Author: asawula

The Southern Gauteng A-team scored a total of eight goals in two matches on the opening day of the u18 IPT girls’ tournament which kicked off in Bloemfontein on Sunday.

The tournament, separated in two sections saw a total of 16 matches played throughout the day.

A total of 26 goals were scored in Section A, as one of the hosting teams, the Northern Free State struggled to get going, and succumbed to two defeats against Boland and Southern Gauteng.

The team of the day, however, was the Southern Gauteng A side. The team, coached by Natasha Le Roux were tasked with playing two competitive matches in one day – one against Eastern Province before a later game against Northern Free State.

The team started the brightest in the first match, scoring as early as the eighth minute through their dangerous forward Chanel Genis through a field goal.

Their lead was quickly doubled within two minutes when Anathi Masondo managed to get her name on the scoreboard, building a solid lead early in the match for her team.

Le Roux’s team remained certain of bringing the heat to Province, as they played an attacking brand of hockey coupled with good defending and counterattacks which left Province exposed at the back.

Goals by Ifeoma Ndubueze (penalty corner), and Hannah Smyth would see the Gauteng side take a (4-0) lead into the break, with two chukkers to play and Province heavily under the pump.

The side came out in the third chukka and within three minutes scored from a well-executed penalty corner which saw the ball land on the stick of Hannah White, who slotted the goal in.

Despite a late surge by Province when they scored two quick goals courtesy of Elizabeth Porter, and Gabriella Tiat, the damage was already done, and Reabetswe Phume sealed the deal for the side right on the hooter to give the Joburg side a well deserved (7-2) win, the biggest of the day.

In other matches of the day, Western Province asserted its dominance by putting four past Mpumalanga before KZA Inland A sneaked one past the Eastern Cape’s Amathole.

Southern Free State A closed the day off by gifting Eastern Province their second defeat of the tournament by winning that one, (2-0).

A further eight matches will be on display in day two of the tournament. The match to look out for will probably be between Western Province A and KZN Coastal A. Kick off in that game is at 17:30.

After day one, Southern Free State star, Taheera Augousti is tied with Boland’s Tanya Pieterse in the leaderboard with two goals each.

Results | Day 1

Boland A 3 (0): (Tanya Pieterse (2), Johre Blommetjies). Northern Free State 0.

Southern Gauteng A 7 (4): (Chanel Genis, Anathi Masondo, Ifeoma Ndubueze, Hannah White, Hannah Smyth, Juliana Million, Reabetswe Phume). Eastern Province A 2 (0): Elizabeth Porter, Gabriella Tiat.

Southern Free State A 2 (1): (Itumeleng Semoli, Taheera Augousti). Southern Gauteng B 0.

Northern Gauteng 2 (0): (Anlu Harmse, Danielle Mccann); KZN Coastals A 2 (1): (Elizabeth Anderson, Emily Macquet).

Mpumalanga 1 (0): Lize Oosthuizen. Western Province A 4 (3): Stella Van Schalkwyk, Keziah Petersen, Jodie Blows, Paige Thomas.

KZN Inland A 2 (2): (Ella Shuttelworth, Emily Wilson). Amathole A 0.

Southern Gauteng A 1 (0): (Megan Fell). Northern Free State 0.

Southern Free State A 2 (1): (Taheera Augousti, Reatile Pitso). Eastern Province A 0 (0).

Day 2 fixtures:

09:00- KZN Coastal A vs Mpumalanga A
10:25- KZN Inland A vs Western Province A
11:50- Amathole A vs Northern Gauteng A
13:15- Eastern Province A vs Southern Gauteng B|
14:40- Northern Free State vs Southern Free State A
16:05- Boland A vs Southern Gauteng A
17:30- Western Province A vs KZN Coastal A
18:55- Mpumalanga vs Amathole A

CAPE TOWN. – Junior Springbok head coach Bafana Nhleko says he is satisfied with his team’s performance after defeating Georgia 33-23 in the opening game of the u20 World Rugby Championship at Danie Craven Stadium on Saturday. 

