Author: asawula

“To make it two wins in consecutive matches,” will be the message echoed through the Paul Roos Gimnasium locker room when they welcome a dangerous Wynberg Boys’ High team to the Maties Astroturf in Stellenbosch on Friday night.

The clash between the sides kicks off at 19:45 and will be streamed live on SuperSport Schools.

Both teams head into the highly anticipated clash after winning last weekend.

The hosts, after receiving a 2-6 drubbing at the hands of South African College High School (SACS) earlier this month, redeemed themselves with a hard-fought 1-0 win over their Boland rivals, Paarl Gimnasium last Friday.

Christo Swanepoel delivered the goods in the third chukka, scoring the all-important goal from a smart penalty corner variation.

Wynberg, on the other hand, breezed to victory against Hoërskool Durbanville, winning 5-1 to further assert their position as one of the Western Province league’s dominant sides.

The match will be only the second home outing for PRG this season. They’ve played most of their league matches away, and also did duty at the Founders Festival at Kearsney College, and the Hibbert Shield at Grey High School.

Their league season started with a shock 0-1 defeat at the hands of Rondebosch Boys’ High. Apart from that setback and the loss to SACS, Paul Roos has displayed its typically gritty character and fighting spirit and racked up a long list of victories.

After going down in week one, they defeated Paarl Boys’ High 4-0, before beating an excellent Grey High team 3-2. The highlight of their season, thus far, was coming back from a 0-3 deficit to level 3-3 with SACS, and then beat them 6-5 in a penalty shootout in the final of the Hibbert Shield.

Coach Michael Baker, who took over the side this year, will be the first to admit that his side hasn’t hit the very high markers they would’ve wanted to reach, but they are getting the job done in crucial moments.

Consistency will be the name of the game when they run out against Wynberg. They’ll try to implement the “Baker Ball” approach which won them the Hibbert Shield in Gqeberha earlier this month.

For Wynberg, the clash comes at a time when the team finds itself in a healthy space after putting up some impressive performances this season.

In the Western Cape, coach Ben Wiley’s troops have only lost once, going down 0-3 to Bishops in April.

Since then, they’ve scored a total of 15 goals on their way to solid wins over Rondebosch Boys (1-0), Stellenberg (9-1), and Durbanville 5-1.

To win away from home, Wynberg’s defence will need to be wary of PRG’s attacking ability, and the likes of Dayle Gertson, Daniel Rightford, and Liam Kleintjies will need to stay sharp at the back.

The hosts will look to their playmakers, including skipper Reuben Sendzul, Swanepoel, Barend Geldenhuys, and Ruben Gouws, to break that defensive wall.

Other matches

The clash in Stellenbosch is the pick of the weekend’s matches, but there are many others that are set to entertain.

SACS will be heavily favoured to keep their winning streak intact when they host DF Malan at the Brewery. Meanwhile, Rondebosch Boys’ High travels to Paarl to face Boishaai, while Bishops Diocesan College is away at Stellenberg.

Paarl Gimnasium, after their narrow loss to Paul Roos, will chase a win against Parel Vallei. In the final match of the day, Punt (Mosselbaai) takes on Belville High.

Fixtures

Friday, 24 May 

18:15 – Durbanville vs Westerford
19:00 – SACS vs DF Malan
19:15 – Somerset College vs Bridge House
19:25 – Stellenberg vs Bishops
19:30 – Paarl Boys’ High vs Rondebosch Boys’ High
19:45 – Paul Roos Gimnasium vs Wynberg Boys High
19:45 – Paarl Gimnasium vs Parel Vallei
20:00 – Punt (Mosselbaai) vs Belville High

Saturday, 25 May

11:00- HTS Drostdy vs HS Swartland

The Western Province u18A boys’ team has set its sights on retaining the SASHOC National Week title they won in 2023. The highly anticipated 2024 tournament takes place in Bloemfontein next month.

The event will be hosted at five different venues: the University of Free State, St Andrew’s School, St Michael’s School for Girls, Grey College and Eunice High School. The action kicks off on 16 June, with the final scheduled for 21 June.

In their mission to do the double, Province will be led by coach Bryce West, who has selected a star-studded squad to do battle against the best that rest of South Africa has to offer.

