Author: asawula

After the heavy workload of the All Girls Hockey festival, which was held in Potchefstroom last weekend, it will be business as usual for Western Cape sides when they return to the turf this weekend.

Catch all the hockey action LIVE on SuperSport Schools.

The action commences on Friday night with a gripping encounter between two dangerous sides in Somerset West, where Somerset College hosts Paarl Girls’ High.

At the beginning of the season, Somerset looked deadly in front of goal, and they made scoring look easy, opening their campaign with wins over Fairmont High (2-0), Herschel Girls School (1-0), St Cyprian’s (4-1), and DF Malan (2-0) at the Spar Hockey Challenge pre-season tournament.

They carried that momentum into the Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey tournament, which they won, beating Hoërskool Middelburg 2-0 in the final.

Then, at the St Mary’s Festival, in Johannesburg, against the highest quality field in the country, they lost their form a little and placed 23^rd out of 32 teams.

This coming Friday, they come up against a good Paarl Girls’ High side, which has made strides this season.

Despite going down 0-1 against Oranje and 1-3 against HMS Bloemhof last month, coach Anri Keevy’s side has shown signs of improvement. Playing an exciting brand of hockey, they finished fourth at the All Girls Festival.

They will challenge Somerset, with players like Rouxné Pentz and Nina Cilliers likely to lead their goal scoring efforts.

Another clash to look forward to on Friday is the showdown between Springfield Convent School and HMS Bloemhof. Bloemhof was also in Potchefstroom for the All Girls Festival and performed well to finish in an impressive fifth place. Also on Friday, Paarl Gimnasium will tackle St Cyprian’s.

Saturday promises to deliver some exciting action with Rhenish, Herschel, and Fairmont High, among the teams in action.

Rhenish will aim to quickly get over the disappointment of a penalty shootout loss in the final of the All Girls Festival when they welcome La Rochelle to Stellenbosch.

Stellenberg High plays Westerford, and Durbanville takes on HTS Drostdy in a highly anticipated derby clash.

The action wraps up with Herschel Girls School facing Reddam Constantia and Fairmont hosting Wynberg Girls’ High.

Fixtures

Friday, 10 May

18:30 – Somerset College vs Paarl Girls’ High
19:00 – Curro Durbanville vs Milnerton
19:15 – St Cyprian’s vs Paarl Gimnasium
19:25 – Springfield vs HMS Bloemhof

Saturday, 11 May

09:00 – Stellenberg vs Westerford
10:00 – Durbanville vs HTS Drostdy
11:00 – Rhenish vs La Rochelle
11:00 – Herschel vs Reddam Constantia
10:00 – Fairmont vs Wynberg Girls’ High

After a stellar start to their 2024 hockey season, Grey High School will be aiming to add another notch to their belt when they host Komani’s Queen’s College in their annual reunion derby fixture in Gqeberha on Friday night.

Catch all the hockey action LIVE on SuperSport Schools.

The match will be played at the Collegiate Girls’ High Astroturf to coincide with the girls’ schools 150th reunion celebrations.

Grey has established itself as one of the country’s top teams in 2024, impressing with a strong all-round game against many of South Africa’s other leading sides.

Under the leadership of new head coach and Director of Hockey, Andrew Beynon, the Gqeberha-based side has only lost three times this season, against the current top two teams in the country, South African College High School (SACS) and Paul Roos Gimnasium, and one of those losses, to SACS, was in a penalty shootout.

Last weekend, Grey hosted an extremely competitive Hibbert Shield tournament, which brought together the strongest collection of boys’ teams to participate in a tournament in the country this year. They were drawn in Pool B, along with Paarl Gimnasium, and Clifton College.

Coach Beynon’s side breezed through the pool stages, beating both Clifton (8-1) and Gim (1-0), before dominating in a win over Westville Boys High (3-0) in the quarterfinals. That victory booked them a semifinal date with SACS.

Last month, Grey had suffered a first loss of the season against SACS, going down 2-5 in Cape Town. At home, they took the game to SACS. They looked like a different outfit, dangerous on attack and, defensively, they limited SACS’ goal-scoring opportunities.

The clash ended 1-1, but Grey eventually succumbed 2-4 in the penalty shootout. A 4-1 win over Hoërskool Garsfontein in their last match clinched the bronze medal, however.

They face an unpredictable side in Queen’s, who will be eager to pull off an upset.

Coach Michael Baiden’s team last played in April when they went down 2-3 to Dale College in their 166^th reunion derby in Komani.

In that clash, Queen’s trailed 0-2 going into the fourth chukka, but they equalised through Bevaneo Maytham, and Aiden van Jaarsveld, only for Sibongisile Nzima to find a late winner for the visitors.