Nhleko named 11 debutants in his starting lineup, one of those being flyhalf Jean Smith who contributed 18 points with the boot and claimed the man-of-the-match award. 

Nhleko’s team were quick off the ropes and scored 20 points in the first half. The first points came from a penalty slotted in by Smith in the third minute. 

The first try of the game would come five minutes later through vice-captain Katlego Letebele who chipped over the visitors’ defence, collected his kick, and dotted over the whitewash.

That score was followed by a five-pointer from hometown hero, Jurenzo Julius. The Sharks man, alongside teammate Hakeem Kunene, made something out of nothing in the corner when Kunene, running out of space, offloaded to Julius who dived in to extend his side’s lead.  

Georgia was physical up front and scored a try of their own in the first stanza through captain Lasha Tsikhistavi, converted by Petre Khutsishvili. 

The home side led 20-7 at halftime.

The second half is where Nhleko and his troops will have to focus more when reviewing the match during the week.

The home side came out and were ill-disciplined from the get-go. They gave away four penalties in a row, struggled to retain their high balls, scrums tumbled, and received no go-forward ball with the visitors all over their faces. 

Flanker, Ghudian Van Reenen also received a yellow card for repeated infringements, outlining the discipline issues the side found themselves in.

However, that didn’t stop Smith from slotting penalties in as the youngster scored a further two penalties and a conversion from Ethan Hooker’s try to seal the win for the home side.

A late try by Georgia’s replacement hooker, Nika Babunashvili wasn’t enough.

Reacting to the match, Nhleko said he was happy with the win but admitted that work still needs to be done.

“To be fair, I’m happy with the win,” he said.

“I think sometimes you need to be realistic and understand that it won’t always be easy.”

“We knew it was going to be tough today, for various reasons but at a tournament, you just want to get the first win, and we did that.” 

There were times in the game when Georgia’s physicality and smart play had the upper hand on the hosts. Nhleko admits that the shift of confidence was something they had prepared for. 

“It was all about trying to find a way to get the momentum back. We spoke about it a lot during our camps that at some point, the opposition will have momentum,” he said. 

“Georgia was desperate, they started playing that way and started exposing us, and we just needed to calm down, get back to what we know and what works for us.”

The Junior Boks will shift focus to their second pool match against Italy on Thursday in Paarl.

Italy lost their opening game 43-15 against Argentina. They are a hurting team that will be out to disappoint the hosts on home soil. 

Scorers:

South Africa 33 (20) – Tries: Katlego Letebele, Jurenzo Julius, Ethan Hooker. Conversions: Jean Smith (3). Penalties: Smith (4). Georgia 23 (7) – Tries: Lasha Tsikhistavi, Shako Aptsiauri, Nika Babunashvili. Conversion: Petre Khutsishvili. Penalties: Khutsishvili (2).

 

The annual IPT U18 hockey tournament will kick off this coming Sunday in Bloemfontein in what is set to be a thrilling tournament after a competitive season across the country.

Catch all the action live on SuperSport Schools (www.supersportschools.com).

12 teams in Section A will battle it out for four days in search of top honours with the final scheduled for the 30^th of June at the main Astro turf at the University of Free State.

Day one consists of six fixtures with the likes of Western Province, Eastern Province, both KZN sides and Free State in action.

However, the team that will showcase itself the most on the opening day is the Southern Gauteng side coached by Anthony Woodhouse.

The side will play two fixtures, one against Amathole from the Eastern Cape before taking on Western Province B in the last game of the day.

The side from Gauteng finished in fifth place last year with Western Province the eventual tournament winners after defeating KZN Coastal in the final.

The big challenge for Woodhouse and his side on day one will arguably be their first game against Amathole. The two sides boast players in top schools, high in confidence having produced remarkable performances for their respective schools.

The Gauteng team features a total of 16 players selected from Jeppe Boys High (6), St Stithians (4), St Johns (2), St David’s Marist Inanda (1), Beaulieu College (2) and King Edward (1).

In an exclusive interview with SuperSport Schools ahead of the tournament, Woodhouse said he was pleased with his squad, and believes the boys are ready to take on the finest talent the country has to offer.

