaar
10:10 – Eldoraigne vs St John’s College

“To have both sides go back-to-back says a lot about the culture and the work being put in across the programme.”

Those were the words of Fairmont High School‘s girls’ first-team coach, Jody Lang, after both the boys’ and girls’ teams successfully defended their Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Festival titles in Cape Town on Saturday.

The boys, led by coach Bryce West, edged out York High 1-0 in a thrilling final, while the girls took down Stellenberg High by the same score in their showpiece at the Hartleyvale A AstroTurf.

For the boys, it was a near-perfect campaign after they dominated their group opponents.

In Pool A, they racked up convincing wins over Midstream College, Zimbabwe’s Hellenic Academy, and Hoërskool Framesby.

Fairmont then faced a strong Hoërskool Outeniqua side in the last eight. They scraped a 3-2 win over the George school before beating a Paul Roos Invitational team 2-1 in the semifinals, courtesy of goals by Nathan Glasby and Zach Woolstencroft.

In the final, it took a cracking goal by SA u17 stalwart Ryan Groenewald to seal the win and defend the title.

“I’m extremely proud of this group. We have not had the greatest start to the year, but to see how far we have come in a short period is very exciting,” coach West told SuperSport Schools Plus.

“Achieving back-to-back titles in the Belgotex tournament is a testament to the work the boys have and are putting in.”

The final against York was the second meeting between the sides after they met during the York Hockey Festival a week earlier. That clash finished 2-1 in favour of the hosts, but the defeat also served as motivation for Fairmont in Saturday’s title showdown.

“We knew it would be a tightly contested game,” West said.

“We lost to them at their festival, so the team worked well in our defensive shapes. Most importantly, our PC defence was immense.”

Fairmont will aim to carry their winning momentum into their first league fixture next week against Langa Hockey Club. West believes the triumph has come at the right time.

“This will be a massive confidence booster,” he said. “In our previous two festivals, we were not clicking, and we were still finding our feet. It all came together this week, and the boys know that our primary focus is the league fixtures, which start next week, and I hope we can carry this form into those games.”

GIRLS

Coach Jody Lang‘s side, like Fairmont’s boys’ 1st XI, also needed just one goal to seal the title against Stellenberg High.

It came late in the final chukka, with Madison Ackerman getting the job done.

Similar to their school counterparts, the girls authored a fantastic run and were unbeaten in their group games.

They carried that momentum into the playoffs, beating Hudson Park High 3-0 in the quarterfinals before outplaying the Zimbabwean visitors, Chisipite, winning by the same score, to secure their place in the title decider.

The final was a different ball game, against a resilient Stellenberg side that had edged out York High 2-1 on penalties to progress.

“The week was outstanding. From the first game, there was a strong sense of belief in the group,” coach Lang told SuperSport Schools Plus.

“What stood out was the consistency from the players – not just in results, but in effort, energy, and how they stuck to our structures.

“As the tournament went on, that belief just grew stronger with each performance. I think we started confidently, but as the tournament went on, we realised the real possibility of getting very close to a medal.”

Fairmont had to withstand some high-pressure situations during the festival, right from the group stage until their knockout games.

Coach Lang said maintaining composure was crucial: “Games of this magnitude will always have moments that are massive to the girls, and I just wanted them to stay calm.

“When you stay calm and focus on the game plan, all that is left is execution, which we spoke about. Leave everything that you have on the field, for the people next to you and for the entire school.

“This was their moment, and they lived up to it.”

OTHER MATCHES

In other matches on the final day, York High defeated Chisipite 2-0 to claim the girls’ bronze medal.

Rustenburg Girls’ High finished in fifth place, with Hudson Park in sixth. St Paul’s, of Windhoek, thumped Marondera’s Peterhouse 9-1 to seal seventh place, while Durbanville placed ninth, with the top 10 completed by the Paarl Gimnasium Invitational XI.

On the boys’ side, the Paul Roos Invitational team took home the bronze medal after beating HTS Drostdy 4-1 in their final match.

Worcester Gimnasium placed fifth, with Outeniqua, Stellenberg, the SACS Invitational XI, Noordheuwel and the Paarl Gim Invitational XI completing the top 10.