In last year’s campaign, West‘s team entered the tournament as the favourites. They were all but impossible to contain and they dominated their opponents from the outset.

They impressed during the pool stages, beating, among others, Amathole 3-0, Western Province B 7-1, and Southern Free State 4-0. In the semi-finals, they ran out 4-2 winners over Boland

They came up against a solid Southern Gauteng side, led by Jaydon Brooker, in the final, but once again dictated matters to secure a 3-1 victory. Dean Carrick netted twice for Western Province before Nathan Msakiwe sealed the win.

With that result, Province ended the week as the only unbeaten side in the A-Section.

The 2024 version of Western Province bears little resemblance to the 2023 squad. Only four of the 16 players selected were in last year’s winning outfit. The bulk of the side played in Province’s title-winning u16 side.

The four returning players are Joshua Mettler and James Grieve, of Bishops Diocesan College, and Wynberg Boys’ High‘s Ethan Lee, and Dayle Gertson.

All four players have been key players for their teams this season. Mettler and Grieve, under the guidance of coach Ryan Julius, have been forces to be reckoned with.

They’ve helped their side to crucial wins over Wynberg and Paarl Boys’ High, and a 1-1 draw against SACS earlier this month.

Gertson, and Lee, on the other hand, have been at the forefront of Wynberg’s challenge. All four players represented the SA u17 team at the Mirnawan Cup in Malaysia in November 2023.

Joining them in the Western Province u18A squad this year is a large contingent of players from SACS, which has made a strong case that it is the top hockey school in South Africa at present.

SACS has eight representatives in the team, namely goalkeeper Noah Venter, Joshua le Roux, Cohen Williams, Nick Paxton, Aiden Hughes, Stéphan Meyer, and the influential duo of Reece Theunis and Litha Kraai.

While many will be looking to Kraai and Theunis to lead the way, the group from SACS is loaded with quality from top to bottom.

Last year, Le Roux, Hughes, Theunis, and Kraai were included in the SA u16A squad.

Bishops’ Mettler and Grieve are joined in the provincial lineup by their school’s hockey captain, Robert Veldtman.

Veldtman is a strong performer under pressure. His calmness and composure will be valuable attributes as Province goes in search of another title.

For Wynberg Boys High, it’s Lee, Jordan Paulsen, Dayle Gertson, and Zachary Gibbon who will don the blue and white of their province.

Reddam House Constantia’s Joe Gitlin completes the squad.

Western Province scored 27 goals during last year’s tournament. With another supremely talented lineup, they’ll be eager to surpass that total and to emulate the 2023 team by winning the SASHOC National Week title.

Western Province u18A Team:

Noah Venter (SACS), Joshua le Roux (SACS), Reece Theunis (SACS), Robert Veldtman (Bishops), Jordan Paulsen (Wynberg), Dayle Gertson(Wynberg), Joshua Mettler (Bishops), James Grieve (Bishops), Cohen Williams (SACS), Ethan Lee (Wynberg), Litha Kraai (SACS), Nick Paxton (SACS), Aiden Hughes (SACS), Stéphan Meyer (SACS), Joe Gitlin (Reddam House Constantia), Zachary Gibbon (Wynberg).

Pool fixtures:

Sunday, 16 June 2024:
11:20- Western Province A vs Southern Gauteng B

Monday, 17 June 2024:
14:25- Border A vs Western Province A

Tuesday, 18 June 2024:
09:55- Western Province A vs Boland A
15:33- Western Province A vs KZN Coastal B

Wednesday 19 June 2024:
11:35- Western Province A vs Western Province B

An in-form, ferocious, and motivated Grey High School side will visit Makhanda this week, intent on keeping their unbeaten record in the Eastern Cape intact when they face St Andrew’s College on Friday afternoon.

The action on the Webster Astroturf begins at 17:30.

Grey High, this season, has been a force to be reckoned with, not only in the Eastern Cape but around the country.

There was optimism surrounding the school’s hockey programme early in the season when old boy Andrew Beynon moved from Collegiate Girls’ High to take over as the Director of Hockey and coach of the 1st XI.

Since the move, Beynon has led the Grey first team to some dazzlingly impressive results, which have established the Gqeberha school as being among SA’s best on the turf in 2024.

The side was unbeaten in the pre-season at the Tony Godding Festival in East London. Then, at the highly competitive Nomads Festival, which was hosted by Maritzburg College, they repeated that feat.

