Author: cschiwanza

Fourteen of the top hockey-playing schools in the nation wielded their hockey sticks and did battle on Saturday at the King Edward VII School (KES) Easter Festival, brought to you by Standard Bank, and produced blockbuster performances. The Good Friday break had not affected their momentum.

A total of 11 matches were played across two turfs, KES’ Weinberg Astro and the St John’s Astro.

The first match of the day was a thriller between Parktown Boys’ High and Grey College. Both played with confidence and defended stubbornly.

Grey coach Wayne Coetzee‘s charges adopted an attacking approach and piled pressure onto Parktown. The Johannesburg boys were equal to the task, however, and executed their defensive responsibilities well.

But Parktown, coached by Kyle Reddy, were not merely sitting back and soaking up wave after wave of attack from Grey College. They launched their own forays, too. “We had a few opportunities towards the end of the game but unfortunately couldn’t finish,” Reddy said, after the contest ended 1-1.

The next match was between Queen’s College and Maritzburg College. Coach Kyle Emerson‘s young team produced a strong performance to fire three goals past Queen’s without reply.

Emerson’s lineup includes four u16 players, as well as a handful of grade 11s. While their assignment against Michael Baiden‘s charges turned out to be relatively easy, their next match was at the other end of the spectrum.

They went up against a fiery Waterkloof team that attacked with ferocity in a fascinating clash of systems. Emerson’s boys retained possession and played into gaps while Waterkloof ran hard.

College stayed true to their principles in the first half and scored a goal in the second chukka, but lost control of the game in the third.

“In the second half, Waterkloof came with a bit more fire and pressed us. I think, in response, we started to hang on the ball too much to try and play, and that’s not the kind of hockey we want to play. We got caught in that tussle and it became scrappy. That’s where our performance dipped. We didn’t control our game,” Emerson said.

Nonetheless, Maritzburg College held firm and emerged with a 1-0 win.

Selborne College continued their winning march at festivals by registering two wins, beating St Charles in the morning and Northwood in the afternoon.

Matt Coombes‘ St Charles College side was handicapped by the absence of a couple of players, including their captain, Connor Riley, who was out with an injury. They went two goals down in the first chukka and faced an uphill battle from then on.

Saints played good hockey in the third chukka and parts of the fourth quarter, but their efforts were not enough.

KJ Friend‘s boys had an answer for every question posed by St Charles, in the same way that they had a response to every attack launched by Northwood later in the day. As they did with St Charles, Selborne found the back of the net early and sought to impose themselves on the game.

But Northwood was a different proposition. “We managed the game really well for the most part. We could have been better, but I am happy with the result. Against Northwood, my boys ran hard. They are putting in the leg work that most others won’t do,” Friend reckoned.

Northwood’s results evened out on Saturday, when their loss to Selborne was balanced out by a 2-1 win over St John’s.

“I think we haven’t hit our straps yet. I think we are going to get better. We aren’t at our best yet. But to be able to show effort like we did this evening, I am proud of the boys.” Knights’ coach Justin Collins said.

Ashley Kemp‘s Kearsney College enjoyed a great start to the festival, registering back-to-back victories over Jeppe and KES.

Kearsney came into the festival on the back of a good Founders Festival, where they won three and drew two, and showed excellent discipline in defence and when pressing the opposition. It was their emphasis on defence that separated them from many of the other teams.

“I take massive pride in defence first. So, from the start of preseason, that’s my main objective,” Kemp explained.

“If you don’t concede, you give your boys the ability to play freely… It’s the hardest part, but if you do it well, you give yourselves a lot of opportunity to express yourself.”

Sunday, the third day of the festival, promises more high-octane hockey and will kick off with a double-header, two 07:30 matches, with Jeppe facing St Charles at KES and Maritzburg College tackling Parktown at St John’s.