To bag a win in front of their home supporters, Grey will rely on their star-studded attack, under the leadership of Kian Cambier, to come alive against the Komani outfit.

Ben Ristow will be crucial in defence, while Blake Muller, alongside his skipper, will be entrusted to deliver quality balls from the midfield.

Grey has been in good goal scoring form in recent matches, and strikers Luke Tait and Caleb Humphreys will aim to keep that ball rolling.

In other matches around the province, Graeme College will take on Westering High School in an early game on Friday.

Kingswood College goes up against the tough Pearson High School in Makhanda. Stirling, who had a bye weekend last week, returns to action against Merrifield College in East London.

Woodridge College will host George’s York High School.

Meanwhile, preparations for the forthcoming K-Day festivities will begin at St Andrew’s College when they host Cambridge High School at the Webster Astroturf on Friday.

Fixtures

15:30 – Westering vs Graeme College
15:45 – Kingswood College vs Pearson
16:00 – Stirling High vs Merrifield College
16:00 – Woodridge College vs York High
16:30 – St Andrew’s College vs Cambridge High
19:30 – Grey High vs Queen’s College

Collegiate Girls High School, fresh off a strong showing at the National All Girls Festival in Potchefstroom, will return to action this week when they host their arch-rivals, Pearson High School, at their 150^th reunion celebration in Gqeberha on Friday.

The hosts impressed in Potch, finishing seventh, just behind Bloemfontein’s Eunice High School.

At the tournament, coach Michael Abraham’s side was drawn in Pool C, which also included Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High, Eunice, St Michael’s, and Potchefstroom Girls.

The Eastern Cape team sparkled, winning all of their group matches, which included a shock 1-0 win over Eunice in a tightly contested affair.

Adding to their impressive pool results was the fact that they didn’t concede a single goal in those four outings while scoring nine of their own.

In the quarterfinals, Collegiate were finally stopped, but not before they had given Affies, the eventual winners, all they could handle. It came down to a penalty shootout and Affies advanced 2-1 from the spot.

After that, Collegiate suffered a 0-2 loss to HMS Bloemhof, but they finished their tournament on a high, beating Cape Town’s Wynberg Girls’ High by a solitary goal to secure seventh place.

Collegiate will be eager to celebrate their 150^th reunion in appropriate style by putting together a winning performance on their home turf. It’s going to require good execution to beat a dangerous Pearson side.

In their last meeting, in March, in the final of the Spar Hockey Challenge, Pearson, under the guidance of coach Ignatius Malgraff, pulled off a 1-0 win to lay their hands on the silverware.

However, past results have favoured Collegiate.

In last year’s derby, Collegiate won 3-2, and the sides played out a 2-2 draw the year before, while it was the Collegiate who picked up a 2-0 win in 2021.

Past results will mean very little, though, when the whistle for the first chukka blows on Friday night.

Both sides have players who have been selected to represent Eastern Province at this year’s SASHOC u18 Inter-provincial tournament in Bloemfontein in their ranks.

Collegiate will look to their provincial reps, Alulutho Adams, Tiara Finnis, and Gemma Bouwer, to lead their challenge.

Meanwhile, coach Malgraff will look to Annemi De Villiers, Jody Van Aardt, and Zoey Mostert to fire on all cylinders if his side is to cause an upset away from home.

The clash starts at 19:45 at the Collegiate Astroturf and will be streamed LIVE on SuperSport Schools.

In other matches around the province, Stirling High School, after suffering a hefty 0-7 defeat at the hands of DSG Makhanda, will try to reverse their fortunes when they take on Merrifield College in East London.

Cambridge High School, after a bye last week, is back in action and will travel to Makhanda to face DSG.

Woodridge College takes on York High School, Kingswood College plays Alexander Road, and Die Brandwag will be in action against Victoria Girls’ High.

FIXTURES

Friday, 10 May

16:00 – Alexander Road vs Kingswood College
19:45 – Collegiate Girls High vs Pearson High

Saturday, 11 May 2024

10:00 – Stirling High vs Merrifield College
10:20- Woodridge College vs York High
12:30 – DSG Makhanda vs Cambridge High
13:00 – Die Brandwag vs Victoria Girls’ High

While the Hibbert Shield concluded at Grey High’s Rectory Astroturf over the weekend, so, too, did the u16 Hibbert Cup, with Grey High claiming top honours by defeating Paul Roos Gimnasium 3-1 in the final on Saturday evening.

The u16 event, which was hosted at Pearson High School’s astroturf, showcased the young talent hovering just below first team level, and provided a look at what’s to come in the near future.

