Author: asawula

After flying starts to their respective 2024 campaigns, the Hudson Park High School boys’ and girls’ senior hockey teams made their way to Knysna in the Western Cape for the Oakhill Co-Ed Festival over the weekend.

Rewatch the action from the Oakhill Festival on SuperSport Schools

Hudson was the only team from the Border region in action at the festival but they more than held their own against their Western Cape opposition.

Before the festival, both Hudson’s boys’ and girls’ teams had registered wins on the opening weekend of derby action against Cambridge High School in East London.

The girls’ team, under the guidance of coach Jerry Snyman, scrapped their way to a hard-fought 1-0 win, with Inathi Lubelwana netting the winner for her side.

Meanwhile, coach Sipe Matafeni’s boys posted a 2-1-victory, courtesy of goals from Ayola Rubushe and Somila Mkhokeli.

In Knysna, both of the East London school’s teams impressed, with their attractive brand of hockey helping them to score some notable victories.

In six matches, the Hudson Park girls were rampant, scoring a whopping 24 goals without conceding.

They claimed the scalps of Outeniqua (4-0), Oakhill School (4-0), Knysna High (7-0), Reddam House Durbanville (3-0), and Milnerton (5-0).

Their final match on Sunday, against St Patrick’s, was called off due to bad weather. That mattered little though, as coach Snyman was satisfied with what he had seen.

“This past weekend, the girls played with great structure, which allowed them to work on what we’ve been practicing and aiming towards,” he told SuperSport Schools after the festival.

“This includes stuff such as ball speed, connections, and intensity as a team.

“The momentum gained this weekend should carry over into the rest of the season as the players are settling into the team and the expectations.

“We are now entering the derby season, with the Spar Hockey Challenge just ahead of us. The team is working hard and they’re positive, so we’re looking to continue this momentum,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, the Hudson Park boys’ side will be satisfied with the progress they showed during the festival.

They opened their account with successive wins against Outeniqua (4-2) and Oakhill (3-1). They did, however, stumble against Stellenberg High, going down 0-2, before sharing a 1-1 draw with Knysna.

They bounced back on day three, beating Reddam House Durbanville 1-0 and Milnerton 2-1, before losing out by the odd goal to the Grey High 2nd XI in their final match

Reacting at the end of the event, coach Matafeni said he hoped his boys would take the lessons learned during the festival with them into the rest of the season.

“It’s a well-run festival and playing only two 15-minute halves per match offers a different dynamic,” he said.

“It forces players from both sides to switch on from the very first whistle, as there is simply no time to try and ease into the game.

“It also reduces the amount of time you have to claw your way back, if you concede. All of these factors create an action-packed 30 minutes for each game.

“I am hoping that my boys will carry the ability to get going from the first whistle into the season.”

The girls’ team will be back in action on Sunday, 21 April, when they take part in the Border Coastal Spar Hockey Challenge.

The boys’ side, on the other hand, has a weekend off before returning to the turf against St Andrew’s College later this month.

Hudson Park’s results from the Oakhill Co-Ed Hockey Festival

Girls
Hudson 4-0 Outeniqua 2nd
Hudson Park 1-1 Stellenberg
Hudson Park 4-0 Oakhill
Hudson Park 7-0 Knysna
Hudson Park 3-0 Reddam House Durbanville
Hudson Park 5-0 Milnerton
Hudson Park vs St Patrick’s – No result, rained out.

Boys
Hudson Park 4-2 Outeniqua 2nd
Hudson Park 3-1 Oakhill
Hudson Park 0-2 Stellenberg
Hudson Park 1-1 Knysna
Hudson Park 1-0 Reddam House Durbanville
Hudson Park 2-1 Milnerton
Hudson Park vs St Patrick’s – No result, rained out.
Hudson Park 0-1 Grey High 2nd

There were wins for Clarendon, Collegiate Girls’ High, Pearson, and Cambridge High School during the second week of the local hockey season in the Eastern Cape over the weekend.

Clarendon, Collegiate, and Pearson were all in derby action after recently participating in the St Mary’s Festival in Gauteng.

There, Pearson ended their campaign as the highest ranked Eastern Cape side, in 15^th spot, while Collegiate edged out Clarendon 2-0 to take 21^st place in the elite 32-team field.

On Thursday afternoon, Pearson was in action, playing host to their Gqeberha neighbours, Westering High School. The visitors were, undoubtedly, the underdogs, but they had boosted their confidence at the Union Festival, where they reached the final before losing 0-1 to the hosts.

Pearson, though, was a higher level of challenge and they demonstrated that by storming to a 6-0 win.

In their second match of the week, on Saturday, Pearson defeated Stirling High 5-2, while Westering played to a 1-1 draw against Volkskool Graaff-Reinet.