They transferred that energy into their first match of the season, in which they comfortably dismantled Dale College 9-0 in Qonce, as skipper Kian Cambier, Xander Elkington, and Luke Tait all scored braces.

Beynon’s side, the week after, travelled to Cape Town to meet Wynberg Boys’ High and South African College High School (SACS) on the same weekend.

They drew 2-2 with Wynberg, and the following morning tasted defeat for the first time against SACS, going down 2-5.

That defeat was followed by a 2-3 loss at home against Paul Roos Gimnasium, in an inter-schools’ match. Grey led 2-0 before letting their advantage slip late in the contest.

Since then, Grey has lost only once, on a penalty shootout against SACS in the semi-final of the Hibbert Shield. They finished the tournament as the bronze medallists, however.

They’ve cruised to three comfortable wins, beating Queen’ College 6-0, Woodridge College 6-1, and Pearson High, in their most recent outing, 7-1.

The showdown with St Andrew’s will be their last for the term before those players selected for the provincial team head out to Bloemfontein for the SASHOC National Week next month.

To win away from home, they will look to some of their standout players to come to the fore for one last time this term.

They include Ben Ristow and Marco Giaconi, who will be key in organising matters at the back.

Captain Kian Cambier, Caden Skinnette, and Blake Muller will be pivotal in the midfield.

Meanwhile, in front of goal, Luke Tait has been scoring for fun lately and will be aiming for more of the same.

Other players to keep an eye on include Logan Goddard Ford, Caleb Humphreys, and Xander Elkington.

St Andrew’s, meanwhile, has enjoyed a strong season, and they, like Grey, were unbeaten at the Tony Godding Festival. They subsequently lost only once at the Bishops 175 Festival. They’ll be a good challenge for the visitors.

In their most recent action, they defeated Hudson Park 3-0 and overran Cambridge High School 7-1.

Players to keep a close eye on include Thando Wopula, and provincial representatives, David Semrau and Samuel Scheckter.

Other matches

In other fixtures, Hudson Park High, after a two-week break, will return to action in Komani against Queen’s College.

Hudson’s last outing was the aforementioned 0-3 loss to St Andrew’s, and they will be well-rested and keen to cause an upset at the Chris Harker AstroTurf.

In East London, Cambridge High School faces a daunting task against the high-flying Selborne College, who are led by Tre’ Gilbert. Meanwhile, Westering High School welcomes Kingswood College to Gqeberha.

Fixtures

Friday, 24 May 

17:00 – Queen’s College vs Hudson Park
17:30 – St Andrew’s College vs Grey High
18:00 – Cambridge High vs Selborne College
TBC – Westering High School vs Kingswood College

Rhenish Girls’ High further asserted themselves as one of the most dangerous teams in the country this season when they overwhelmed Fairmont High School 10-0 in one of the most highly anticipated of the weekend’s girls’ matches in the Western Cape.

The Stellenbosch-based side headed into the game with confidence after an impressive All Girls Festival showing in Potchefstroom earlier this month.

There, coach Chris Gerber’s troops finished in second spot, going down 2-3 in a penalty shootout against Pretoria’s Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool after the teams had finished regulation time in the final level at 0-0.

Before the All Girls Festival, Rhenish had only tasted defeat once, and it was a 0-1 loss, at the hands of Paarl Gimnasium during the St Mary’s Waverley Hockey Festival last month.

Despite those setbacks, Rhenish has been superb this season and, at times, has looked unplayable, scoring goals with ease while remaining rock-solid at the back.

Before their Friday night clash, they took on Herschel Girls School in a mid-week encounter and won 2-0.

Against Fairmont, they came up against an unpredictable side that’s been searching for consistency in 2024.

In their two fixtures preceding the Rhenish game, coach Jarryd Curran‘s side defeated Stellenbosch 5-0 and drew 0-0 with DF Malan.

They were, however, blown away by Rhenish. Ruby Cilliers opened the scoring with a field goal early in the match and the floodgates opened up after that strike. The Stellenbosch girls were superb under the lights.

Sarah-Ellen Groenewald then netted twice, firstly with a drag flick from a PC, which was followed by a field goal. Grace Hobbs added three of her own, Leah du Plessis bagged a double, and Montana de Kock and Nicola van der Merwe added further goals as Rhenish posted an emphatic 10-0 win.