Results

Parktown 1-1 Grey College, Queen’s College 0-3 Maritzburg College, St Charles 0-4 Selborne, Northwood 2-1 St John’s, Kearsney 2-1 Jeppe, Maritzburg College 1-0 Waterkloof, Rondebosch 1-2 Grey College, Jeppe 2-0 Eldoraigne, Selborne 2-1 Northwood, Waterkloof 1-2 St John’s, Kearsney 2-0 KES

Fixtures

Sunday

Weinberg Astro

07:30 – Jeppe vs St Charles, 08:40 – Selborne vs Parktown, 09:50 – KES vs Northwood, 11:00 – Grey College vs Hoëskool Eldoraigne, 13:00 – St John’s vs St Charles, 14:10 – Maritzburg College vs Parktown, 15:20 – Northwood vs Rondebosch, 16:30 – KES vs Hoëskool Eldoraigne, 17:20 – Grey College vs Kearsney

St John’s Astro

07:30 – Maritzburg College vs Rondebosch, 08:40 – Waterkloof vs Queens, 13:00 – Selborne vs Kearsney

Monday

Weinberg Astro

07:30 – Selborne vs Hoëskool Eldoraigne, 08:40 – KES vs Queens, 09:50 – Waterkloof vs Northwood, 11:00 – Jeppe vs Rondebosch, 12:10 – St John’s vs Kearsney, 13:20 – Maritzburg College vs Grey College, 14:30 – Parktown vs St Charles

Day One of the 20^th edition of the King Edward VII School (KES) Easter Festival did not disappoint and the first eight teams to grace the Weinberg Astro put up an exhibition of exciting hockey action.

The four-day festival runs from Thursday, 28 March, to Monday, 1 April, and is hosted by KES, with six of the 35 games taking place at their close neighbours, St John’s College.

Coach Kyle Reddy‘s Parktown Boys’ High was the first team on the astro, squaring up to Hoërskool Eldoraigne. The Ryan Venter-captained unit had a difficult preseason, thanks to lightning-prone Johannesburg, which prevented a number of practice and friendly matches taking place.

But they did manage to squeeze in two fixtures, playing to a 3-3 draw with St Alban’s and easing to a one-sided win over CBC Boksburg. They arrived at the Founders Festival in KZN a little underbaked and produced mixed results.

In their game against Eldoraigne, Parktown seized the initiative by pressing hard and putting the opposition under pressure. They were rewarded with two goals in the first half. They failed to follow up that strong start with a convincing third chukka and ceded control of the match.

“We have two or three players who were part of the team that played at Founders that were not here, just to give the other boys an opportunity to play first-team hockey and see how they do. When they came on, we tried different combinations, a slight adaptation to the press and that was shaky,” Reddy said.

Parktown regained control, however, after they reverted to their regular style and went on to win by three goals.

That encounter was followed by a fiercely contested match between St John’s and Queen’s College. Gilbert de Villiers’ boys looked well organised as they dominated the early proceedings. De Villiers, who moved to St John’s after a successful five-year run with Jeppe, is still in the early days of moulding the team into an outfit that embodies his vision.

“That vision is our boys dominating our own space, making sure we are accountable for our mistakes and successes. Individual accountability is a big thing. And defending to win is another big one for us,” said De Villiers.

Michael Baiden’s Queens College was happy to sit deep and absorb the pressure from St John’s. A hallmark of Baiden’s style of play is attacking on the counter, a ploy they tried a few times. But the Murray Halstead-Cleak-marshalled defence held firm, denying the opposition a way in.

The contest spilled into a frenetic fourth chukka that had action from one goal to the other. Eventually, it was Queen’s who won a penalty corner, which they converted, with seconds left on the clock, to snatch a draw.

Siya Sityana’s Jeppe posted a solid 4-1 win over Waterkloof. The scoreline suggests it was a blowout. It wasn’t.

Jeppe was on fire as they scored three goals in the first chukka. Those quick strikes left Waterkloof a little shell-shocked, but they composed themselves and came out fighting in the second chukka. “We stopped doing the basics correctly,” Sityana remarked.

After the match, Waterkloof coach Mark Lamprecht shared that he felt his team had not done enough to convert the opportunities they created. “We had a lot of chances that we left out there. We created a lot of opportunities; we just weren’t able to capitalise on them,” he said.

Waterkloof has had an up-and-down season so far, characterised by good performances mixed in with inconstant outings. However, Lamprecht was impressed by the nature of his charges’ last few matches where his players demonstrated better form and consistency. Looking forward, the Waterkloof gaffer said he hopes his side will play more to its strengths.

“We have a fast team, and the boys are aggressive. So, we try to put the other team under as much pressure as possible. So, we do a full press, try to turn over the ball quite high. We’ve got some very skilful strikers and try to get them to receive inside the circle and get some outcomes,” he explained.

Sityana, who is in his first season as the Jeppe head coach feels his team is not yet quite where he wants them to be, but it is certainly on the right path. “There is room for improvement. But I am happy with the result,” he said.