“I’m very excited to get into the tournament and test ourselves against the best the country has to offer,” he said.

“I believe we have had a comprehensive preparation, and the team is gelling well on and off the pitch. I’m eager to see what the boys can do on the big stage.”

Woodhouse is among many provincial coaches who have had a tough task in putting together a team that can perform at the highest level. He admitted that with many players on their radar performing so well, it was quite a challenge selecting his final 16.

Our selection process is quite time-consuming as we are the province with the largest pool of players.”

“We also have to accommodate trials around both term 3 and term 4 school holidays and also the Aitken Trophy which is a big event on the Johannesburg boys’ hockey calendar.”

“It makes the process quite tough logistically but credit to the selectors, convenors and chairperson of Southern Gauteng Boys hockey in making this all happen,” he added.

The side will not have it easy from the get-go when they take on Amathole in their opening game. A team boasted by Selborne College players will be out to stake a claim against Gauteng’s best. Each chukker will be highly contested and both defences need to be at their best if victory is anything to come by.

You might be interested: A successful hockey program shaped by more than just 11 players on the field.

However, Woodhouse and his troops will be counting on the experienced players that played in the tournament last year to guide the new boys.

“We have four players returning from last year’s team (Jaydon Brooker, Taine Tanner-Ellis, Liam Billett and TJ Chalmers, the former 2 having made the SA u17 HP squad last year).

“We also have some talented u17s in team in Devin Wax, Joshua Renders, Avela Sibisi, Matthew Eichweber and Boipelo Koloti.”

“Furthermore, we are luckily to have had a number of boys who played in the u18B team at IPT last year (Matthew Robinson, Kea Seome, Neo Chimyani, Dihan Alberts-Flynn, Tshedza Rashalanavho and Miguel de Jesus). Lastly, Nicholas Karlsson has also broken into the team after a stellar season for Saints.”

The side open their campaign against Amathole A at the University of Free State Astro, kick-off is at 10:25.

The teams:

Southern Gauteng u18A: Matt Eichweber (St Stithians), Tshedza Rasalanavho (Beaulieu College), Josh Renders (Jeppe Boys), Neo Chimanyi (Jeppe Boys), Diahn Alberts-Flynn (Jeppe Boys), Matthew Robinson (St Stithians), Jaydon Brooker (Jeppe Boys), Liam Billet (St Johns), Miguel De Jesus (Jeppe Boys), TJ Chalmers (St Johns), Taine Tanner-Ellis (St Stithians), Devin Wax (Beaulieu College), Keabetswe Seome (KES), Avela Sibisi (St Davids), Nic Karlsson (St Stithians), Biopelo Koloti (Jeppe Boys).

Amathole u18A: Tre’ Gilbert (Selborne College), Lunga Malusi (Selborne College), Waeden Plaatjes (Selborne College), Cade Kock (Selborne College), Masibulela Siswana (Selborne College), Daniel Sirgel (Selborne College), Charlie Cawell (Selborne College), Ben van der Merwe (Selborne College), James Carr (Selborne College), Lucan Hykes (Queens College), Calvin Bloom (Queens College), Luke Du Preez (Queens College), Trent Pillay (Merrifield College), Mpha Mboniswa (Merrifield College), Damian Alldred (Cambridge High School), Siphesihle Nodada (Cambridge High School).

Day 1 fixtures:

09:00 – Western Province B vs Southern Free State A
10:25 – Southern Gauteng A vs Amathole A
11:50 – Northern Gauteng A vs Western Province A
13:15 – Eastern Province A vs Boland A
14:40 – KZN Inland B vs KZN Coastal A
16:05 – KZN Coastal B vs KZN Inland A
17:30 – Southern Gauteng A vs Western Province B

Two late goals by Hilton College proved just enough to secure a (3-1) hard-fought win against Michaelhouse in their return fixture on Saturday. 

The two sides, who met earlier this season, with that clash ending in a (4-2) win for Hilton were eager to momentarily close off their seasons with wins.