Collegiate, meanwhile, also added two wins to their record.

Ahead of their derby against Outeniqua, in a mid-week match, they produced a fluent performance to overwhelm Alexander Road High School 7-0.

Kerrin Gillies was the star of the show in that clash, slotting a handful of goals, while Jana Prinsloo and Kate Brennan also scored.

On Saturday, Collegiate carried the momentum from their mid-week success into their clash with Outeniqua in Gqeberha.

After her five-goal haul, Gillies added another, converting a penalty stroke, and field goals from Nina Mitchell and Kate Brennan secured a 3-1 win for the home side, with Zanelle Rensburg scoring for the visitors.

In Makhanda, Cambridge High School thumped Victoria Girls’ High 4-0. Akhile Mdlalane, who has been in good goal scoring form since the start of the season, grabbed a double, and further goals from Milisa Mntusanto and Usiphe Ngxoweni made it four for the visiting team.

Clarendon Girls High completed the weekend’s schedule with a 2-0 win over Queenstown Girls’ High (2-0) in a tightly contested clash, with Jilliana Saffy and Hannah Viviers finding finishes.

Clarendon, Stirling, Cambridge, and Hudson will next turn their attention to the Border Coastal Spar Hockey Challenge, which takes place next Sunday, 21 April.

That action will be LIVE on SuperSport Schools.

RESULTS:
Clarendon High School for Girls 2-0 Queenstown Girls’ High
Hudson Park 5-0 Milnerton
Collegiate Girls’ High 3-1 Outeniqua
Pearson High 5-2 Stirling High School
Cambridge High School 4-0 Victoria Girls’ High
Pearson High 6-0 Westering
Westering 1-1 Volkskool Graaff-Reinet

Only a week after competing in the St Mary’s Festival, Paarl Gimnasium, Paarl Girls’ High, and Rhenish Girls’ High were back in action on the weekend, and all three picked up wins.

Those three sides contributed seven goals to the 30 that were scored in the eight matches contested by Western Cape girls’ teams over the weekend.

Other schools that recorded victories on Friday and Saturday included Rustenburg Girls’ High, Durbanville, Wynberg Girls’ High, and Springfield Convent School.

DF Malan, meanwhile, had also been in action at St Mary’s, where they finished 24th. Paarl Girls’ placed 19th, Rhenish 11th and Paarl Gim fourth, which was the best of the Western Cape schools.

Those results were all in the past on Friday night in Stellenbosch, however, when Rhenish played host to DF Malan.

The home team enjoyed the upper hand, scoring twice without reply, to post a 2-0 victory, thanks to goals from Lily Newton and Pippa Viljoen.

The second clash of the day saw Paarl Girls’ High make a trip to Parel Vallei. It wasn’t a comfortable outing, but the visitors did just enough to scrap their way to a hard-fought 2-1 win over Jarred Pitout‘s charges.

Fairmont High School, after opening their season with a 2-1 win over Durbanville, failed to replicate that performance and went down 1-2 against Rustenburg Girls’ High in the final match of the day.

Plenty of mouthwatering action followed on Saturday, with a number of interesting matchups delivering good entertainment.

In the first match of the day, HTS Drostdy and Framesby shared a 1-1 draw. Soon after that, Durbanville put a tick in the win column, drubbing Westerford 4-0, to get their season back on track after losing to Fairmont last week.

Paarl Gim, who travelled to Pretoria for a showdown with Affies, made sure the long trip was worthwhile, rolling to a 3-0 win over their rivals, with goals from Marieka Neethling, Karea de Ridder and Tanya Pieterse.

Wynberg Girls’ High, in their friendly clash against Curro Durbanville, were too strong and ran out 6-0 winners. In their defence, Curro was missing four key players. Despite that, Mila van Deventer and Ithike Gunter showed their class in the defeat.

The final match of the day saw Springfield Convent School run rampant and claim a resounding 6-1 win over La Rochelle Girls’ High.

RESULTS

Rhenish 2-0 DF Malan
Paarl Gimnasium 3-0 Affies
Parel Vallei 1-2 Paarl Girls’ High
Fairmont High 1-2 Rustenburg Girls’ High
HTS Drostdy 1-1 Framesby
Durbanville 4-0 Westerford
Wynberg Girls’ High 6-0 Curro Durbanville
La Rochelle 1-6 Springfield

After an impressive run during the pre-season, Bishops Diocesan College kept the pedal to the metal and began their Western Cape league season in style, hammering DF Malan 8-0 at the Woodlands Astroturf in Cape Town on Friday night.

Before the match, Bishops had only played nine competitive matches – three at the Parel Vallei Hockey Festival in March, and six at the Bishops 175 Hockey Festival last month.