The action wrapped up with KES and Rondebosch sharing the spoils in a six-goal thriller.

There will be no action on Good Friday. The festival resumes on Saturday morning with a mouthwatering contest between Parktown and Grey College.

RESULTS

Hoërskool Eldoraigne 1-4 Parktown, St John’s 1-1 Queen’s, Waterkloof 1-4 Jeppe, KES 3-3 Rondebosch

FIXTURES

Saturday

Weinberg Astro

07:30 – Grey College vs Parktown, 08:40 – Selborne College vs St Charles College, 09:50 – Jeppe vs Kearsney, 13:00 – Maritzburg College vs Waterkloof, 14:10 – Grey College vs Rondebosch, 15:20 – Jeppe vs Hoërskool Eldoraigne, 16:30 – Selborne vs Northwood, 17:20 – KES vs Kearsney, 18:30 – St Charles vs Queen’s

St John’s College Astro

07:30 – Maritzburg College vs Queen’s, 08:40 – St John’s vs Northwood, 17:20 – St John’s vs Waterkloof

Sunday

Weinberg Astro

07:30 – Jeppe vs St Charles, 08:40 – Selborne vs Parktown, 09:50 – KES vs Northwood, 11:00 – Grey College vs Hoëskool Eldoraigne, 13:00 – St John’s vs St Charles, 14:10 – Maritzburg College vs Parktown, 15:20 – Northwood vs Rondebosch, 16:30 – KES vs Hoëskool Eldoraigne, 17:20 – Grey College vs Kearsney

St John’s Astro

07:30 – Maritzburg College vs Rondebosch, 08:40 – Waterkloof vs Queens, 13:00 – Selborne vs Kearsney

Monday

Weinberg Astro

07:30 – Selborne vs Hoëskool Eldoraigne, 08:40 – KES vs Queens, 09:50 – Waterkloof vs Northwood, 11:00 – Jeppe vs Rondebosch, 12:10 – St John’s vs Kearsney, 13:20 – Maritzburg College vs Grey College, 14:30 – Parktown vs St Charles

 

Johannesburg rolls out its red carpet to welcome 13 of the nation’s top hockey-playing schools to the annual King Edward VII School (KES) Easter Festival, which runs from Thursday, 28 March, to Monday, 1 April.

The festival, which was first held in 2002 and is one of the province’s major school sporting highlights, will be played over four days. There will be no matches on Good Friday.

Six of the 35 games will be played at the St John’s College Astro. The other 29 matches will be contested on the Weinberg Astro, named after one of KES’ famous sons, Sir Mark Weinberg, who turns 93 this year.

Follow the KES Easter Festival action live on SuperSport Schools

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The hosts head into the festival on the back of a six-week pre-season programme that was affected by injuries to three of their core players. Last week, they traveled to the KZN Midlands for the Nomads Festival, where they found the going tough.

“We were met with some serious coastal hockey schools. This has given us the right amount of prep to tick some bigger boxes at the KES Fest,” said Sharmin Naidoo, the KES Director of Hockey.

In their quest to produce good results at home, the KES team will be led by their captain Fynn Campbell, who will be backed up by the talents of Andrew Arouca and Oyena Qwabe.

Campbell leads the hosts’ penalty corner attack team and presents a real threat with his drag flick. Arouca will marshal the defence. He enjoyed an outstanding Nomads Festival with the KES u16 team and has been rewarded with a move up to the first team. Qwabe, who can score from anywhere in the D, will spearhead the KES’ attack.

Red-hot Selborne College will be the team to beat. The Amathole-based outfit heads into the KES event having gone undefeated and untied in the Tony Godding Festival and Nomads Festival. Their captain Tre’ Gilbert will have his sights set on adding to his 14-goal tally.

Grey College will also be eager to give a good account of themselves. The Bloemfontein boys enjoyed a strong Tony Godding Festival, where they won four and lost one, and had a middling Nomads Festival, where they lost two after winning their first three matches.

Jeppe‘s efforts at the Nomads Festival worked the other way around. The lost their first three but finished with back-to-back wins. They’ll be keen to continue banking victories.

Rondebosch, battle-hardened after facing some stiff competition at the Founders Festival, and Waterkloof, who were in action at the Coastal Cup, will also be looking to make a mark on the festival.

Kearsney, who sparkled on their home turf during the Founders Festival, winning three and drawing two, will bear close watching, but the dark horse team to keep an eye out for is Northwood.