Hilton, were the favourites, undoubtedly. They came into the match with a solid record and placed 5th on the country’s rankings. Before the match, however, they had also lost (1-0) against Kearsney, so Michaelhouse would’ve felt like a victory is possible away from home. 

Michaelhouse adopted that exact mindset as they shocked the visitors in the first quarter with a goal from captain, John Yeadon. 

Yeadon scored when he quickly pounced on a turnover after giving away a penalty. He had a powerful run into the box, shed off two defenders, and placed the ball in the bottom left corner. 

That goal influenced the home side’s comeback. Damian Kimfley’s men asserted themselves into the match, getting several short corners but not capitalizing. 

The hosts finally hit back, late in the first quarter when Jarred Kitto got the ball in his half and paced through the Michaelhouse defence to allow his side some time down in the other half.

Kitto lost the ball, but that run gained his side some valuable minutes down under, as they quickly pounced on a loose ball and Joel Kitshoff scored to level the scoreboard. 

For a full quarter, there was nothing to separate the two sides, as Hilton continued in their dominance of ball possession while the visitors opted to sit back and await the counterattack. 

However, sitting back didn’t work for the visitors and Kimfley’s side changed tactics, displaying maturity, and scored two goals through Grant Bridgeford, and Nicholas Chantler late in the game to secure the win. 

The win for Hilton means that they finish the season momentarily on a high, and will maintain their spot in the top five rankings in the country. 

Scorers:

Hilton College 3 (Joel Kitshoff, Grant Bridgeford, Nicholas Chantler); Michaelhouse 1  (John Yeadon). 

 

Hilton College, and KwaZulu-Natal Inland coach, Damian Kimfley says he is excited and relishing the opportunity of leading the provincial side in this year’s IPT which kicks off in Bloemfontein on the 24th of June. 

Kimfley, who also represented South Africa during his playing days is no stranger to the big stage having led Hilton to a top-5 ranking this year while ranking up some impressive performances on the way. 

The former will also return to the tournament with vast knowledge, having led the U16 side to a silver medal in 2022 while acting as an assistant coach for the U18 side. 

This year, he takes the reigns, and in an interview with SuperSport Schools, outlined how he feels ahead of the tournament. 

“I’m very excited for the tournament, I think we’ve got a good group of players this year that can compete,” he said. 

“We have a mixture of Hilton, Maritzburg College, and St Charles boys in the team so I’m pretty keen to see how we put it all together and compete at the highest level.”

The 16-player squad is made up of nine Hilton College boys, rightfully so considering their electric form this season. Five boys are from Maritzburg College while St Charles is represented by two players.

Despite not having a pool of schools to pick from, Kimfely was quick to admit that choosing the team was difficult and players were chosen because of their attributes, skills, and the way they fit into the team. 

“It was quite challenging because we had three trial weekends to pick a team,” he said.

“So, it was quite tough to select the right team and the right players for the way I would like us to play and how I see hockey.”

“We were quite specific on how we picked the players and who we wanted to play in the team.”

The KZN Inland team will go to Bloemfontein with a mission to win the tournament, just like any other side. 

However, Kimfley is aware that it won’t be an easy ride considering the teams they are drawn within the Coastal A pool. 

“I think it’s gonna be very tough, we’ve got Coastal A in our pool,” said the coach.

“We have Boland, who is a very strong team this year with a lot of Paul Roos boys, then there’s EP (Eastern Province), who are always a challenge with their different style of play and flare of hockey.”

“So it will be tough fighting for a top two spot to make the semi-finals, hence I think it’s gonna be extremely challenging for the boys, but I believe we are ready.”

Kimfley’s side will open their IPT campaign with a clash against KZN rivals, the Coastal side on day one of the tournament. ‘

Kick-off for that clash is at 16:05. 

The team:

Nkosiyethu Shozi (Hilton), Nicholas Holmes (Maritzburg College), Michael Sara (Hilton), Kyle Dobeyn (Maritzburg College), Nicholas Chantler (Hilton), Rearden Dicken (St Charles), Akha Mda (Hilton), Phiwayinkosi Dlamini (Maritzburg College), Dale Herbert (Hilton College), Kearabetswe Khoele (Hilton), Wian Liebenberg (Hilton), Jarred Kitto (Hilton), Banele Dlamini (Maritzburg College), Caleb Ryland (St Charles), Grant Bridgeford (Hilton), Ipeleng Mosupye (Maritzburg College). 