Rhenish remains unbeaten in Western Cape competition this season, and it’ll take a special effort to dent that record.

In another highly anticipated clash on Friday, Paarl Girls’ High was victorious against La Rochelle.

Girls’ High, just like Rhenish, participated in the All Girls Festival. They finished fourth in Potchefstroom, which was the second best of the Western Cape sides at the event.

Last week, they took on Somerset College, and shared a 1-1 draw, with Halle Williams finding the back of the net in that game.

They were a different side against La Rochelle. Clinical in front of goal, they netted 10 goals, while keeping a clean sheet.

Lisa Craven scored a hattrick, Halle Williams contributed a brace, and Charlotte Louw, Nina Cilliers, Cassie Fairbairn, Rouxnè Pentz, and Nika Pretorius each scored once.

On Saturday, Paarl Gimnasium defeated HMS Bloemhof 2-0 at home with Anya Swanepoel, and Tanya Pieterse grabbing the goals for Gim.

RESULTS

Worcester Gimnasium 1-2 Strand
Paarl Girls’ High 10-0 La Rochelle
Parel Vallei 1-0 Somerset College
Rustenburg Girls’ High 0-2 Springfield Convent School
Rhenish Girls’ High 10-0 Fairmont High School
Herschel Girls School 1-0 Stellenberg High
Melkbosstrand 1-2 Brackenfell
Paarl Gimnasium 2-0 HMS Bloemhof

It has been a solid season for the Pearson High School girls’ hockey side, and they continued to pad their record when they picked up two victories in George over the weekend, beating York High 4-1 and Hoërskool Outeniqua 2-1.

Last weekend, the Gqeberha school faced Collegiate Girls’ High at Collegiate’s 150th reunion and came away with a hard-fought draw.

That clash was tightly contested, with both sides creating clear-cut goalscoring opportunities, but the goalkeepers pulled off crucial saves to keep the scoreboard motionless.

That stalemate wouldn’t have disheartened the Pearson girls. There have been lessons to learn this season, including in a big 6-0 win over Westering, and in a 0-4 defeat against Rhenish, who have proved themselves to be one of the best teams in the country in 2024.

Pearson took on York High on Friday afternoon, with the local girls fresh off of a 3-1 win over Woodridge College a week earlier.

Coach MJ Meyer‘s York side stuck one past Pearson, but the Gqeberha girls responded with four goals of their own to claim a comfortable 4-1 victory, with Zanike Coetzer, Isabella Costa Gamaleri, Hanna Potgieter, and Zoey Mostert getting their names onto the score sheet.

The following day, Pearson was made to work extremely hard for a 2-1 win over Outeniqua. This time around, it was Annemi De Villiers, and Nyssa Slabbert, who contributed goals to take their side to victory.

There’s no let-up for Pearson. They next travel to Makhanda to face DSG Makhanda.

Over the weekend, DSG went down 1-2 against Collegiate. They’ll be motivated to reverse that loss.

Woodridge College, after their defeat to York High last weekend, got back to winning ways at the expense of Union High School.

Woodridge, under the leadership of coach Herman Kitshoff, started the season positively, and will take confidence from the win.

Dané Strydom struck twice for Woodridge, while Emilee Tinderholm also found the back of the net.

Next weekend, Woodridge takes on Victoria Park.

East London’s Clarendon High School for Girls was also on the road on the weekend, visiting Kingsridge High School for Girls (KHS) in Qonce.

After being trounced by Eunice in late April, Clarendon has bounced back impressively. In the past fortnight, they’ve defeated Ooskus Gimnasium (formally known as Grens) 12-0 and Lilyfontein School 8-1.

Against KHS, they kept their free-scoring ways going with a comfortable 5-0 win.

In other matches, Alexander Road edged out Westering 2-1, while Stirling High and Cambridge drew 2-2 in an East London derby.

RESULTS

York High 1-4 Pearson High
Alexander Road 2-1 Westering High School
Outeniqua 1-2 Pearson High
Woodridge College 3-1 Union High School
Stirling High 2-2 Cambridge High
Kingsridge High School for Girls 0-5 Clarendon High School for Girls
DSG Makhanda 1-2 Collegiate Girls’ High

Selborne College’s first team captain, Tre’ Gilbert continued his fine form this season when he netted four times to lead his side to an emphatic 10-1 victory over Dale College at the Qonce school’s 163rd reunion  on Friday.