The Knights, who enjoyed a strong 2023 season, which included winning the Guschkie Top Schools under-18 Tournament, opened their season with a tour of Argentina and haven’t yet been in action on South African soil, so they will be keen to make a statement.

FIXTURES

Thursday, 28 March 2024

Weinberg Astro

13:00 – Hoërskool Eldoraigne vs Parktown Boys’ High, 14:10 – St John’s College vs Queen’s College, 15:20 – Jeppe vs Hoëskool Waterkloof, 16:30 – King Edward VII School (KES) vs Rondebosch

Saturday, 30 March 2024

Weinberg Astro

07:30 – Grey College vs Parktown, 08:40 – Selborne College vs St Charles College, 09:50 – Jeppe vs Kearsney, 13:00 – Maritzburg vs Waterkloof, 14:10 – Grey College vs Rondebosch, 15:20 – Jeppe vs Hoërskool Eldoraigne, 16:30 – Selborne vs Northwood, 17:20 – KES vs Kearsney, 18:30 – St Charles vs Queen’s

St John’s College Astro

07:30 – Maritzburg College vs Queen’s, 08:40 – St John’s College vs Northwood, 17:20 – St John’s College vs Waterkloof

Sunday, 31 March 2024

Weinberg Astro

07:30 – Jeppe vs St Charles, 08:40 – Selborne vs Parktown, 09:50 – KES vs Northwood, 11:00 – Grey College vs Hoëskool Eldoraigne, 13:00 – St John’s vs St Charles, 14:10 – Maritzburg College vs Parktown, 15:20 – Northwood vs Rondebosch, 16:30 – KES vs Hoëskool Eldoraigne, 17:20 – Grey College vs Kearsney

St John’s Astro

07:30 – Maritzburg College vs Rondebosch, 08:40 – Waterkloof vs Queens, 13:00 – Selborne vs Kearsney

Monday, 1 April 2024

Weinberg Astro

07:30 – Selborne vs Hoëskool Eldoraigne, 08:40 – KES vs Queens, 09:50 – Waterkloof vs Northwood, 11:00 – Jeppe vs Rondebosch, 12:10 – St John’s vs Kearsney, 13:20 – Maritzburg College vs Grey College, 14:30 – Parktown vs St Charles

Selborne College and Grey High School were the only unbeaten teams when the curtain came down on the Nomads Hockey Festival on Saturday afternoon after three days of entertaining hockey action at Maritzburg College.

The 2024 edition of the annual showcase saw St John’s College record their first win in the past two years at the festival with an upset defeat of an in-form Grey College on Friday. Jeppe High School for Boys, who dominated last year, drawing their first match before winning their remaining four, lost their first three this time around, before recording two wins.

Although they emerged with a spotless record, Grey High almost lost in their very first outing, falling 0-2 behind Maritzburg College before scoring three unanswered goals after halftime to claim a 3-2 victory. Later, on Thursday, they outplayed St John’s 4-1.

An early morning clash with Hilton College on Friday proved to be a serious examination, but Grey came away with a hard-fought 1-0 win. In the afternoon, they trampled King Edward VII School (KES) 6-0.

In their last match, against Pretoria Boys High, on Saturday, they were 2-1 victors.

Beynon, who was in charge of Collegiate Girls’ High School before making the switch to Grey, has enjoyed swift success with his team, which has now swept their opposition in back-to-back festivals, not dropping a single game in 10 over the course of consecutive weekends.

Despite their success, Beynon feels that his team is not yet where it should be: “We are at the early stages of our journey. We want to play an attacking brand of hockey and at times we were able to do that. Accuracy in transition comes with time together as a group,” Beynon told SuperSport Schools.

In the lead up to the 2024 hockey season, KJ Friend and his Selborne College team spent a lot of time working on retaining possession and being disciplined when dispossessed. Every now and then, he reminded his charges that if they kept the ball the rest would fall into place. That ideology was tested at the Tony Godding Festival, where Selborne went five for five.

“We didn’t play really tough opposition last weekend, so coming here this week and facing tougher teams, the emphasis was on sticking to our processes whatever the circumstance,” Friend said.

The plan worked. By sticking to those principles, Selborne controlled the pace and tempo of all of their encounters, which forced their opponents to adapt to the East London side’s style of play.

Central to Selborne’s success was their captain, Tre’ Gilbert. He found the back of the net every time his team stepped onto Pape’s Astro. His tally of six goals was the most by a Selborne player at Nomads, and it brought his total to 14 goals in the two festivals.