Head coach: Damian Kimfley

Manager: Cheslvn Mosupye 

Physiotherapist: Daiyaan Solomons 

As we reach the mid-year break, schools are slowly wrapping up their hockey fixtures to shift their focus on exams- However, there were some entertaining matches in the Eastern Cape this week with wins for Clarendon Girls  and Selborne College in East London, while St Andrews defeated Kingswood College in the annual “K-Day” fixture. 

Selborne College and Clarendon Girls both registered tough wins on the road against Stirling High School on Wednesday evening as both matches were played under the rain and in tough conditions. 

Clarendon, who are the sister school of Selborne has had a similar run to their neighboring boys’ school this season, recording emphatic wins and beating a couple of strong teams on their way to the mid-season break.

They came into the Stirling game on the back of a (4-1) win against Cambridge whereas they had scored 14 goals against Kingsridge Girls High a week prior. 

Reacting to the hard-fought 1-0 against Stirling, Clarendon’s head coach, Deon Nel told SuperSport Schools how delighted he was with the win, and feels like they played their best hockey 

“I think it was a really good game for us, statistically, we were good the whole game, the only part that let us down was the finishing around the circle,” he said after the match. 

“Anyways, we’ll take the win. I also think it was a very dominant performance even though we managed to get the goal in the dying seconds of the match.” 

“We played some of the nicest hockey that we’ve played this season, moved the ball around a lot, I’m generally happy with the performance, it’s not always about the outcome but satisfied with the way we played,” added the coach.  

Players that stood out: Claren Lugo- Fernandez, Cara Knott, while Stirling captain Linamandla Mxinwa also produced a top performance. 

In the boys’ game, Selborne once again scored five goals in what Selborne coach, KJ Friend described as “Torrential Rain”. 

The side was coming off a (6-1) win against Cambridge a few days ago. Among the scorers featured Cade Kock, who has come alive of late. Whereas regular goal scorers, Ben van der Merwe and Waeden Plaajies also scored to record yet another victory for the side away from home. 

Across the province in Makhanda, Kingswood College hosted St Andrews in the annual K-Day derby. 

Two teams, who have performed up to standard this season struggled to break each other’s defence early in the game. 

It was probably one of the toughest and most tightly contested hockey matches in the Province to date. St Andrews scored the only goal of the match in the second half, with one quarter to go. 

Captain, Sibusiso Mxube came up with the goal after pouncing on a loose ball in the box. That makes it two wins in as many matches for St Andrews after they defeated Queens College (2-0) last weekend. 

Kingswood Girls vs DSG Makhanda will play on Saturday, while other schools have completed their hockey fixtures for the term.

Scorers:

Boys: 

Selborne College 5 (Cade Kock (2), Ben van der Merwe, Waeden Plaajies, Jacques van der Merwe); Stirling 1 (Tristan Rowe).

St Andrew’s College 1 (Sibusiso Mxube). Kingswood College 0.

Girls: 

Clarendon Girls High 1 (Kaylin Hendrick). Stirling 0. 

Michaelhouse will be aiming to turn around a tough season when they travel to Hilton College in one of KZN’s heated matchups this coming weekend. 

The side which hails from the Midlands area of KwaZulu-Natal, has had a pretty challenging season, faced with adversity but in the midst of it all managed to produce five provincial players this year. 

This coming weekend, they take on arguably one of the most dangerous teams in Durban, Hilton College who have moved to fifth spot in the U18 boys rankings. 

Ahead of the match, SuperSport Schools had an exclusive interview with the coach, Grant Von Mayer to preview the match, and get more detail about his team. 

“The season has been a tough one,” opened Von Mayer. 

“It started with promise as we had a fit healthy and talented squad. Unfortunately, we suffered from many disruptions over the season and have seldom been able to fix the side we planned.”