Heading into the four-day tournament, Grey was high in confidence after recently claiming morale-boosting wins over South African College High School (SACS) and Paul Roos.

At the Hibbert Cup, they were drawn in Pool C, alongside Garsfontein and Westville Boys’ High. They didn’t concede a goal in pool play, winning those matches 1-0 and 4-0 respectively.

In their quarterfinal, coach James Atherton’s side made light work of St Andrew’s College, easing their way to a 5-0 win, before being extended by SACS in a 2-1 semi-final victory.

“I thought the tournament itself was run really well from Pearson’s side, so credit to them, firstly,” coach Atherton told SuperSport Schools.

“The calibre of teams that attend this tournament is of a very high standard. I thought my boys played a really good brand of hockey, and to win it on home soil was special.

“We came into the tournament with the aim of winning it. We had some good momentum coming in with wins over SACS and Paul Roos the previous two weekends, so confidence was high.”

Only a week before the final, Grey had thumped Paul Roos 7-0 during an inter-schools’ clash at the same venue.

Atherton said, despite that result, his side remained calm, never got carried away, and the conversations in the locker room were solely focused on “trusting the process”.

“It’s never easy playing an opponent twice in a season, as they have a chance to study you better and be better prepared,”” he said.

“We took confidence from the 7-0 result, but we knew PRG would come back a lot stronger.

“The convo before the game was just to soak up what we anticipated would be early pressure from them and to trust the process. Discipline is so key off the ball, and this team can execute instructions well, and our pressing shape has been good all year.”

Hockey at Grey High appears to be in very healthy shape, with Old Grey Andrew Beynon, who started at his Alma Mater at the beginning of 2024, steering the ship.

Despite the Grey High first team having had to settle for the bronze medal, they’ve also been a cut above the rest this season, and have lost only against Paul Roos and SACS, who were the finalists on Saturday.

Coach Atherton said the u16 win was a testament to what Beynon is trying to implement within the programme.

“It’s massive for Grey hockey, as a whole,” he reckoned. “Andrew Beynon has come in this year as our Director of Hockey, and he has taken the Hockey Club to a new level, in terms of culture and professionalism.

“We, as coaches, are growing under his tutelage, and the boys are being exposed to so much more than ever before.

“We are only at the start of our journey and both the 1st team and u16A results are amazing rewards for the hard work that is being put in. It’s an exciting time to be involved with Grey hockey.

“We have major aspirations, as a school, to become the top hockey school around, which is no easy feat, but this weekend could lay the foundation to achieving that long term, in terms of belief and support.”

The challenges continue to stack up for the Grey u16A side, which returns to action this week with matches against Kingswood College and Queen’s College.

As he did at the Hibbert Cup, coach Atherton will bank on his captain Matthew Allibone to lead the side from the front. He will also look to Keegan Le Roux, who scored a brace in both the semis and the final, to fire on all cylinders inside the circle.

Dale Jennings, who has had a taste of first team action, will pose threats, while two youngsters, James Chree and Dante Elkington, are other players to keep an eye on.

Hibbert Cup Final Standings

Grey High School
Paul Roos Gimnasium
SACS
Durban High School
Selborne College
Pearson High School
St Andrew’s College
Garsfontein
Westville Boys’ High School
Waterkloof
Paarl Gimnasium
Clifton College

After going unbeaten in the pool stages and knock-out rounds, Paul Roos Gimnasium capped off a perfect Hibbert Shield campaign when they defeated South African College High School (SACS) 6-5 on penalties in the final of the tournament at Grey High’s Rectory Astroturf in Gqeberha on Saturday.

Coach Michael Baker’s team was forced to do it the hard way after trailing 0-3 early in the match.

However, they showed grit, character, and a never-say-die attitude to level matters at 3-3, which forced the encounter into penalties and, eventually, sudden death.

In their journey to the final, PRG put together a spotless record in the group stages, then eliminated Paarl Gimnasium in the quarterfinals, before facing Garsfontein in the last four.

On Saturday morning, they made light work of the Pretoria side netting 10 times and making a statement ahead of the final.

Their opponents SACS had a similarly clean run but were made to work hard in the semis where they needed a penalty shootout to beat Grey High 4-2.

Unlike in the semi-finals, where they struggled for goals, SACS was quickly out of the blocks in the title-decider, netting a goal within the opening minute through a PC drag flick from Litha Kraai.

The Cape Town school dictated play and camped in PRG’s half, forcing the Stellenbosch side into mistakes.

Those mistakes resulted in another PC and, after a smart variation, Kraai passed the ball to Reece Theunis, who found himself in space and easily made it 2-0.