In their home event, coach Ryan Julius’s boys were a cut above the rest, beating every opponent they faced, much to the delight of the home supporters.

They scored wins over Michaelhouse (3-1), St Charles College (4-0), St David’s Marist Inanda (2-0), St Andrew’s School (8-0), St Benedict’s College (4-0), and Makhanda’s St Andrew’s College (2-1).

Bishops then went on a much-deserved break, before facing DF Malan on Friday night.

DF entered the clash on the back of a 0-2 defeat to a good Worcester Gimnasium team a week ago, and Bishops was in no mood to make matters any easier for them.

Joshua Mettler, who was in superb form at the 175 Festival, continued his fine goal-scoring run in front of a buzzing crowd at Woodlands.

At the 175 Festival, it was Mettler who scored the winning goal for his team against previously undefeated St Andrew’s College when the match looked like it was heading for a 1-1 draw.

On Friday, he picked up from where he left off, netting a whopping four times against DF Malan.

There was also a double from Andrew Raubenheimer, and Adam Diggle and Albert Steyn also struck, to make it eight.

Reflecting on the contest, coach Julius said he was pleased with how his team had executed the game plan, particularly after being away from the game for over two weeks.

“It was an excellent team display,” he told SuperSport Schools after the match.

“It’s a good thing that we’ve started the league like this.

“I’m proud of the boys. They adapted well to the tactics that we trained this week. They executed the game plan well, and we were dominant on attack and defence,” he added.

Bishops next shift their focus to a meeting with Curro Durbanville, who played to a 2-2 draw with Langa Hockey Club.

Their game against Curro will be followed with an outing against Stellenberg High School before they take on SACS on the first weekend of May in what is likely to be their biggest challenge of the season.

Julius, though, has urged his side to remain focussed and take it one match at a time.

“It’s really important now that we stay nice and grounded,” he stressed.

“We understand that we’ve done well, but the journey has just started, and we need to get back to the drawing board and continue riding this wave for as long as we can.

“We need to stay nice and focused, humble in victory, and understand that through hard work and preparation, we’ll succeed.

“I’ve told the boys to just stay focused on the task that’s ahead of us. But I am proud of how they played and, I must say, the identity and culture we are creating at the school is positive,” he concluded.

 

Queen’s College produced arguably their best performance so far this season to prevent Selborne College from winning a 16^th consecutive match, with the sides playing to a 1-1 draw in an FNB Classic Clash on Friday night in East London.

Queen’s, who were blown away by their opponents twice in in 2023, losing 1-3 and 2-9, looked like a different side, hungry to cause an upset.

Last weekend, coach Michael Baiden’s boys had allowed a 2-0 lead to slip away against Stirling High School, which left them having to settle for a 2-2 draw.

Selborne on the other hand, was brimming with confidence after registering a hard-fought 2-1 triumph over Pearson High School in Gqeberha in their previous outing.

The game’s first chukka was all about settling in for both teams, and Selborne, as expected, had more of the ball possession.

Goalscoring opportunities were scarce, but the hosts had a chance to take the lead when, with about three minutes remaining in the quarter, they were awarded a penalty corner.

Daniel Sirgel’s injection was pinpoint and Selborne skipper Tre’ Gilbert fired off a stinging drag flick, but his shot hit the crossbar, and the visitors survived a scare.

The second chukka saw Queen’s shot-stopper Rowan Miles come to his side’s rescue on numerous times, pulling off some acrobatic saves.

When the deadlock was finally broken, it was, however, Queen’s skipper, Bevaneo Maytham, who made the breakthrough.

Pressing high, while Selborne was trying to build from the back, Queen’s turned over possession, and an ill-timed tackle by Dan Gaylard inside the circle resulted in a penalty stroke for the visitors.

Up stepped Maytham, and he calmly deposited the ball into the right-hand corner to put his side in front.

The team from Komani maintained their lead through the third chukka, but momentum shifted in the fourth, when Cade Kock pulled one back for the hosts.

Just like last week against Pearson, Kock was lively in the circle. His crucial goal came after Gilbert went on the dribble, then picked out Kock in space, and the striker finished smartly to get his side back on level terms.

Both sides pushed hard for a winner, but it ended 1-1.

In Qonce, Grey High School ran rampant against Dale College, powering their way a huge 9-0 win.

Kian Cambier, Xander Elkington, and Luke Tait all netted twice, while Rob Stow, Ben Ristow, and Caden Skinnette all helped to nail Dale’s coffin shut.

Coach Andrew Beynon’s side, unbeaten thus far this season, will be seriously tested next weekend when they travel to Cape Town for two tough matches, against Wynberg Boys’ High on Friday night, and SACS on Saturday.