“So in terms of results, we are disappointed and we feel that we have not been able to capitalize on early success against the likes of College,” he added.

In many cases, the performance of certain teams depreciates when they lose regular first-team players and more experienced players. This is also the case at the KZN school, however, Von Mayer believes the squad they have now will drive the hockey program into 2024. 

“The squad is bolstered by a strong Grade 11 group.”

“These boys will have the responsibility of driving the squad into 2024.”

There might be some disappointing results recorded by Von Mayer’s side but he believes positive performances against Durban rivals will go a long way for the confidence of his side. He picked the best games he’s seen his side in action in: 

“The Maritzburg College game was a fantastic fixture. We managed to win it (3-2), however, both sides produced some good constructive hockey and it was a good advert for the schools.”

“Our first-half defensive effort against Hilton was extraordinary and despite the score line, our game against the dangerous DHS team was a highlight for me.”

“The team (against DHS) had to adapt to a nuanced structure and they managed this exceptionally well for much of the game.”

The season might’ve not lived up to expectations for the coach, however, the fact that the side managed to produce five Inland U18 B players cannot be overlooked. 

The likes of John Yeadon, West Mitchell-Innes, Patrick Lambert, Piko Nkompela, and Mokilibi Makara will represent the school at the IPT tournament starting next week in Bloemfontein. 

But first, they need to go through a Hilton side, who come off a (1-0) loss against Kearsney College while they went down (3-0) against Westville Boys. The last time the sides met was earlier on in the season and Hilton won (4-2).

Kick-off between the two sides is at 11:30 on Saturday.

The teams:

Hilton College: Nkosi Shozi, Michael Sara, Grant Bridgeford, Dale Herbert, Nicholas Chantler, Akha Mda, Wian Liebenberg, Joel Kitshoff, Kearabetswe Khoele, Jarred Kitto, Masud Dakile, Jarred Matlby, Tino Hove, Murray Loughor-Clarke, Benjamin Mcguigan. 

Michaelhouse: Pikolomzi Nkompela, Jordan Baxter, Jason Lawrence, Nicholas Pitt, Christopher Angel, Keaton Porrill, West Mitchell-Innes, Sebastian Hofmeyr, John Yeadon, Murray Hall-Jones, Thomas Griffin, Dominic Furby, Patrick Lambert, Erich van Zyl, Oliver Brown. 

 

The upcoming weekend will see eight KZN schools take to the Astroturf in what will be the last matches for some schools before teams go on a mid-year break.

With that said, it has been a thrilling term of hockey in the province, with some teams pulling off unexpected results while some have lived up to the expectations put upon them at the start of the season. 

SuperSport Schools recaps and looks at two schools in action this weekend. One has had a season to savor, while the other team goes into the weekend high in confidence after pulling a surprise win last Saturday.

*Coincidentally, both teams are on the road this weekend*

Hilton College

Nine players in the U18 KZN Inland hockey team- That is probably the first thing someone reading this article needs to know about Hilton College. 

The side will travel to Kearsney College this coming weekend in hopes of continuing in the solid form that has turned them into a force within the country.

Led by Damian Kimfley, a former South African representative himself, the boys in white have played arguably one of the best attractive styles of hockey in the province, up there with DHS (Durban High School).

For their hard work, Kimfley’s Men have seen themselves rise in the schools’ rankings, and they currently sit in fourth position with 11.27 bonus points in the latest updated rankings. 

Their five most impressive performances came against Maritzburg Collge, where they beat (4-0) this previous week. They also claimed the scalp of Glenwood, scoring a whopping eight goals while conceding none.

A game that surely built character in the side is the match-up against DHS, where the sides played down to the last chukka, with Hilton finally winning it (4-3). 

Attractive, fast, and counter attacking hockey with a massive focus on defence has got the side to where it is today. They will look for the same against a fired-up Kearsney side come Saturday morning. 

Players to watch: Akha Mda, Dale Herbert, Jarred Kitto, and Grant Bridgeford. 

Westville Boys High

Westville Boys High is a team that hasn’t been at its best this season but making progress with every match.