With a minute to play in the chukka, Theunis beat shot-stopper Beor van Reenen for a second time, leaving SACS 3-0 to the good.

As the second quarter began, PRG looked rattled, but they certainly were not out of it, and they began to gain a foothold in the match.

They looked more organised in midfield, where Joshua Smit, Christo Swanepoel, and Callum van Oudsthoorn displayed some much-needed energy.

Baker’s boys finally got their opener with a minute to play in the first half when their skipper Reuben Sendzul found himself inside SACS’s circle and, with not many defenders around him, managed to sneak the ball past Noah Venter.

The scores remained static in the third chukka, but the complexion of the match changed in the fourth.

PRG’s comeback started early in the chukka, when they received a penalty corner after a SACS’ player played the ball with a hand.

From that PC, Sendzul played a variation and picked out Keith Siebrits, who was in the right spot to tap in and make it 3-2.

SACS were, then, kept in the game by their goalkeeper, Venter, who produced two fine saves to keep his side in front.

However, his heroics were short-lived as Callum van Oudtshoorn, with three minutes to play, levelled matters, much to the delight of the travelling supporters.

With the sides tied at 3-3, the contest went to eight-second penalties and onto sudden death when those failed to saparate the teams.

The winning penalty for PRG was scored by the lanky Swanepoel, while Theunis was dispossessed by Van Reenen when attempting to even the scores, giving Paul Roos a 6-5 win from the spot.

The win means Paul Roos has put together an impressive unbeaten streak over the last three weeks, with their last defeat, a shock 0-1 loss to Rondebosch, coming last month.

The Stellenbosch boys also finished the tournament as the top-scoring team with 31 goals. SACS and Grey were well behind them, with 17 goals apiece.

This coming weekend, SACS will host Paul Roos at the Brewery Astroturf. Another thriller is on the cards.

Scorers in the final: 

Paul Roos: Reuben Sendzul, Keith Siebrits, Callum van Oudsthoorn. SACS: Litha Kraai, Reece Theunis (x2).

After losing their semi-final to SACS on penalties, Grey High finished on a high, beating Garsfontein 4-1 to take bronze.

Coach Ryan Julius‘s Bishops side finished fifth after coming back from two goals down to defeat Westville Boys’ High.

Durban High School (DHS) signed off with a 3-1 win over Paarl Gimnasium, while Selborne College ended ninth after a 2-0 win over Pearson High.

Results: Day 4

St Stithians College 2-2 Clifton College
Paul Roos 10-0 Garsfontein
SACS 1(4)-1(2) Grey High
Selborne College 2-0 Pearson High
Durban High 3-1 Paarl Gimnasium
Bishops 3-2 Westville
Grey High 4-1 Garsfontein
Paul Roos 3(6)-3(5) SACS

Final Standings 

Paul Roos
SACS
Grey High
Garsfontein
Durban High School/Bishops Diocesan College
Westville Boys High/Paarl Gimnasium
Selborne College
Clifton College
St Stithians College
Pearson High

Hoërskool Garsfontein defied the odds on Friday at the Hibbert Shield when they defeated Bishops Diocesan College 1-0 in the quarterfinals to reach the last four of the tournament being played on Grey High School‘s Rectory Astroturf in Gqeberha.

Catch the Hibbert Shield semi-finals action live on SuperSport Schools.

The side from Pretoria entered the prestigious tournament as one of the underdogs, but they were not short of drive and were eager to build on the momentum they’ve accrued so far this season.

In March, Garsfontein headed down to KwaZulu-Natal, where they competed in the Coastal Cup, facing Clifton College, DHS, Glenwood, and Westville Boys’ High.

They drew 1-1 with Clifton, thumped Glenwood 3-0, went down in a tight one to DHS, 0-1, and ended their campaign with a resounding 3-1 victory over Westville.

After that, coach Steve Paulo’s boys were crowned champions of the Pretoria Cup before they again travelled to KwaZulu-Natal to face Michaelhouse in two practice games, which they won.

Those positive results might have been overlooked by hockey enthusiasts when they saw the school’s name on the fixture list for the Hibbert Shield, which included many of 2024’s leading teams.

Being draw in Pool 4, where they would face South African College High School (SACS) and Pearson High School, was a difficult enough challenge in itself.

On Wednesday evening, they were one of the first sides in action, when they took on Pearson. There was little to separate the sides as they played to a goalless draw.

On day two, they faced, arguably, their toughest opposition of the season, in SACS.

Garsies knew that, after SACS thumped Pearson 8-0, all they had to do to reach the quarterfinals was go down by seven goals or less, not that accepting a loss was on their minds.