Cambridge High School was also among the winners on the weekend, beating Makhanda’s Graeme College 4-1.

Coach Tim Stirk’s boys were led to victory by a hattrick of goals from Aqhama Mdlulwa, while Lihle Hempe slotted their other.

Pearson High School were also 4-1 winners in their game against Stirling, and Hudson Park continued their good form at the Oakhill Co-Ed Festival, beating Milnerton High School 2-1.

RESULTS

Cambridge High School 4-1 Graeme College
Dale College 0-9 Grey High
Pearson High School 4-1 Stirling High School
Selborne College 1-1 Queen’s College
Hudson Park 2-1 Milnerton

 

It was a jovial atmosphere, with the stands jam-packed with maroon and navy-blue blazers, for a Friday night hockey showdown between Rondebosch Boys’ High and Paul Roos Gymnasium on the Bosch Astroturf in the southern suburbs. And when the dust settled after a tight tussle, it was the hosts who had scraped a 1-0 win.

The victory means ‘Bosch have kept their unbeaten start to the Western Cape season intact, following a 2-2 draw against Stellenberg High School last week.

It was Paul Roos’s first defeat of the year. They had begun it in dominant form at the Cape Co-Ed and Founders Festival.

The match’s first chukka was predictably tight, as both sides pushed and probed for openings, although Paul Roos owned the lion’s share of possesion.

Coach Michael Baker’s side had an opportunity to break the deadlock when they received a short corner with a minute left in the chukka. Their penalty corner kingpin, captain Reuben Sendzul, dragged his flick wide, however, and the scoreboard operators remained untroubled.

The game opened up in the second and third chukkas, with coach Waseem Domingo’s Rondebosch boys forging a foothold in the contest, which frustrated the visitors.

Bosch attacked more but remained solid at the back with captain Hilton Lima, Joshua Beattie, and Thomas Gordon clamping down on the visitors’ attacking efforts.

Rondebosch’s hard work was eventually rewarded seven minutes before the end of the third chukka. It came from a set piece after a period of sustained attacks.

From a smartly executed penalty corner, Noah Heath deflected the ball in from just outside of the goalkeeper’s right-hand post to stake the hosts to a 1-0 lead.

In the final chukka, Paul Roos took the game to Rondebosch, piling on the pressure in a desperate bid to find an equaliser.

A measure of their domination was the five penalty corners they were awarded. Usually, that would be a recipe for disaster for any opposition, with Sendzul a serious dangerman with his wicked drag flicks, but Bosch fronted up and scrambled to keep the Stellenbosch side at bay.

Paul Roos had few issues entering the Rondebosch circle, but finding a scoring shot once they were inside it was a big challenge.

Their last hope came with just a minute and 24 seconds left on the clock, via another short corner. The ball was played to Sendzul again, and just as it looked as if his effort was going in, ‘Bosch shot-stopper Marley Musasa pulled off a terrific save to keep his team ahead.

When the final whistle sounded, it was 1-0 in favour of ‘Bosch, much to the delight of coach Domingo, who praised his side’s defensive efforts, and the grit they showed to keep their opponents out.

“Playing Paul Roos is never easy. They are physical, fast, and a well-managed team,” Domingo told SuperSport Schools on the Bosch Astroturf after the match.

“We fought hard. We got one opportunity, and we made it count.

“I think the boys were phenomenal today on defence, by far the best I’ve ever seen them play, and I think they need credit for that,” he said.

Meanwhile, it was a disappointing night for Baker, who watched on as his side struggled to turn chances into goals.

“It’s frustrating. We had about seven short corners, and a couple of circle entries, but couldn’t score one goal,” he said.

“Credit to ‘Bosch, I think they’ve got a good record against us at home, and it showed tonight that they’re a tough team to beat at home.”

Next week, ‘Bosch returns to action against an in-form SACS, while Paul Roos plays their first match at home against Paarl Boys’ High.

In other matches around the Province, SACS, after thumping Fairmont High School 6-0 on the opening weekend, continued their fine form by roaring to an emphatic 7-0 win over Parel Vallei.

They were inspired to the win by a Reece Theunis hattrick, made up of two drag flicks, and a field goal. Litha Kraai, who also featured on the scoring sheet last weekend, netted a brace, while solitary goals from Cohen Williams and Cole Allam made it seven in total.

Wynberg Boys’ High impressed with a 5-1 win over Paarl Boys’ High. Wynberg, under the direction of Ben Wiley, picked up from where they left off last weekend, when they thumped Curro Durbanville by exactly the same score. Their goals were scored by Ethan Lee (x2), Jordan Paulsen, Beni Hansen, and Ethan Daniels.