A team that is occasionally known and accustomed to bullying fellow KZN sides has been under the stick a couple of times and on the back of receiving some humbling results.

However, with losses comes lessons, and the side has done just that, learn.

According to head coach Cameron Mackay, their most impressive match of the season dates back to the clash versus Kearsney, which was one of the few matches they have played at their new Astroturf this season. 

Mackay, despite the topsy turvy season, has managed to produce two U18 KZN players in Owen Slack (CB) and Josh Beck (ST). Those selections are commendable for the side, especially considering that the team lost some crucial players from last year.

It’s not all doom and gloom for Mackay’s side though, as after 18 matches, they find themselves sitting 16th on the rankings, above the likes of Michaelhouse and Glenwood. 

This coming weekend, they have a reason to believe they can win. 

After defeating one of the best teams in the region, DHS (3-1) on their reunion, Mackay’s side will feel like they have the extra edge on Michaelhouse. 

Players to watch: Keaton Burns, Owen Slack, Warwick Field, Kade Burns, and Josh Beck. 

The teams:

Hilton team to travel to Kearsney: Nkosi Shozi, Michael Sara, Grant Bridgeford, Dale Herbert, Nicholas Chantler, Akha Mda, Wian Liebenberg, Joel Kitshoff, Kearabetswe Khoele, Jarred Kitto, Masud Dakile, Jarred Matlby, Tino Hove, Murray Loughor-Clarke, Benjamin Mcguigan. 

Westville team to travel to Michaelhouse: Keaton Burns, Connor Jenkins, Daniel Lambert, Owen Slack, James Dent, Sibusiso Cele, Kade Burns, Warwick Field, Caleb van Loenen, Josh Beck, Kaeden Mc Allister, Ty Matthews, Tristan Burns, Nic Ackerman, Curt Rogers, Seth Simpson.

Fixtures:

Saturday 10 June:

10:30 – Northwood vs Maritzburg College; 11:15 – Kearsney College vs Hilton College; 11:25 – Michaelhouse vs Westville Boys’ High; 12:30 – St Charles College vs Glenwood.

 

Cambridge High School will be eyeing to cause an unexpected upset when they make the 30-minute trip down to Selborne College this coming Friday afternoon in another heated Eastern Cape derby. 

Cambridge is known for their strong hockey program, having produced impressive results in recent years. 

Undoubtedly, they’re the side in East London that could potentially cause an upset against the in-form Selborne side. 

Their season has been one to savor, coupled with a couple of results that have made provincial selectors take note, much to the inclusion of two players (Damian Alldred and Siphesihle Nodada in the Amathole IPT squad. 

They started the derby season with a hard-fought (2-1) win against Hudson Park.

Wins against Graeme College (7-0), Dale College (2-0), and a (2-2) draw against Stirling High followed suit, adding to the side’s confidence and team culture built by Tim Stirk at the school and also demonstrating the attacking style of play by the black and green boys. 

Stirk’s boys, however, will be weary of the threats posed by the best side in the Eastern Cape, particularly playing in a hostile environment known for its unappealing treatment of traveling schools. 

The atmosphere at the Selborne Astro is something that always seems to throw teams off and is one psychological factor the visitors need to overcome even before the first chukka kicks off. 

For the home side, they come into the game as favorites on the back of five consecutive victories. KJ Friend’s troops will also be motivated to take a clean sweep in the city.

With winning on their minds, the management will stick with their strong side which has produced all season. If Cambridge are to cause an upset, they’ll certainly have to do it against the best in the region.

Kick-off between the sides is at 18:30 at the Selborne College Astro turf. 

In other matches, Queens College will be back in action after a break when they take on St Andrews in Makhanda.

Graeme College makes the short trip down to King Williams Town to face a struggling Dale College side, while another local derby will see Hudson Park host Stirling High.

In Gqeberha, Woodridge College takes on Victoria Park. 