They were beaten, but they performed honourably in a 0-3 defeat. That was enough to clinch them second place in the pool and a date with Bishops, who were unbeaten this season.

Bishops expected to dominate the match but were kept at bay by the spirited Garsies’ side.

Their goalkeeper Adrian Vosloo was a dynamo between the sticks, more than once coming to his side’s rescue when Bishops looked likely to open the scoring.

Their influential captain and Northerns’ u18 Northerns representative Hein Seebach was also among the top performers on the day, alongside Luken Brunette and Zandre Nel at the back.

Just when it seemed that matters would go into extra time, Garsfontein stunned Bishops by snatching the lead with only a minute and 22 seconds left to play.

Brunette, after taking control of the ball in the middle, spotted an open field and played a brilliant through ball to Reghardt Momberg, who beat a defender and whipped a reverse stick shot into the back of the net.

There was no time for Bishops to recover and the clash ended 1-0 to Garsfontein.

The demands don’t get any easier for coach Paulo’s side as they face Paul Roos Gimnasium in the semi-finals on Saturday. That match starts at 08:15.

Results: Day 3

St Stithians College 1-0 Pearson High
Selborne College 4-0 Clifton College
Paul Roos 5-2 Paarl Gimnasium
Grey High 3-0 Westville Boys’ High
Garsfontein 1-0 Bishops
SACS 2-1 DHS
Selborne College 6-1 St Stithians College
Clifton 2-1 Pearson
Paarl Gimnasium 2(0)-2(2) Bishops
Westville 2(4)-2(5) Durban High

Semi-finals, 4 May

08:15 – Paul Roos vs Garsfontein
09:45 – Grey High School vs SACS

Stellenbosch’s Paul Roos Gimnasium kept their hopes of winning back-to-back Hibbert Shield titles alive by defeating Paarl Gimnasium 5-2 in the quarterfinals on Friday to book a place in the tournament’s last four at the Rectory Astroturf in Gqeberha.

Joining them in the semi-finals were the hosts, Grey High School, South African College High School (SACS), and the surprise package, Hoërskool Garsfontein.

To reach the last four, Garsfontein, who failed to register a win in the group stages, shocked Bishops Diocesan College, who were unbeaten in 2024, with a late goal from Reghardt Momberg in the fourth quarter.

Grey breezed past Westville Boys’ High, winning 3-0, while SACS were made to work hard for their 2-1 win against a stubborn Durban High School (DHS).

The quarterfinal between Paul Roos and Paarl Gimnasium was highly anticipated. It was the sides’ first meeting of the season, and it got off to a blistering start when Gim opened the scoring, courtesy of a Juan Swanepoel goal, with under two minutes played.

PRG was quick to respond, and it was their skipper, Reuben Sendzul, who led the comeback.

Sendzul, after a dangerous run inside the circle, won a penalty corner for his side and, from that opportunity, he whipped a strong drag flick into the back of the net to level matters at 1-1.

The complexion of the match changed in the second chukka when coach Michael Baker’s side raised the tempo.

Sendzul bagged a second goal after his teammate Ruben Gouws did well to earn a PC. It was business as usual for the SA u21 player, as he rocketed another drag flick into the back of the net to give Paul Roos the lead for the first time.

With four minutes remaining in the chukka, the skipper completed his hattrick after dribbling for 20 metres before sneaking a shot past Joe van Coller.

PRG wasn’t yet done and Callum van Oudsthoorn extended their advantage to 4-1 before the break.

The third quarter was a more balanced affair, with both teams scoring one goal apiece.

Barend Geldenhuys made it 5-1 to Paul Roos, but Gim kept fighting and Swanepoel, who has been rich goal scoring form, replied for the Paarl boys.

In the semi-finals, PRG tackles Garsfontein, while SACS takes on Grey High School only two weeks after beating the Gqeberha side 5-2 in Cape Town.

All the action will be LIVE on SuperSport Schools.

Hibbert Shield Quarter-final Results, 3 May

Paul Roos 5-2 Paarl Gimnasium
Grey High 3-0 Westville Boys High
Garsfontein 1-0 Bishops
SACS 2-1 DHS

Semi-final fixtures, 4 May

08:15 – Paul Roos vs Garsfontein
09:30 – Grey High vs SACS

The 2024 edition of the Hibbert Shield, hosted by Grey High School in Gqeberha, heads towards the business end of matters after eight out of the 12 teams secured their spots in the quarterfinals of the tournament on Thursday at the Rectory Astroturf.

Catch all the Hibbert Shield action LIVE on SuperSport Schools.