At Nomads, Selborne netted 11 times and conceded only three goals as they bagged another five wins from five matches, defeating KES, Pretoria Boys High, Jeppe, Maritzburg College and St John’s.

Selborne’s next assignment will be a tough one, too, at next week’s KES Easter Festival. And while Friend is keen to keep the unbeaten run going, he is not getting his head lost in the clouds.

“The important thing when you have a lot of matches like this is to not focus too far ahead. Take it one day at a time, one match at a time and one play at a time. Don’t think about the later, think about the present. Each game will be different, so you have to prepare accordingly,” he said.

Results

Grey High 2-1 Pretoria Boys High, KES 2-4 Wynberg Boys’ High, Hilton College 3-2 Grey College, Selborne College 2-1 St John’s College, Jeppe 1-0 Maritzburg College.

Grey High School and Selborne College are the only unbeaten teams after two days of captivating hockey at the Nomads Hockey Festival, being hosted by Maritzburg College, in Pietermaritzburg.

The 10-team annual showpiece kicked off on Thursday and ends on Saturday with a contest between the hosts and last year’s juggernaut, Jeppe.

Catch all the action live on SuperSport Schools.

In 2023, when they hosted the event, Grey High won four of their five fixtures. Their sole loss came at the hands of Maritzburg College. Coach Andrew Beynon’s charges avenged that defeat on the first day of the festival with a 3–2 win over the 2024 hosts.

With that frenetic tie out of the way, the boys from Gqeberha could focus on maintaining their 100 percent win record in the first two events they have participated in this year. They duly followed that victory over College with a 4–1 thumping of St John’s in Thursday’s last match.

On Friday, Grey High took two steps forward on their unbeaten run, which began at the Tony Godding Festival, with victories over Hilton College and King Edward VII School (KES).

Beynon’s team has routinely scored multiple goals this year, but they had to play out of their socks against Hilton’s organised defence. A 0-1 loss to Grey High ended the KZN team’s unbeaten run.

In the afternoon session, Grey High regrouped and found their goal-scoring form, making up for their single goal haul of the morning, by firing six past KES.

St John’s pulled off a big upset when they toppled a red-hot Grey College. Coming into the match, the Free Staters had won two in two, while St John’s had not only lost two in two, but they had scored just a single goal and conceded eight.

Last year, coach Gilbert de Villiers’ charges’ best performance was a 1-1 draw in their match against St Charles. They were beaten in their other four matches, with their heaviest loss being 0-4 to Grey College.

With a 2-1 win over Grey this time around, St John’s avenged last season’s big defeat.

Selborne had little trouble maintaining their clean record which, like Grey High’s, goes back to the Tony Godding Festival. KJ Friend’s team did just enough to remain unbeaten.

The first order of business for Tre’ Gilbert and his team was to keep a smarting Jeppe at bay. Last year, Jeppe won four and drew one of their matches at Nomads, but they seemed unable to buy a win this year.

Coach Siya Sityana’s charges threw everything they had at Friend’s team but came up short, going 0-1 down. With a third win under their belt, Selborne took on the hosts with confidence in their second match of the day. Sticking to their structures, they ran out 2-0 winners over Maritzburg College.

Jeppe finally managed to end their winless nightmare when they produced a stirring performance to outlast Wynberg 4-3.

The Johannesburg side will be eager to make it back-to-back victories on Saturday, while College will be keen to have the final word when they meet on Pape’s Astro. Those two schools have produced more South African Schools players than any others, so the honours in a rich rivalry are on the line.

Results

KES 1-4 Grey College, Grey High 1-0 Hilton, Wynberg 3-1 PBHS, Maritzburg College 2-1 St John’s, Selborne 1-0 Jeppe, Grey High 6-0 KES, Hilton 2-1 PBHS, Grey College 1-2 St John’s, Jeppe 4-3 Wynberg, Maritzburg College 0-2 Selborne

Saturday

07:30 – Grey High vs PBHS, 08:40 – KES vs Wynberg, 09:55 – Selborne vs St John’s, 11:05 – Hilton College vs Grey College, 12:15 – Maritzburg College vs Jeppe.

Spectators who made their way to Maritzburg College to witness the first day of the annual Nomads Hockey Festival with the hope of catching exciting action on Pape’s Astro were not disappointed. There were close contests, a couple of blowouts, and some upsets.