Fairmont, after copping one from SACS last weekend, returned to winning ways with a resounding 4-0 win over Westerford, while Belville High edged The Settlers 1-0.

Goals from Michael du Toit, Matthew Sutherland, and Tyrone Rieth helped Somerset College to a 3-1 win over Pinelands, and Worcester Gymnasium made it two on the trot, handing Hoërskool Punt a 5-2 defeat.

There was nothing to separate Curro Durbanville and the Langa Hockey Club, with their contest ending 2-2.

In Saturday’s action, HTS Drostdy defeated Framesby 4-1 at home, while Durbanville got the better of Edgemead, claiming a 3-0 win. Brackenfell completed the weekend’s schedule with a 2-0 victory over Cannons Creek.

RESULTS

Fairmont High School 4-0 Westerford
Belville High 1-0 The Settlers
Pinelands 1-3 Somerset College
Curro Durbanville 2-2 Langa Hockey Club
SACS 7-0 Parel Vallei
Rondebosch Boys’ High 1-0 Paul Roos Gymnasium
Bishops 8-0 DF Malan
Wynberg Boys’ High 5-1 Paarl Boys High
HTS Drostdy 4-1 Framesby
Durbanville 3-0 Edgemead
Worcester Gymnasium 5-2 Punt
Brackenfell 2-0 Cannons Creek

After finishing in 11^th place at last weekend’s St Mary’s Hockey Festival, Rhenish Girls’ High School will be seeking to recreate the momentum they produced over the first two days of the event when they welcome DF Malan to Stellenbosch on Friday evening.

The clash is one of a number of big matches taking place in the Western Cape this weekend.

Rhenish, led by coach Chris Gerber, made a rip-roaring start to their season.

They were first in action was in East London at the Greg Beling Festival. There, they swept the floor with their opponents, beating Clarendon (4-1), DSG Makhanda (3-0), Eunice (5-1), Pearson High School (4-0) and Affies (4-0).

At St Mary’s, Gerber’s team played some of their best hockey over the first two days of the festival.

On day one, they defeated St John’s DSG (4-0), before drawing with Waterkloof (0-0), and Garsfontein (1-1) respectively.

Rhenish upped the ante on day two, winning all four of their matches. They downed Somerset College (2-0), St Andrew’s School for Girls (1-0), Oranje (1-0), and Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High (4-0). The defeat they inflicted on Oranje was the Bloemfontein powerhouse’s first loss of 2024.

Maybe playing four tough matches on day two took a lot out of them, however, because they couldn’t replicate that form on the final two days and had to settle for 11^th place after beating Affies (1-0) in their last play-off match.

DF Malan will have their work cut out for them when they visit Stellenbosch.

Another massive clash on Friday will see Parel Vallei taking on Paarl Girls’ High on home soil.

To start their season, Parel Vallei enjoyed a successful tour of the Netherlands and will be brimming with confidence about the strides they’ve made.

Paarl Girls’ High, on the other hand, was also in action at the St Mary’s Festival, where they finished 19th.

The in-form Fairmont High School will take on Rustenburg Girls’ High in another Cape Town clash, which has a late start.

In their opening match of the season, last weekend, Fairmont picked up an impressive 2-1 win over Durbanville.

In that game, three of their players, Tatum O’Brien, Sarah Swanepoel, and Leah Buckley achieved their 50th caps for the first team. Meanwhile, Sienna Graser and Kaylin Bastard reached 100 caps.

Saturday’s action starts bright and early with a derby between HTS Drostdy and Framesby, at 09:00.

After going down last weekend, Durbanville will be aiming for a win against Westerford, while Wynberg Girls’ High welcomes Curro Durbanville, before La Rochelle battles it out with Springfield Convent.

Friday, 12 April 

18:40 – Rhenish vs DF Malan
18:45 – Parel Vallei vs Paarl Girls High
18:45 – Fairmont High vs Rustenburg Girls High

Saturday, 13 April

09:00 – HTS Drostdy vs Framesby
09:25 – Durbanville vs Westerford
10:10 – Wynberg Girls High vs Curro Durbanville
12:30 – La Rochelle vs Springfield

After a positive start to their 2024 campaign, Rondebosch Boys’ High will have an opportunity to stake their claim to being one of Western Cape’s top teams when they host Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG) at the Bosch Astro on Friday night.

The clash takes place at 19:00.

‘Bosch enters the game on the back of a gruelling pre-season campaign, and a tough season opener against Stellenberg last Friday.

They played to a 2-2 draw against Stellies, with Martin Barnard and Jamie Hundermark getting onto the scoresheet for Rondebosch.

Catch all the hockey action live on SuperSport Schools.

Before that, ‘Bosch participated in the annual Founders and King Edward VII Hockey Festivals, in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng respectively.