Gilbert’s four goals were accompanied by a Jaques van der Merwe brace, while Kungothando Macanda, Daniel Conroy, Waeden Plaatjes, and Daniel Sirgel also got their names on the score sheet.

Rewatch all the hockey action on SuperSport Schools

Entering the clash, the visitors had set their sights on improving their general play and on scoring more goals from open play.

When they contested the Hibbert Shield in Gqeberha earlier this month, Selborne scored 18 goals in their five matches, with most of them coming from perfect execution during penalty corners.

That execution needed to be transferred to general play, too, and coach KJ Friend’s team duly delivered, as they opened the scoring in the first two minutes through Plaatjes, who received the ball inside the circle and carved out some space before finding the back of the net.

After that opening goal, the heavens opened.

With Selborne dominating ball possession and territory, Van der Merwe scored their second from open play and, with five minutes left in the chukka, Macanda made it 3-0.

Van der Merwe made it a double to stake his side to a 4-0 lead after the first chukka.

The visitors remained dominant in the second chukka, making Dale do all the chasing and defending.

Daniel Sirgel continued the scoring frenzy early in the quarter and was soon joined by his skipper, Gilbert, who netted twice.

His first came from a long corner, as he drove the ball into the circle before ripping a reverse stick shot past the ‘keeper. His second came from a penalty corner drag flick.

Dale pulled one back through Sonwabiso Dyani, but the hosts entered half-time trailing 1-7.

Dale thought they had scored in the third chukka, but that effort was disallowed, and Selborne bolstered their tally with two more penalty corner drag flicks from the stick of Gilbert.

The hosts continued to chase the game and created some opportunities on the counterattack through their standout player on the day, Gavin Walton.

Walton, who scored against Queen’s in a 3-2 win in Komani in April, was playing his 75th game for the Dale first team. Alongside him, Amangile Songelwa and Akanani Msuthu played their 50th matches.

The home team had scored once, but the Selborne defence refused to give up another. Late in the fourth chukka, the East Londoners drove the final nail into the Dale coffin when Daniel Conroy scored from open play to make the final score 10-1.

It was their second biggest victory of the year, trailing only a massive 16-1 win over Merrifield early in the season.

In another big Eastern Cape clash on Friday, Grey High School continued their prolific form by beating their Gqeberha rivals, Pearson High, 7-1 at the Rectory Astroturf.

Grey entered the clash brimming with confidence.

Last weekend, they had thumped Komani’s Queen’s College 6-0, and they followed that up with a 6-1 win over Woodridge College during the week.

The first half of Friday’s game was a tight struggle, however, and the teams went into half-time locked at 1-1.

Then, coach Andrew Beynon‘s charges upped the pace in the final two chukkas to break open the contest. Suddenly, they scored with ease, with Logan Goddard Ford striking twice. Caleb Humphreys, Athi Voigt and Luke Tait added field goals, and captain Xander Elkington and Ben Ristow scored with drag flicks from penalty corners.

In Makhanda, Kingswood College bagged a handful of goals to beat Victoria Park 5-2. Their win followed a 3-1 midweek triumph over Alexander Road.

Meanwhile, Stirling claimed the bragging rights in East London with a 2-0 victory over Cambridge High School.

RESULTS

Selborne College 10-1 Dale College
Kingswood College 5-2 Victoria Park
Stirling High School 2-0 Cambridge High School
Alexander Road 2-1 Westering High School
Grey High School 7-1 Pearson High School

For a second week running, Bishops Diocesan College put on an impressive showing, this time coasting to a 6-0 win over Paarl Boys’ High at the Woodlands Astroturf in the southern suburbs of Cape Town on Friday night.

With the win, Bishops joined South African College High School (SACS) as the only unbeaten sides in the Western Cape league after SACS thrashed Stellenberg 11-1.

Bishops had shown off good form ahead of their clash with Boishaai, outplaying Fairmont 5-0 after holding SACS to a 1-1 draw.