The biggest margin of victory was 4-0, while most of the rest of the matches were closely contested, with a couple of come-from-behind wins that kept those present on the edge of their seats.

The event features 10 of the country’s top hockey-playing schools and runs through to Saturday, 23 March. Of the 10 participants, only four – Selborne College, Grey High, Hilton College and Grey College – remain undefeated after the first day.

Coach Andrew Beynon‘s Grey High arrived in the KZN Midlands on a high. They had dismissed all opposition at the Tony Godding Festival the previous week, going five for five, to emerge as one of the three undefeated teams at the festival.

The Gqeberha-based side went into their first encounter brimming with confidence but were soon deflated after they found themselves 0-2 down at halftime, despite dominating large parts of the first half.

Maritzburg College caught them on the counterattack and finished well when opportunities came their way.

At halftime, Beynon spoke to his charges about the team’s principles and the need to stick to their processes. “We just said, look, we let ourselves down defensively. We let the opposition into the contest and it’s our own fault. Let’s not make more work for ourselves than we need to,” he explained.

Grey High was a side transformed in the second half. They played with purpose and fired three goals past the hosts without reply to win 3-2. “They showed real character to come from 0-2 down. I am really proud of the boys,” said Beynon.

Having learned from their mistakes earlier in the day, Beynon’s team did not repeat them when they took to Pape’s Astro to play the last fixture of the day. Grey High met a St John’s College outfit that was seeking redemption after being well beaten by Wynberg in their morning match. However, Grey High executed their instructions well and did not give coach Gilbert de Villiers’ boys an inch as they subjected them to a 4-1 defeat.

Selborne College, also unbeaten at the Tony Godding Festival, carried that momentum into the Nomads Festival. They looked well organised and played with good structure in their first two matches.

Like Grey High, the team from the Amathole region dominated possession, forcing their opposition onto the defensive. A testament to that was their 5-2 win over King Edward VII School (KES). Waeden Plaaitjies led the charge with a brace and the other goals came from captain Tre’ Gilbert, Cade Kock and Thomas Caswell.

While his team played well, coach KJ Friend admitted that KES had not been as crisp as they could have been and allowed his side a little more space to manoeuvre in than most other teams would allow.

“What we need to work on is our closing down on the opposition better, managing the game and playing to our structure, not falling into the trap of the opposition,” he said.

When they faced Pretoria Boys High School (PBHS) in their second match of the day, Friend’s charges executed the coach’s plan better. Boys High gave Selborne a good run for their money but couldn’t found a way through the East London’s school’s stout defence.

In the end, it was Selborne who found a way past PBHS, with a penalty corner goal from Gilbert, who was their top scorer last week, winning it 1-0.

Hilton College came out of the gates well. Last year, they kicked off their campaign with a win over KES and a draw against Pretoria Boys High on the opening day. Day two brought them a win over St John’s and a draw with Wynberg. In their last outing, however, they were beaten 2-0 by a very good Jeppe team.

On Thursday, coach Damian Kimfley‘s charges got off to a winning start, defeating Jeppe, with a 2-0 margin going in their favour this time around.

Jeppe, who drew one and won four at Nomads last year, seemed to have lost their mojo as they suffered a second loss later in the day to Grey College, coached by Wayne Coetzee. The Bloemfontein boys quietly bagged two victories to join the two Eastern Cape sides and Hilton in the ranks of the unbeatens.

With the ghosts of yesteryear banished and a loss avenged, Hilton College thumped KES 4-1 in their second match. That victory has set them up for a mouthwatering contest against Grey High on the morning of day two.

Maritzburg College, edged out by Grey High in the morning, bounced back with a narrow 1-0 win over Wynberg, who had cruised to victory over St John’s College earlier in the day.

Results

Jeppe 0-2 Hilton, Grey College 2-1 PBHS, Selborne 5-2 KES, Wynberg 4-0 St John’s, Grey High 3-2 Maritzburg College, Jeppe 0-1 Grey College, PBHS 0-1 Selborne, KES 1-4 Hilton, Maritzburg College 1-0 Wynberg, Grey High 4-1 St John’s.

Fixtures

Friday

08:00 – KES vs Grey College, 09:10 – Grey High vs Hilton College, 10:25 – Wynberg vs PBHS, 11:35 – Maritzburg College vs St John’s College, 12:50 – Jeppe vs Selborne, 14:00 – Grey High vs KES, 15:15 – Hilton College vs PBHS, 16:25 – Grey College vs St John’s, 17:40 – Jeppe vs Wynberg, 18:50 – Maritzburg College vs Selborne.