At Founders, coach Waseem Domingo‘s side, up against some of the best schools in the country, held their own.

They defeated Affies (2-1), held a strong Kearsney College team to a draw (1-1), beat Dale College (3-1), and recorded a draw (0-0) against Northwood School‘s 2nd XI. Their only defeat came against the defending Aitken Cup champions, St Stithians College (1-2).

Fast forward less than a week, and Domingo’s charges were in action at the annual KES Easter Hockey Festival.

There, ‘Bosch impressed, playing an attacking brand of hockey and, again, losing only one match, against Grey College (1-2) on day two.

They drew with the hosts, King Edward VII (3-3), Maritzburg College (1-1), and the Northwood School 1st XI (1-1), and beat Jeppe (1-0) on the final day.

“I think the preparation at both KES and Founders helped immensely,” Domingo told SuperSport Schools.

“The boys had very good wins against Dale College, Affies, and Jeppe, before coming back home.

“I feel like we are on the right footing, and we are in a better position than we were in last year. Our boys are getting the meaning of what it means to play an attractive brand of hockey.

“Unfortunately, we’ve had a couple of injuries, so that was a setback, but very happy with the progress we’ve made so far,” he added.

The Rondebosch team is a mixture of youth and experience, with several players in the side currently in matric, playing their final year.

Domingo said they have worked hard as a unit to ensure that squad depth exists within the team heading into 2025.

“At Rondebosch, we pride ourselves on depth, and I think we are back to that level where the depth has been incredible,” he said.

“We have an even number of grade 12s and grade 11s, so we have a good amount of experience and continuity in terms of the boys that are playing this year going into 2025.

“We’ve got a couple of grade 10s, as well, who are in the team based on talent. It’s well balanced but the team chemistry on and off the field has been immense.”

That team chemistry will need to be at its sharpest when Domingo’s side welcomes Paul Roos on Friday night.

PRG is led by the school’s Director of Hockey, Michael Baker, who made the move from KwaZulu-Natal’s Durban High School at the start of the year.

Domingo said his team recognises the big threat the Stellenbosch side poses, and his ‘Bosch boys will give their all, in front of their home supporters.

“The major thing with Paul Roos is that we have to respect them,” Domingo said.

“They are a well-oiled machine, well versed. They know what’s expected of them. They are going to come at us hard, but our team knows what’s at stake.

“We are ready, willing to go the extra mile, and we have to take the step up against them physically, and our concentration can’t drop. We have to back ourselves and understand that we have a level of confidence to contribute to the match,” he concluded.

Paul Roos, on the other hand, will enter the clash filled with self-belief after an impressive showing at the Founders Festival.

They will, however, be without their influential goal scorer and skipper, Reuben Sendzul, who went down with an injury this week. Coach Baker’s boys will need to step up as a unit to make up for his absence, if they are to register a win away from home.

TEAMS

Rondebosch Boys High: Marley Musasa, ⁠Thomas Gordon, Joshua Beattie, Hilton Lima (c), ⁠Nathan Ball, ⁠Noah Heath, ⁠Raeeq Daniels, ⁠Daniel Powell, ⁠Anam Nkohla, ⁠Jamie Hundermark, ⁠Martin Barnard, ⁠Cade Miller, ⁠Jasper Southwood, ⁠Imaad Martin, ⁠Oliver Roach

Paul Roos: Keanu Meyer, Hano Basson, Callum van Oudtshoorn, Louan van Zyl (Vice), Joshua Smit, Seth Paterson, Keith Siebrits, Luke Oliver, Barend Geldenhuys, Juan Mouton, Christo Swanepoel (Captain), Charles Lombard, Logan Lackay, Dan Lurie, Ruben Gouws

Other matches

The weekend is jam-packed with a busy fixture list, starting at 15:00 on Friday at Fairmont High School, who welcome Westerford.

Fairmont will be chasing a bounce-back performance after being on the wrong end of a 0-6 drubbing from SACS last weekend.

Belville High takes on The Settlers, Pinelands hosts Somerset College, and Curro Durbanville entertains the unpredictable Langa Hockey Club.

The action doesn’t end there, as SACS has a home game against Parel Vallei. While SACS thumped Fairmont last weekend, Parel Vallei shared a 1-1 draw with DF Malan.

Later, on Friday, Bishops has home ground advantage against that same DF Malan side, Worcester Gimnasium battles Punt, and Wynberg Boys’ High travels to Paarl Boys’ High for a match that begins at 19:20.

Saturday’s action begins with a clash between HTS Drostdy and Framesby, before Durbanville tackles Edgemead.

Brackenfell High School has a 16:00 meeting with Cannons Creek.