Of the eight quarterfinalists, four are from the Western Cape, namely Paul Roos Gimnasium, Paarl Gimnasium, SACS and Bishops Diocesan College.

KwaZulu-Natal’s Durban High School and Westville Boys’ High, as well as the hosts, Grey High School, and Garsfontein, will also contest the quarters.

After a quiet start on day one, when only three fixtures were played, Thursday’s schedule dialled up the action and produced a whopping 54 goals during the nine matches played.

The day began with a Pool 1 encounter between Paul Roos (PRG) and St Stithians College.

PRG entered the clash having scored three wins in the past week, defeating Paarl Boys’ High 4-0, Grey High 3-2, and Pearson 5-0.

They continued their fine form, playing their best hockey and punishing a disjointed Saints’ side. Captain Reuben Senzul and Barend Geldenhuys both netted hattricks as the Stellenbosch boys blasted their way to an 8-1 win.

In their second match of the day, PRG thumped Westville Boys’ High 5-1 to finish atop Pool 1, with Westville taking second spot after they beat Saints 2-1 on Wednesday.

Pool 2 was always going to be interesting, with Grey High, Paarl Gim, and the young and unpredictable Clifton College making up the trio of teams.

Grey and Gim, however, proved to be too strong for the KZN side, outplaying coach Calvin Price’s boys 8-1 and 6-2 respectively.

Later, they met to determine top spot in the pool. Neither was satisfied that they had secured a quarterfinal place. They wanted to have the bragging rights as the winners of the pool.

There was nothing to separate the sides through the first three chukkas, with both defences standing firm, opportunities to score were scarce.

However, with three minutes to go in the third chukka, coach Andrew Beynon‘s side broke the deadlock, with Liam Poole scoring to give the hosts the lead.

After some scrappy play inside the circle, Poole was able to create a little space for himself before squeezing the ball into the right-hand bottom corner.

Try as they might to get one back, coach Jacques Grobler‘s Gim’s side couldn’t conjure up a reply and they forced to settle for second-place finish in Pool 2.

In Pool 3, Bishops maintained their unbeaten record after they scraped a hard-fought 1-0 win over Durban High School (DHS).

Earlier in the day, DHS put themselves in perfect position to qualify for quarters after edging Selborne College 5-4. They were cruising at 5-1 before the East London crew staged a late fightback.

Bishops had beaten Selborne 3-2 on Wednesday, which meant the Bishops versus DHS showdown was for top spot in the pool.

Unlike the DHS vs Selborne goal-fest, it was a tight affair, with very few clear-cut opportunities being created.

It was goalless after three chukkas, but Harry Morgan found a win for Bishops in the fourth to hand DHS their first loss of 2024.

However, by virtue of defeating Selborne, coach Keegan Hezlett’s side also progressed to the last eight.

Many expected Pool 4 to be a cakewalk for SACS, and they did nothing to temper those expectations when they hammered Pearson 8-0 in their opener.

Matthew Lassen, Litha Kraai, and Reece Theunis all scored two goals apiece, while Cohen Williams and Regan Wille added another two to complete a one-sided drubbing.

In their second match of the day, SACS took on coach Steve Paulo‘s Garsfontein team.

On Wednesday, the side from Pretoria was held to a goalless draw by Pearson High. To reach the quarterfinals, anything better than an eight-goal loss to SACS would do. With a disciplined press and a hard-working defence, Garsfontein ensured they would join the Cape Town school in the last eight by conceding only three times.

Results: Day 2

Paul Roos 8-1 St Stithians College
Grey High 8-1 Clifton
DHS 5-4 Selborne College
SACS 8-0 Pearson High
Paarl Gimnasium 6-2 Clifton College
Paul Roos 5-1 Westville Boys’ High
Bishops 1-0 DHS
Grey High 1-0 Paarl Gimnasium
SACS 3-0 Garsfontein

Fixtures

Friday, 3 May 

07:30 – Bottom Pool 1 vs Bottom Pool 4
08:45 – Bottom Pool 2 vs Bottom Pool 3
10:15 – 1^st Pool 1 vs 2^nd Pool 2 (Quarterfinal 1)
11:30 – 1^st Pool 2 vs 2^nd Pool 1 (Quarterfinal 2)
13:00 – 1^st Pool 3 vs 2^nd Pool 3 (Quarterfinal 3)
14:15 – 1^st Pool 4 vs 2^nd Pool 4 (Quarterfinal 4)
15:45 – 3^rd Pool 1 vs 3^rd Pool 3
17:00 – 3^rd Pool 2 vs 3^rd Pool 4
18:30 – Loser QF 1 vs Loser QF 3
19:45 – Loser QF 2 vs Loser QF 4