It’s been a tough season for Paarl Boys’ High, who’ve struggled to play themselves into form. Before their meeting with Bishops, they had suffered four defeats in succession, going down 0-3 to Grey College, 3-6 to Somerset College, 0-4 to Paul Roos, and 1-5 to Wynberg Boys’ High, so winning at Woodlands was always going to be a difficult ask.

Boishaai emerged from the first chukka all square at 0-0, but Albert Steyn then got Bishops on the board with a well-executed drag flick from a penalty corner.

The floodgates opened after that, with the host playing freely, connecting well, and putting on a show for their schoolmates.

Vice-captain James Grieve doubled his side’s lead, and Joshua Mettler, skipper Rob Veldtman, Andrew Betty, and Christopher Gray all added their names to the score sheet to seal an emphatic win.

“The game started very slowly. We had a sluggish warm-up. I think with exams currently taking place, the boys had a rough week,” Bishops’ head coach Ryan Julius said after the match.

“It took a while to get into the game. We had a few opportunities that were well saved by their goalkeeper (Luan Bornman), but then, from the second chukka, we started to find our rhythm.”

Julius had stressed taking advantage of goal-scoring opportunities as an area of focus in the lead-up to the match. Against Boishaai, he said he was pleased with his side’s mature approach and how relentless they were in putting the visitors away.

“Goal scoring was one of our themes going into this week. We needed to score,” he said. “I think we were clinical and took our chances. We did leave a few out there, but that’s sport.

“Defensively, we were solid, and it’s nice to keep a clean sheet. All credit goes to the players for their hard work.”

Next weekend, Bishops will face Stellenberg.

Photo credits: Ray ChaplinMeanwhile, SACS kept their winning train rolling as they thumped Stellies 11-1 at home.

Coach Sam Holmes’ side entered the clash full of confidence after handing Paul Roos a 6-2 loss at the Brewery last weekend.

The usual suspects netted the goals for SACS, with Reece Theunis continuing his fine goalscoring form with a brace.

Litha Kraai was way too much for Stellenberg, slotting five goals, while Regan Wille, Cole Allam, Connor van der Schuyff, and Matthew Jones also netted.

Parel Vallei got the better of Somerset College, claiming a 1-0 win, courtesy of a Luka Meets’ goal.

There were also victories for Wynberg Boys’ High over Durbanville, Langa Hockey Club over Belville, and Brackenfell High against the Rondebosch Boys’ High 2nd XI.

RESULTS

Worcester Gimnasium 1-1 Strand
Fairmont High 0-0 Reddam House
Paarl Boys’ High 0-6 Bishops Diocesan College
Wynberg Boys’ High 5-1 Durbanville
Rondebosch Boys’ High – Curro Durbanville- POSTPONED
Parel Vallei 1-0 Somerset College
Paarl Gim 0-1 Paul Roos
Stellenberg 1-11 SACS
Belville High 2-4 Langa Hockey Club
Rondebosch (2^nd )1-2 Brackenfell High

It was far from the prettiest hockey on display by the Hibbert Shield champions, Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG), but it proved good enough to secure a 1-0 win over their rivals, Paarl Gimnasium, in Paarl, on Friday evening.

The Stellenbosch school scored the contest’s only goal in the third chukka through Christo Swanepoel.

Rewatch the match on SuperSport Schools

PRG headed into the rivalry game licking their wounds after suffering a hefty 2-6 defeat at the hands of South African College High School (SACS) last week.

Gim, on the other hand, was in search of a first win since the Hibbert Shield after they had played to a 2-2 draw with Rondebosch Boys’ High a week ago.

In the most recent clashes between the schools, PRG had claimed the honours in 2023, winning 2-0, while they also scored a resounding 5-2 win in the Hibbert Shield quarterfinals earlier this month.

Just like they did in that quarterfinal in Gqeberha, they started the match brightly and could’ve opened the scoring within the first two minutes.

Joshua Smit, who earned his 50th cap for the team last week, played a through ball that found Callum van Oudsthoorn in space and, with a one-on-one against Gim’s shot-stopper Joe van Coller, he pulled his shot wide.

Soon after, Barend Geldenhuys created a golden opportunity for himself after captain Reuben Sendzul found him in space, but he, too, failed to hit the target.

Gim struggled to gain a foothold in the match and were forced to play most of the first chukka in their own half.