Fixtures

Friday, 12 April
15:00 – Fairmont High School vs Westerford
17:00 – Belville High vs The Settlers
18:00 – Pinelands vs Somerset College
18:30 – Curro Durbanville vs Langa Hockey Club
18:45 – SACS vs Parel Vallei
19:00 – Rondebosch Boys’ High vs Paul Roos Gimnasium
19:00 – Bishops vs DF Malan
19:15 – Worcester Gimnasium vs Punt
19:20 – Paarl Boys’ High vs Wynberg Boys’ High

Saturday, 13 April
10:00 – HTS Drostdy vs Framesby
11:00 – Durbanville vs Edgemead
16:00 – Brackenfell vs Cannons Creek

A sea of black and white, and a vibrant crowd in full voice will welcome Queen’s College to East London on Friday for a showdown with Selborne College.

Queen’s are undoubtedly the underdogs. They’ll be aiming to end Selborne’s 15-game winning streak since the start of the 2024 hockey season.

In their local season opener last weekend, the Komani boys let a 2-0 lead slip, with Stirling High fighting their way back into the game to salvage a 2-2 draw.

Before that, Queen’s endured a challenging run at the Founders, and King Edward VII Hockey Festivals.

Playing against some of the top schools in the country, Queen’s lost the majority of their matches but a 1-1 draw with St John’s College at KES was an indictor of the potential of the team.

“Playing at these festivals allowed us to play against top schools in the country that are not part of our normal fixture list,” Queen’s head coach Michael Baiden told SuperSport Schools.

“It has also allowed us to measure ourselves compared to the best in the country, and it also allowed us to learn more about where we are as a team and where we need to improve.

“We now know the level we are capable of playing, and that should help us in our in-season fixtures.”

Queen’s will need to be switched on and concentrate for the full four chukkas if they are to get one past their arch-rivals.

Last season, Selborne scored a 3-1 win in their first outing against Queen’s and then romped to a 9-2 victory the second time they met.

Baiden’s side won’t want a repeat of that history and they’ll turn to a handful of experienced campaigners to lead their challenge against Selborne.

Queen’s has five players who featured in the first team last year. The remainder of the squad is made up of 16-year-olds and one 15-year-old.

Baiden said a massive challenge awaits his side: “Of course, Selborne is a team that has not lost a game this whole year and they are always a tough side to come up against.

“The truth is our team will have to show good character to stay in the fight and consistently trust our game plan that we have worked on for months now.

“We will have to limit the number of mistakes we make and also do our best to try and minimise the influence of their key players in the game, which will be a difficult task, but the boys will be up for it.”

The side from Komani will be led by Bevaneo Maytham in the absence of injured skipper, Luke du Preez, who tore a hamstring. Aiden van Jaarsveld is the vice-captain.

For Queen’s to win, goalkeeper Rowan Miles will need to be at his best in the box.

The clash starts at 18:30 on Friday at the Selborne College Astroturf.

Look out for the game on DStv Channel 216, or catch it live on SuperSport Schools.

Selborne College: Nathan Amos-Brown, Gray van Heerden, Ethan James, Shane Stagg, Daniel Conroy, Joshua Haschick, Waeden Paatjes, Tre’ Gilbert ©, Jaques van der Merwe, Daniel Sirgel, Dan Gaylard, Reece Wait, Kungothando Macanda, Thomas Caswell, Cade Kock, Bradley Burrows.

Queen’s College:  Rowan Miles (gk), Asi Tybosch, Brett Hoffmann, Yibonge Mquqwana, Mafu Mandaba, Aiden van Jaarsveld (vc), Morgan Hayes, Mbasa Batyi, Damian Miles, Bevaneo Maytham (c), Liso Mtalaliso. Reserves: Liyema Auwa, Asi Vena, Tafiro Kagoro.

Other matches

Makhanda hosts a derby clash on Friday, with Cambridge High School visiting Graeme College.

An improved Dale College side, which has played some good hockey this season, faces one of their toughest tests of the season when they welcome Grey High School to Qonce.

Pearson, after going down 1-2 against Selborne College last weekend, will face a Stirling side, which will be buoyed after coming back from two goals down to draw with Queen’s College last weekend.

Hudson Park is the only Eastern Cape side in action on Saturday. They take on Milnerton at the Oakhill Co-Ed Hockey Festival in Knysna.

Fixtures

Friday, 12 April

16:00 – Graeme College vs Cambridge High
16:00 – Dale College vs Grey High
18:00 – Pearson High vs Stirling High
18:30 – Selborne College vs Queen’s College

Saturday, 13 April 2024

16:15 – Hudson Park vs Milnerton

Being more clinical, solid at the back, and accurate in front of goal will be the main items on the agenda for Clarendon High School for Girls this coming weekend when they host Queenstown Girls’ High School (QGHS) in East London on Saturday.