Saturday, 4 May

07:00 – 3^rd Pool 1 vs 3^rd Pool 2
08:15 – Semi-final 1
09:45 – Semi-final 2
11:00 – 3^rd Pool 3 vs 3^rd Pool 4
12:30 – Loser of Match 21 vs Loser of Match 22
13:45 – Winner of Match 21 vs Winner of Match 22
15:15 – u14 Final
16:30 – u16 Final
18:00 – 3^rd/4^th Place play-off
19:30 – Final

Bishops Diocesan College scored three goals in the fourth chukka against Selborne College to overcome a 0-2 deficit and claim a thrilling 3-2 win in their opening match of the Hibbert Shield on day one of the tournament at Grey High School in Gqeberha on Wednesday.

Catch all the Hibbert Shield action LIVE on SuperSport Schools.

Bishops entered the clash with an unbeaten record and having scored a resounding 3-0 win over their southern suburbs’ rivals Wynberg Boys High at home in their most recent outing.

By contrast, Selborne came into the tournament after suffering a first defeat in 16 matches on the weekend, when they were well beaten by Grey College, who won 5-2 in East London.

The clash was always going to be a tightly contested affair between two well organised sides, who seldom play one another.

It was the Eastern Cape team that got off to a better start and, with three minutes to play in the first chukka, Cade Kock opened the scoring.

After receiving the ball in the circle, Kock made a darting run across shot stopper Mu’aath Ganief, before smashing the ball into the back of the net to open his side’s tally in Gqeberha.

That strike held up until half-time, which Selborne entered with the single goal advantage. There was little to choose between the teams.

Bishops did, however, show positive intent, with Joshua Mettler and Andrew Raubenheimer pushing hard for their side, but it wasn’t enough, and they trailed heading into the second half.

Early in the third, Selborne had two opportunities to double their lead from penalty corners.

The first saw captain Tre’ Gilbert‘s drag flick go wide, before inaccurate distribution let coach KJ Friend’s side down on the second PC.

That didn’t seem to matter much, though, as Daniel Sirgel‘s reverse stick shot doubled Selborne’s lead early in the final chukka.

That goal, however, seemed to light a fire under Bishops, and coach Ryan Julius‘s men hit back immediately.

It was that man, Mettler, who produced a moment of individual brilliance, driving with the ball from his half before putting it past Nathan Amos-Brown to pull one back.

He wasn’t yet done and with six minutes to play, Mettler received the ball just outside the 23-metre line, sprinted towards the right-hand post, and whipped in a reverse stick shot to level the scores.

With their tails up, Bishops were suddenly in irresistable form and, with Selborne’s defence at sixes and sevens, they completed the comeback through a James Grieve goal, which sealed a dramatic 3-2 win.

“The boys showed extreme character, and massive fight to come back from a 0-2 trap position and win 3-2,” coach Julius told SuperSport Schools after the match.

“I think it’s a true testament of where the boys are.

“This sport is not meant to be easy. It’s meant to be challenging, and test us emotionally and physically, so I’m proud of them, and I can’t fault them for their 100 percent effort.

“It was a tough start, but we expected that, and we are looking forward to the challenge against Durban High School tomorrow,” he concluded.

In an earlier opening-day encounter, Westville Boys’ High got off to a solid start, recording a 2-1 win over St Stithians College.

Pearson and Garsfontein closed off the first day’s action with a goalless draw.

Results: Day 1

Westville Boys High 2-1 St Stithians College
Bishops Diocesan College 3-2 Selborne College
Garsfontein 0-0 Pearson High

Fixtures

Wednesday, 1 May

14:30 – St Stithians College vs Westville Boys’ High
15:45 – Bishops vs Selborne College
17:15 – Pearson High vs Garsfontein

Thursday, 2 May

07:30 – Paul Roos vs St Stithians College
08:45 – Grey High vs Clifton College
10:15 – DHS vs Selborne College
11:30 – Pearson vs SACS
13:00 – Clifton College vs Paarl Gimnasium
14:15 – Paul Roos vs Westville Boys’ High
15:45 – Bishops vs DHS
17:00 – Grey High vs Paarl Gimnasium
18:30 – SACS vs Garsfontein

Friday, 3 May 

07:30 – Bottom Pool 1 vs Bottom Pool 4
08:45 – Bottom Pool 2 vs Bottom Pool 3
10:15 – 1^st Pool 1 vs 2^nd Pool 2 (Quarterfinal 1)
11:30 – 1^st Pool 2 vs 2^nd Pool 1 (Quarterfinal 2)
13:00 – 1^st Pool 3 vs 2^nd Pool 3 (Quarterfinal 3)
14:15 – 1^st Pool 4 vs 2^nd Pool 4 (Quarterfinal 4)
15:45 – 3^rd Pool 1 vs 3^rd Pool 3
17:00 – 3^rd Pool 2 vs 3^rd Pool 4
18:30 – Loser QF 1 vs Loser QF 3
19:45 – Loser QF 2 vs Loser QF 4