After suffering heavy defeats on the opening day of the King Edward VII (KES) Easter Festival, Grey College and Parktown Boys’ High produced impressive performances on Saturday to redeem themselves.

College went down 1-4 against KES on Thursday, while Parktown was beaten 4-0 by Westville Boys’ High.

The 18 teams were back in action on Saturday after a day off on Easter Friday. That time away from the AstroTurf served some well, and others not so well.

Grey kicked things off bright and early against Glenwood High School in the day’s opening match. The Bloemfontein boys, led by coach Braam van Wyk, were full of energy and controlled the tempo of the contest from start to finish.

They moved the ball with conviction and scored some cracking goals on their way to a handsome 5-1 victory in which Bokang Lehenyelo, Marko Bosch, Keagan Wessels, Christopher Klopper, and Jean Griessel found the back of the net.

Parktown, meanwhile, took on Selborne College and handed the East London side a surprisingly big 5-0 defeat, with a double from Ndyebo Pongwana, and further goals scored by Elethu Bam, Kaylin Chinappa, and Abiye Bamson.

It was a much better showing from coach Kyle Reddy‘s charges. They’ve shown promising signs this season, but had not finished well until their showdown with Selborne.

Last week, they had a tough time at the Founders Festival in Komani. Thus, the win against coach KJ Friend‘s charges was warmly welcomed by Parktown’s supporters.

The KwaZulu-Natal teams made a bright start to their respective campaigns on day one, and they continued in the same vein on Saturday.

Maritzburg College overpowered Queen’s College, winning 3-0, while Northwood, one of the form teams in the early part of the season, didn’t disappoint, beating Helpmekaar College 5-0.

Jordan Hatcher, Ryan Mbamba, Luc Boyall, Sisi Sebeko, and Cameron White netted as the Knights also kept a clean sheet.

It was a rewarding outing for Mbamba and White, who were called up from the u16 side because of injuries to 1st XI regulars.

Westville Boys’ High was also on the money, holding on for a 3-2 win over St John’s College, while St Charles brushed aside Dale College 3-0.

Pearson High was a big winner, too. After beating Helpmekaar 4-1 on Thursday, coach Dalan Phillips orchestrated a near-perfect performance as the Gqeberha school thumped Eldoraigne 7-1.

Tao Kudyachete and Petri Reynolds both netted twice while Zacharee McLean, Callum Peltenberg, and Joe Cowper-Johnson struck once each to seal the win.

Kearsney College recorded its first win of the festival, comfortably beating Waterkloof 4-1, while the hosts played to a 1-1 draw with St Andrew’s College (SAC).

Sunday’s action commences with a matchup between SAC and St John’s at 07:30. The day’s highlight should be the showdown between KES and Northwood at 16:50.

RESULTS

Saturday, 4 April

Grey College 5-1 Glenwood High
St Charles 3-0 Dale College
Pearson High 7-0 Eldoraigne
KES 1-1 St Andrew’s College
Maritzburg College 3-0 Queen’s College
St John’s College 2-3 Westville Boys’ High
Northwood 5-0 Helpmekaar College
Selborne College 0-5 Parktown Boys’ High
Waterkloof 1-4 Kearsney College

FIXTURES

Sunday, 5 April

07:30 – St Andrew’s College vs St John’s College
08:50 – Helpmekaar vs Queen’s College
10:10 – Eldoraigne vs St Charles
11:30 – Glenwood High vs Pearson
12:50 – Westville Boys’ High vs Grey College
14:10 – Dale College vs Waterkloof
15:30 – Kearsney vs Selborne College
16:50 – KES vs Northwood
18:10 – Maritzburg College vs Parktown Boys’ High

While the hosts, King Edward VII (KES), kicked off their KES Easter Festival campaign with a 4-1 victory against Grey College, it was the KwaZulu-Natal sides that grabbed the spotlight on day one.

Northwood School, Westville Boys’ High, Maritzburg College, and Glenwood High were in top form and impressed on Thursday.