Clarendon enters the clash on the back of playing a gruelling schedule at the St Mary’s Waverley Festival in Johannesburg over the past weekend.

Coach Luaan Sedras‘s side was drawn in a tough Pool A, alongside Herschel Girls, Pretoria High School for Girls (PHSG), Bloemhof, Roedean School, Affies, DF Malan, and Eunice.

During the pool stages, they played seven matches and picked up wins against Roedean School (1-0), and PHSG (1-0).

They went on to win another two matches later in the tournament, against The Wykeham Collegiate (1-0) and Somerset College, whom they beat 3-2 in a penalty shootout, before going down 0-2 to Collegiate in the 21^st/22^nd play-off match.

“We played 12 matches over four days, which was a real test for our girls, as we do not play so many competitive games in our region,” Sedras told SuperSport Schools, when reflecting on his team’s experiences at the St Mary’s Festival.

“From the 12 matches we played, our performances consistently improved game by game.

“We defeated the lower ranked teams, and had close results against the higher rank teams,” he said.

Before departing for St Mary’s, Clarendon flexed their muscles at the annual Grens and Greg Beling Festivals on home soil.

At Grens, they were dominant and, despite going down to Stirling High (0-1), ended up winning three of their four matches, against King Williams Town’s Kingsridge High School for Girls (3-0), Hudson Park (1-0), and Merrifield College (4-0)

However, they were unable to replicate that form a week later at the Greg Beling Festival. There, they drew 0-0 against Union High School, before going down to some of the country’s better teams, including Rhenish (1-4), St Anne’s DSG (0-4), Oranje (0-6), and Woodridge College (0-1).

Coach Sedras believes the game is about more than results alone, and having played against those schools has prepared Clarendon well for the season that lies ahead.

“Those games are so valuable to our team,” he said. “They allowed us to build match fitness, assess our playing structures and tactics, assess our player capabilities, and have some fun.”

As the East London school heads into the league season, they’ll have plenty of experience on their side. This year’s lineup includes seven players who ran out for the first team in 2023. It features eight grade 12 learners, four in grade 11, and two in grade 10.

Sedras said he was impressed by how hard his team fought at St Mary’s, but they need to focus on goal scoring to take a step forward in their game.

“We created, on average, between three and five goal-scoring opportunities per game, but just could not convert them,” he explained.

“This is where the other teams were more clinical. They scored from their chances.”

“I am extremely satisfied with how our team performed against Eunice and Bloemhof. In these two games, I could see the progress we have achieved since Greg Beling.

“But one weakness we need to address is, for sure, scoring goals,” he concluded.

Clarendon is led by Demi Knott, who received the player of the match award four times at St Mary’s. She has also received more than 100 caps for the first team.

Other players to keep an eye out for in the team are Cara Knott, Demi’s sister, who reached 50 caps at St Mary’s, alongside Juliana Saffy. Alison Woodin, Claren Lugo Fernandez, and Jenna Frachet also have more than 50 caps for the first team.

They face QGHS at 13:45 on the Clarendon Astroturf.

Other matches

A number of other derbies will be played across the Eastern Cape on Saturday.

In Gqeberha, Pearson High School welcomes a Stirling side high in confidence after they defeated Queenstown Girls’ High 2-1 at home last weekend.

Coach Michael Dettmer’s side has hit the ground running in 2024 and their results include the previously mentioned 1-0 win over Clarendon at the Grens Festival. They finished in 18th place out of 40 teams at the Belgotex Easter Sport Hockey Tournament. 

Stirling will be brimming with confidence and hoping to cause an upset against a Pearson side which finished 15th out of 32 teams at the St Mary’s Festival.

Another fixture to keep an eye out for in the Windy City is that between Collegiate Girls’ High and Outeniqua High School.

Westering High, who are playing some of their best hockey this season, will welcome Hoër Volkskool Graaff-Reinet.

Despatch hosts Nico Malan, while Cambridge takes on Victoria Girls’ High in Makhanda, and Hudson Park faces Cape Town’s Milnerton at the Oakhill Co-Ed Festival in Knysna.

Fixtures

Thursday, 11 April
16:30 – Pearson High vs Westering High

Friday, 12 April
13:00 – Cambridge High vs Victoria Girls High School

Saturday, 13 April
10:00 – Westering High vs Volkskool
11:00 – Pearson High vs Stirling High School
11:00 – Despatch vs Nico Malan
12:30 – Collegiate vs Outeniqua
13:45 – Clarendon vs Queenstown Girls’ High
16:50 – Hudson Park vs Milnerton