The second quarter was a replica of the first with coach Michael Baker’s PRG troops creating opportunities and coming close to scoring, but they failed to capitalise on the opportunities they created.

They were awarded four penalty corners, and skipper, Sendzul, the Paul Roos drag flicker, who appeared to have found his groove in recent weeks, struggled under the lights.

However, in the third chukka, the Maroon Machine finally broke through with a variation from a penalty corner.

Instead of Sendzul attempting another shot on goal, he calmly picked out Swanepoel, who was in space and had time to get off a shot into the back of the net.

Baker’s side continued to create chances, but Van Coller had an answer for each and every shot, pulling off some superb saves, to keep coach Jacques Grobler’s charges in the match heading into the final chukka.

Unlike last week against SACS, where PRG’s defence was found wanting in the final quarter, Louan van Zyl, Hanno Basson, Swanepoel, Ruben Gouws and Keith Siebrits did massive work in the fourth chukka to keep their side’s slender lead intact.

Gim, who had been forced to defend the entire match, had an opportunity to draw level from a PC, but the injection wasn’t cleanly stopped, and the chance was squandered.

With about three minutes left, PRG’s goalkeeper Beor van Reenen saw his first action of the night. LD Nel let fly with a powerful shot, but Van Reenen reacted superbly to deny the Paarl Gim man.

That proved to be the last meaningful attack of the match and PRG returned to winning ways away from home.

Next week, Gim hosts Parel Vallei, while PRG welcomes Wynberg Boys’ High to the Maties Astroturf.

Scores

Paul Roos Gimnasium 1 (0): Christo Swanepoel. Paarl Gimnasium 0 (0).

Hoërskool Garsfontein girls’ hockey side is on a mission to take their season up a notch this weekend when they travel to face St Mary’s Waverley in their annual derby in Johannesburg on Saturday.

The meeting will be the first between the sides this year and it takes place on the Nathan AstroTurf, starting at 11:30.

The visitors have impressed in 2024 and will be eager to add a big name to the list of victories they’ve built up.

Coach Charlene Jonsson’s troops have punched above their weight this season, producing impressive results against some of the country’s best teams.

After starting brightly, with wins over Beaulieu College (4-1), Monument (7-0), and Noordheuwel (3-2) in pre-season encounters, the Pretoria side shifted their focus to the Saints Festival and picked up four wins from their five matches.

Soon after, they headed to the St Mary’’s Waverley Festival and, up against the cream of the crop in South Africa, they finished 18th out of 32 teams.

“We had a strong start, with good preseason results over Beaulieu, Monument, and Noordheuwel, whereafter we played in the Saints Easter festival, and had a good run,” coach Jonsson told SuperSport Schools Plus ahead of the match.

“At St Mary’s Waverley, we had a tough tournament, with plenty of draws and some inconsistent results.

“However, that set us up for the rest of our season, which has been full of good results thus far.”

In recent weeks, the Pretoria-based side took on the Bloemfontein powerhouses, Eunice and Oranje. They performed impressively in both matches and fought their way to consecutive 2-2 draws.

In their most recent action, they beat National All Girls Festival champions, Affies, 3-0, which was preceded by a goalless draw against Waterkloof.

“We are happy with the progress we have made since the St Mary’s Festival and firmly believe the tournament helped lay the foundation for a strong defensive and attacking outfit, and we look forward to the rest of our season’s fixtures,” Jonsson said.

“Along with the back-to-back draws against Eunice and Oranje, we are still unbeaten in our Pretoria league.”

In last year’s game against St Mary’s, Garsies won 2-0. If they’re to repeat that success, Jonsson said her side would need to be technically sharp and capitalise on their opportunities.

“It’s going to take sound defensive structures, a good tactical game plan, and, most importantly, using your opportunities in critical moments, to manage the game,” she added.

“It’s always a highlight fixture in our calendar to play St Mary’s Waverley, with all our teams.

“Every year has been a tough battle and it’s never easy playing them in front of their home crowd. Coach Cindy Brown always brings the heat.”

Garsfontein will look to their skipper Lize-Mari Claassens to lead them from the front. Others to keep an eye out for include Andrea Groenewald, Minga Naudé, Arista van Zyl, Anje McLaren, Anjoné Lourens, and Jana Seebach– all of whom have been selected to represent their provincial team at the SASHOC Nationals in Bloemfontein.