Saturday, 4 May

07:00 – 3^rd Pool 1 vs 3^rd Pool 2
08:15 – Semi-final 1
09:45 – Semi-final 2
11:00 – 3^rd Pool 3 vs 3^rd Pool 4
12:30 – Loser of Match 21 vs Loser of Match 22
13:45 – Winner of Match 21 vs Winner of Match 22
15:15 – u14 Final
16:30 – u16 Final
18:00 – 3^rd/4^th Place play-off
19:30 – Final

The Pearson High School u16 boys’ hockey team will be motivated, and banking on their home supporters, when they begin the hunt for their first-ever Hibbert Cup at the tournament in Gqeberha this week.

The u16 action begins on Thursday morning at Pearson and the Nelson Mandela University and finishes on Saturday at 16:15 on the Rectory Astroturf at Grey High School.

The format replicates the u18 section, with teams competing in pools of three, from which the top two sides will automatically qualify for the quarterfinals.

Catch all the action LIVE on SuperSport Schools

The hosts, led by coach Karl Lavender, will enter the tournament seeking to make a statement on home soil and to spring some surprises on the country’s best.

They’re drawn in Pool 2, along with KZN’s Durban High School (DHS) and Clifton College.

“We are in a strong pool, and there will be no room for error,” Lavender told SuperSport Schools ahead of the tournament.

Clifton hasn’t had the strongest of seasons, but DHS remains at the forefront of KZN schools’ hockey. They beat Clifton 4-1 in a pre-season game at the beginning of March.

“The top two teams move out of the pool, so we need to get a result against either DHS or Clifton to push through to the quarterfinals,” Lavender said.

“It will come down to the small margins. We’ll be sticking to the basics and running hard.”

The Pearson u16 side has been undergoing a rebuilding phase this season, with only two of coach Lavender’s charges remaining from the 2023 squad.

At the Coastal Cup, in the latter part of March, Pearson enjoyed a good run, winning two and drawing two matches. Most recently, they cruised to a 4-0 victory over Stirling High.

Hosting a tournament of the magnitude of the Hibbert Cup comes with its pressures but, Lavender said, Pearson’s goal is for the boys to enjoy themselves.

“The Hibbert tournaments (Shield, Cup, Plate) are arguably the best schoolboy tournaments in the country.

“With hosting them, there are expectations. However, that lies with me and not the boys. They are here to enjoy themselves, and we hope to put on a display of quality attacking hockey.”

The hosts will kick off their campaign on Thursday at 10:30 against DHS.

To pick up a victory, they will need Deanu Bezuidenhout, whom Lavender described as a “calm player”, to fire on all cylinders and control the contest.

They will also look to Zach Mclean, Aenry Biggs, and skipper Philip Keen, who is one of the remaining players from last year’s side, to spearhead their challenge.

The other pools are also very interesting.

Pool 1 is filled with three powerhouses: SACS, Paarl Gimnasium, and Selborne College. In Pool 3, it’s Grey High, Westville Boys’ High, and Garsfontein, while Paul Roos, St Andrew’s College and Waterkloof are in Pool 4.

Pools

Pool 1: Selborne College, SACS, Paarl Gimnasium
Pool 2: Pearson High, Durban High School, Clifton College
Pool 3: Grey High, Westville, Garsfontein
Pool 4: Waterkloof, Paul Roos, St Andrew’s College

Day 1 Fixtures, Thursday, 2 May

08:30 – Paarl Gimnasium vs Selborne College (Bottom Astroturf)
08:30 – St Andrew’s College vs Waterkloof (NMU Astroturf)
09:30 – Grey High vs Garsfontein (Top Astroturf)
10:30 – Pearson High vs Durban High (Top Astroturf)
12:30 – SACS vs Selborne College (Bottom Astroturf)
12:30 – Paul Roos vs Waterkloof (NMU Astroturf)
13:30 – Garsfontein vs Westville (Top Astroturf)
14:30 – Durban High vs Clifton College (Top Astroturf)
16:30 – SACS vs Paarl Gimnasium (Bottom Astroturf)
16:30 – St Andrew’s College vs Paul Roos (NMU Astroturf)
17:30 – Grey High vs Westville (Top Astroturf)
18:30 – Pearson High vs Clifton College (Top Astroturf)