Northwood arrived in Johannesburg still buzzing after beating South African College High School (SACS) 4-2 at the Founders Festival a few days ago. Luc Boyall scored a hat-trick, and Ben Henwood-Fox also netted as coach Justin Collins‘ side scored a victory that stole the show in Komani.

Northwood took on Selborne College in their first encounter at KES and, after a slow start, ran away with the clash.

The Knights were ruthless inside the D, scoring five goals – by Jordan Hatcher, Boyall, Hamza Amla, Keegan Reeves, and Mnqobi Mhlongo – and punished Selborne, who were coming off the Nomads Hockey Festival in Pretoria on Monday.

Westville was another side that impressed, blanking Parktown Boys’ High 4-0.

They also started fairly slowly, but when the contest opened up in the second chukka, they ran away with it. It was a convincing win for Westville, who’ve upped their game since the Coastal Cup a week ago.

Maritzburg College and Glenwood High scored the most goals on the day, with College thumping Dale College 6-0 and Glenwood running rampant in a 7-0 hammering of Eldoraigne.

They return to action on Saturday against Queen’s College and Grey College, respectively.

Speaking of Queens, the boys from Komani, led by coach Michael Baiden, will be pleased with their start to the festival.

They defeated Pretoria’s Hoërskool Waterkloof 2-1, thanks to strikes by Leighton Prince and Cayden Adonis.

KES, as mentioned above, put four past Grey College. The hosts made a dream start and opened the scoring through Blaine Candy in the first chukka, but Grey soon levelled from a short corner.

Coach Siya Sityana‘s Red Sticks soon gained the ascendancy and sealed an impressive win with another Candy goal and a brace from Andrew Arouca.

St John’s College played to a goalless draw with St Charles, while Pearson High ended the day with a handy 4-1 win over Helpmekaar College.

St Andrew’s College got the ball rolling with a tight 1-0 win over Kearsey College.

Day two’s action kicks off bright and early at 07:30 when Glenwood High meets Grey College.

RESULTS

Thursday, 2 April 

St Andrew’s College 1-0 Kearsney College
Northwood 5-0 Selborne College
Westville Boys’ High 4-0 Parktown Boys’ High
Maritzburg College 6-0 Dale College
Glenwood High School 7-0 Eldoraigne
Queen’s College 2-1 Waterkloof
KES 4-1 Grey College
St John’s 0-0 St Charles College
Pearson High 4-1 Helpmekaar College

Fixtures

Saturday, 4 April 

07:30 – Glenwood High vs Grey College
08:50 – Dale College vs St Charles
10:10 – Eldoraigne vs Pearson High
11:30 – King Edward VII vs St Andrew’s College
12:50 – Queen’s College vs Maritzburg College
14:10 – St John’s College vs Westville Boys’ High
15:30 – Northwood vs Helpmekaar College
16:50 – Selborne College vs Parktown Boys’ High
18:10 – Waterkloof vs Kearsney College

While local teams compete in various Easter festivals, the Rondebosch Boys’ High first hockey side has made its way to The Netherlands to participate in the European Hockey Club Organisation (EHCO) Trophy Tournament.

The annual event is recognised as Europe’s premier youth hockey tournament and runs from 3 to 6 April at the SV Kampong Hockey Club in Utrecht.

Rondebosch, the first non-European side to receive an invitation, will compete against some of the world’s best youth teams.

“It’s a massive opportunity for our school. Firstly, to be invited and, secondly, to take part in one of the best, if not the best, tournaments in the world,” head coach Waseem Domingo told SuperSport Schools Plus.

“Our Director of Hockey, Miguel Edwards, has been largely instrumental in coordinating our entry into the tournament.

“He has built a solid reputation among the European sides that has filtered into a solid reputation for not only Rondebosch Boys’ Hockey but the school as a whole.

“We feel like we are representing not only our school but South Africa as well.”

The tournament features 16 teams – eight boys’ sides and eight girls’ sides – with the teams competing in groups of four.

Rondebosch is in Pool A along with Spain’s Athletic Terrassa HC, Belgium’s Royal Leopold, and the Dutch side, HC Rotterdam.