In other matches around the Province, Zwartkop will host Eldoraigne in an FNB Classic Clash. The hosts will be out to avenge a 0-1 defeat in 2023.

Meanwhile, EG Jansen will face Hoërskool Oosterlig.

Fixtures

Saturday, 18 May

08:45 – Zwartkop vs Eldoraigne
08:50 – EG Jansen vs Hoërskool Oosterlig
11:30 – St Mary’s Waverley vs Garsfontein

 

A Pretoria derby will capture the spotlight this weekend when Hoërskool Zwartkop plays host to Hoërskool Eldoraigne in their annual FNB Classic Clash at the Zwartkop Astroturf on Friday night.

The opening push-back happens at 18:20, and you can catch all the hockey action on SuperSport Schools.

Eldoraigne heads into the contest chasing a second straight win against the hosts.

In last year’s encounter, coach Stefan Coertzen’s side was victorious, claiming a 2-0 victory. In 2022, it ended 1-1, while Zwartkop scored a narrow 1-0 win in 2021.

“The Classic Clash is always an exceptional occasion between the two schools,” Coertzen told SuperSport Schools Plus ahead of the game.

“It is always a very competitive match, with both sides having to adapt to the roaring crowds and festivities around the Astro.

“We will have to stay humble and not let the game get too big, keep believing in ourselves. We need to stick to our principles and be adaptable to every situation.”

The teams have had contrasting starts to the season, with Zwartkop finding the going tough, while their opponents, despite a slow pre-season, have hit their stride.

In their last three outings, Zwartkop lost 1-3 to Menlopark and 0-2 against Pietersburg in the 3^rd/4^th NWU Prestige Competition playoff, but they won 2-0 win against Sutherland High School.

Their opponents, on the flip side, have been scoring with ease in recent weeks. They thumped Oos-Moot 11-0 and Transvalia 5-0 earlier in the season, but Affies stopped the side from Centurion, handing them a 0-2 defeat.

In their most recent matches, Eldoraigne cruised to a 6-0 victory over Sutherland and edged out Montana 3-2. Based on past results, they should be considered the favourites ahead of Saturday’s big game.

Earlier in the season, Eldoraigne was in action at the KES Easter Festival. Coertzen believes those matches helped his team’s development.

⁠”Taking part in the KES Easter Festival accelerated the growth of the team,” he said. “The results might have not gone our way, but the way we managed to compete with some of the top hockey schools in South Africa shows that the boys improved very quickly for the pre-season period.”

The hosts know they will need to show character and grit in front of their home supporters. It’s going to be a stern test of their skills.

They will be able to draw inspiration from some of their more impressive showing this season, including a 5-0 win over Marais Viljoen.

They will look to Douw Nel, who is in grade 10 and made the provincial side, to help steer their challenge.

Rochè Oberholzer, who was selected for the Northerns’ men’s indoor B team, is an experienced player who will be key, as their general, in the middle of the park.

The visitors will look to their leadership group to step up in a hostile environment. Skipper Kade Poonasamy alongside the team’s three vice-captains – Markus Zeelie, Ewan van der Walt, and Christian Ruytenberg – are some of the players to keep an eye on.

TEAMS

Zwartkop: Jaden Hefer, Marnu Mulder, Douw Nel, Jordan Cooks, Roché Oberholzer, Handré Coetzee, Divan Coertze, Gerhard Scheepers, Luan de Jager, Edrich Grobler, Gareth Jooste, Handru Dickinson (c), Henko Zaayman, Juan Dempers, Emile Rossouw, MJ van der Nest

Eldoraigne: Aiden Troskie, Christian Ruytenberg, Daniël Fourie, Duncan Eloff, Ewan van der Walt, Hanco Nel, Iwan Thompson, Daniel Beneke, Kade Poonasamy (c), Leon Wiesemann, Markus Zeelie, Nathan van Zyl, Nico Jansen van Rensburg, Ruan van den Berg, Sean Jones, Stefan Malan, Jordaan Otto, Tyron Bouwer

NOORDVAAL FIXTURES

Friday, 17 May

17:30 – Garsfontein vs Cornwall
18:20 – Zwartkop vs Eldoraigne
17:50 – Menlopark vs Waterkloof