The teams: 

Selborne College: Charlie Caswell, Gray van Heerden, Daniel Gaylard, Shane Stagg, Ben van der Merwe (captain), Masibulele Siswana, Tre’ Gilbert, Daniel Conroy, Jacques van der Merwe, James Carr, Daniel Sirgel, Lunga Malusi, Waeden Plaatjes, Cade Kock. 

Cambridge High: Sange Sakube, Sixolisiwe Qalinto (Capt.), Samkelisiwe Ndzotyana (GK), Damian Alldred, Raheem Medina, Siphelele Kewuti, Siviwe Nukwa, Siphesihle Nododa, Aqhama Mdlulwa, Unam Bolo, Ryan Henriks, Aliziwe Sokoyi, Anganathi Nyongo, Alakhe Kewuti.

Friday 9 June

15:30 – Hudson Park vs Stirling; 15:45 – Dale College vs Graeme College; 15:45 – Woodridge vs Victoria Park; 16:00 – St Andrew’s College vs Queen’s College; 18:30 – Selborne College vs Cambridge.

Westville Boys High School is gearing up to host Durban counterparts Durban High School in their annual reunion this coming Friday at 17:00.

The Westville side has had a challenging start to the season and will be looking to get their first win in five matches after two losses against Clifton (0-1), Jeppe Boys High (2-0), and three draws against KES (2-2), Maritzburg College (2-2) and Gqeberha’s Pearson High (2-2). 

Ahead of the match, SuperSport Schools held a Q&A session with the head coach, Cameron McKay, to get inside intel and an idea of how his side’s season has gone and what he looks to get out of the big match.

Q1: How would you describe your season so far? From where you started up to now? Are you satisfied? 

A: Not a great season. We would have liked to achieve more than we have. We have left results out there that we know we could have done better. It has been frustrating with so many injuries and illnesses affecting the guys this season.

Q2: Coming into the season, did you come in with a new team or manage to keep the base of last season’s team?

A: We still have a few boys left from last season. We just lost some crucial players from last year that have maybe hurt us a bit this year with three guys that made national squads last year leaving.

Q3: In terms of achievements this year, are there any matches/performance that you are proud of?

A: I think the Kearsney game has been the highlight. We have only had two home games on our new turf, and that was a special one with the first big game on our new turf coupled with a good hard-working performance and three goals.

Q4: Please give us a list of 5 players to look out for in your team.

A: Keaton Burns (GK), Owen Slack (CB & KZN U18A), Warwick Field (Mid) Kade Burns (Mid), and Josh Beck (ST & KZN U18A). 

Q5:  Finally, you play DHS (a side in form) this week in what is your reunion- how big is this game for the boys and the school in general, and what are you looking to do to stop them?

A:  I think we must be at our absolute best to beat them – they are a side with depth and good players all over the park. We finally have our closest full-strength team since the end of April so we should be firing with lots of support, so I hope the boys just have a little bit more in them than usual.

In other matches to look out for in the KZN region, Kearsney College host St Charles while the in-form side this season Hilton College, battles it out with arch-rivals Maritzburg College.

Michaelhouse, coached by Grant von Mayer, will play Northwood College away from home. 

The teams: 

Westville Boys High: Keaton Burns, Connor Jenkins, Daniel Lambert, Owen Slack, James Dent, Sibusiso Cele, Kade Burns, Warwick Field, Caleb van Loenen, Josh Beck, Kaeden Mc Allister, Ty Matthews, Tristan Burns, Nic Ackerman, Curt Rogers, Seth Simpson.

Durban High School: Keelan Henry, Lulonke Gono, Ruben Peters, Matlhatse Sebake, Bhavesh Naicker, Lethabo Bocagwi, Leruo Ditlakhanyane, Sitchaba Siyoyo, Nathi Jona, Lumi Matwele, Aldridge Maasdorp, Liam Ruiters, Lubanzi Zulu, Tyrique Cloete, Lethabo Mathobela, Joshua Mungherera.

Fixtures:

Friday 2 June:

17:00 – Westville Boys High vs Durban High School

Saturday 3 June:

10:45 – Kearsney College vs St Charles College; 11:30- Hilton College vs Maritzburg College; 11:45 – Northwood vs Michaelhouse.