Coach Domingo expects a tough challenge but says his charges have worked hard to prepare for the tournament.

“Our preparation has been quite intense. We’ve been playing warm-up matches for the past couple of weeks,’ he explained.

“We’ve played against our Old Boys, whose pedigree is among the best around, as well as two matches against UK and German touring teams.

“We have spent the last three to four months building up to this moment, and we have a very well-balanced and committed group willing to do what it takes.”

‘Bosch has a strong side this year, and they will rely on some of their experienced players to lead their challenge in The Netherlands.

They’ve retained the services of centre-link Dante Moore, goalkeepers Marley Musasa and Arin Spiller, as well as Daniel Fisher – all of whom have represented South Africa. Matt Pauw will captain the team.

Earlier in the week, Rondebosch played warm-up matches against Amsterdam and Kampong.

They scored an impressive 3-0 win over Amsterdam, with goals from Robbie Williams, Martin Barnard, and Fisher. In their second outing, they shared the spoils with Kampong, drawing 3-3. 

“We didn’t come here to gain experience on its own. We came to win. And we want to do our best given the nature of the tournament,” Domingo said.

“Our Head of Hockey, Rob Bowley, always has the motto that we are representing a school that doesn’t do mediocre, so we need to put our best foot forward every time we go onto the field.

“This tournament is viewed by close to a million people per day, and we are really excited to showcase what we can do on one of the biggest stages in the world.”

Rondebosch will open their Pool A campaign on Friday against Atletic Terrassa HC at 18:00.

Click HERE to access the live stream.

While many eyes were on the Nomads Hockey Festival in Pretoria and the Belgotex Sport Coastal Cup in Durban, the Founders’ Festival, played in Komani, was equally entertaining and kept spectators on the edge of their seats.

Queen’s College hosted the annual event at their Chris Harker AstroTurf, with some of the country’s top sides in action for the first time this season.

The opening day delivered goals galore, with South African College High School (SACS), Northwood School, and Paarl Gimnasium dominating.

SACS was clinical, slotting a combined 19 goals in their two matches against Parktown Boys’ High and St Stithians College.

Paarl Gim also defeated the same Gauteng duo, beating Saints 4-2 and Parktown 6-2. Coach Justin Collins and his Northwood side went about their business quietly, beating Somerset College 4-1 and the hosts 7-2.

The script completely changed on day two. There were massive upset results, and unbeaten records were ended.

The match of the day saw Northwood beat SACS 4-2 in a thrilling contest. Luc Boyall was on fire for his side and netted a hat-trick, with two of his goals coming from short corners.

Ben Henwood-Fox also got his name onto the scoresheet, while Litha Kraai scored both goals for SACS.

Earlier, SACS had defeated Kingswood College 8-1, while Northwood proved too strong for Paarl Gim, winning 3-1.

Somerset College also made massive strides on the second day, and they looked dangerous on the offensive. Coach Kyran Fortuin‘s boys picked up two convincing victories, beating Queen’s 3-1 before upsetting Saints 1-0 in a humdinger.

Paarl Gim, SACS, Somerset College, and St Stithians were the big winners on the final day.

Gim put nine past Dale College, and SACS bounced back, beating Helpmekaar College 7-0 to finish their festival on a high.

Somerset College continued their fairytale run with another gritty win, this time beating Parktown 3-1 before Saints stunned Northwood 2-1 in the last game of the festival.

That meant Northwood, Paarl Gim, SACS, and Somerset College all finished the weekend with four wins from five outings.

RESULTS

Click HERE to see Day 1 results.

Sunday, 29 March

Kingswood College 2-1 Helpmekaar
Northwood 3-1 Paarl Gimnasium
Somerset College 3-1 Queen’s College
St Stithians College 5-1 Dale College
SACS 8-1 Kingswood
Paarl Gimnasium 8-0 Helpmekaar
Dale College 0-4 Parktown Boys’ High
Somerset College 1-0 St Stithians College
SACS 2-4 Northwood
Queen’s College 1-1 Parktown Boys’ High

Monday, 30 March

Dale College 1-9 Paarl Gimnasium
SACS 7-0 Helpmekaar
Somerset College 3-1 Parktown Boys’ High
St Stithians College 2-1 Northwood

While some teams took a step up on Sunday, the second day of the Nomads Hockey Festival left others struggling to find consistency.

The host school, Pretoria Boys High School (PBHS), enjoyed a good day. King Edward VII (KES) also made their presence felt, and Selborne College claimed a prized scalp, but Hilton College ended the day frustrated after winning one and losing one. 

The annual event concludes on Monday, and the action is live on SuperSport Schools.

The opening day of the festival was filled with goals and surprise results, and day two continued in the same vein.

The first upset came bright and early when Selborne College stunned Jeppe High School for Boys 1-0. Mivuyo Lwana’s strike sealed the win for the East London side, which had absorbed serious pressure for most of the game.

Jeppe dominated possession and created numerous circle entries and penalty corners, but they were left to rue many missed opportunities.

In their second match of the day, the boys from Kensington looked like a different outfit and produced an impressive performance to beat Grey High School 4-2.

They led 3-1 at the break after a fast start, which resulted in goals for Adrian Laubsher, Kade Lottering, and Breydan Karle, while Keegan le Roux replied for Grey.

The second half was a dog fight. Le Roux reduced the deficit to one goal by converting a penalty stroke in the third quarter.

Jeppe remained resilient and defended strongly. They eventually sealed victory after a deadly overhead link-up between Kgotso Lehloenya and Karle late in the fourth chukka produced a superb match-winner.

 

After going down to Grey High on the opening day, KES bounced back in style, recording victories over Wynberg Boys’ High and Maritzburg College.

The Red Sticks, led by coach Siya Sityana, beat Wynberg 3-1, thanks to a Yusuf Smith brace and a strike by Kamohelo Tsoka.

Later in the day, they beat College by the same score. This time around, it was their deadly drag flicker, Andrew Arouca, who bagged a brace, while Blaine Candy also scored, and Luthando Shelembe netted for College.

The hosts, PBHS, played some impressive hockey in front of their home crowd. They did just enough to beat Kearsney College 1-0 in their first game of the day before also edging out Selborne College 1-0, thanks to a goal by Paidin Gray.

Hilton College ended the day with mixed feelings. 

They did extremely well in their first match against St John’s College to come from three goals down to win 6-3. Ben Wilson led the charge with a hat-trick, while Tadi Hove, Anthony Crossley, and Santi Matroos also netted.

Later in the day, they were unable to replicate their come-from-behind act and were beaten 3-0 by Wynberg.

Mustafa Kajee was in fine form for the Cape Town school, netting a brace, and Ntsika Maho added his name to the scoresheet.

Wynberg coach Devin Stanton would’ve been pleased with the victory, but he is still seeking more consistency from his side.

In other matches, Affies suffered a 1-5 loss at the hands of Grey High before playing to a thrilling 3-3 draw with Grey College. The Bloemfontein boys also suffered a narrow 2-3 defeat at the hands of Maritzburg College.

Kearsney recorded their first win, beating St John’s 1-0 in the final match of the day.

Day three’s action starts bright and early at 07:30 with a clash between KES and Kearsney.

RESULTS

Sunday, 29 March

Grey High 5-1 Affies
Hilton 6-3 St John’s College
KES 3-1 Wynberg Boys’ High
Maritzburg College 3-2 Grey College
Selborne College 1-0 Jeppe
Pretoria Boys High 1-0 Kearsney College
Grey College 3-3 Affies
Jeppe 4-2 Grey High
KES 3-1 Maritzburg College
Pretoria Boys High 1-0 Selborne College
Kearsney 1-0 St John’s College
Wynberg Boys’ High 3-0 Hilton College

FIXTURES

Monday, 30 March 

07:30 – Kearsney College vs KES
08:40 – St John’s College vs Grey High
09:50 – Pretoria Boys High vs Wynberg Boys’ High
11:00 – Selborne vs Affies
12:30 – Grey College vs Hilton College
13:40 – Jeppe vs Maritzburg College