Saturday

07:30 – Grey High vs PBHS, 08:40 – KES vs Wynberg, 09:55 – Selborne vs St John’s, 11:05 – Hilton College vs Grey College, 12:15 – Maritzburg College vs Jeppe.

Ten of the country’s top hockey-playing schools have converged on Pietermaritzburg and are preparing for the annual Nomads Festival, which begins on Thursday, 21 March.

The event, which is being hosted by Maritzburg College, runs over three days and will end on Saturday, 23 March.

The Nomads Festival comprises a group of core schools, who have established themselves over the years as among South Africa’s most consistent and best hockey-playing schools.

Catch all the Nomads Festival action live on DStv Channel 216 from 15:30 on Thursday.

Maritzburg College coach Kyle Emerson‘s team enters the festival with a point to prove.

The hosts have a rich history in the sport. In the past 73 years, they have delivered 36 players to the South African national team, including three captains. Despite that esteemed history, College did not enjoy a particularly good Nomads Festival in 2023, winning two and losing three matches.

Emerson will be seeking a better showing from his defence which conceded 10 goals, twice as many as the number they scored, last year.

One of their standout players is goalkeeper Nicholas Holmes, who was a member of the South Africa u17 team that took part in the Dato Mirnawan Cup in Kuala Lumpur in October last year. College is well stocked with players who have represented KZN Inland at provincial level, but will look, in particular, to the experienced Siwa Sithembu, who was selected for the SA u16 High-Performance camp last year, to lead their challenge.

In the previous edition of the Nomads Festival, Jeppe High School for Boys overcame the hosts 3-1. The teams will meet on the last day of the festival.

While College will be seeking to reverse that result, coach Siya Sityana’s team will be a tough nut to crack. At last year’s Nomads Festival, the Gauteng side was unstoppable, sweeping all of their matches. They stamped their authority on proceedings by scoring 12 goals and conceding only one.

They also made their intentions for the 2024 edition of the Nomads clear when they beat Michaelhouse 2-1 in a warmup match a few hours after arriving in the KZN Midlands on Tuesday.

Selborne College will not be bystanders. Coach KJ Friend’s team is on a high following a successful Tony Godding Festival where they finished as one of the three unbeaten teams. They’ll be aiming to maintain that momentum against competition that will be a step up from the East London event.

Grey College, who won four of their five matches at the Tony Godding Festival, had mixed results at Nomads in 2023, and produced three wins and two loses.

They scored 11 and conceded eight goals on their way to victories over Maritzburg College, King Edward VII School (KES), and St John’s College. They lost to Pretoria Boys High School and Jeppe. They will have a chance to avenge their 2-4 loss to PBHS on the first day of the festival when they cross sticks with the Pretoria-based team.

PBHS, like the other Nomads participants, has an excellent hockey history and they will be anything but pushovers. Grey College will have to be on point and clinical. KES, Hilton College, Wynberg, St John’s, and Grey High, who were also undefeated at the Tony Godding Festival, will also be in action at the hockey extravaganza.

Fixtures

Thursday

08:00 – Jeppe vs Hilton College, 09:00 – Grey College vs PBHS, 10:25 – KES vs Selborne, 11:35 – Maritzburg College vs Grey High, 12:50 – Wynberg vs St John’s, 14:00 – Jeppe vs Grey College, 15:15 – PBHS vs Selborne, 16:25 – KES vs Hilton College, 17:40 – Maritzburg College vs Wynberg, 18:50 – Grey High vs St John’s.

Friday

08:00 – KES vs Grey College, 09:10 – Grey High vs Hilton College, 10:25 – Wynberg vs PBHS, 11:35 – Maritzburg College vs St John’s College, 12:50 – Jeppe vs Selborne, 14:00 – Grey High vs KES, 15:15 – Hilton College vs PBHS, 16:25 – Grey College vs St John’s, 17:40 – Jeppe vs Wynberg, 18:50 – Maritzburg College vs Selborne.

Saturday

07:30 – Grey High vs PBHS, 08:40 – KES vs Wynberg, 09:55 – Selborne vs St John’s, 11:05 – Hilton College vs Grey College, 12:15 – Maritzburg College vs Jeppe

Only three teams remained unbeaten after four days of exciting hockey action as the annual Belgotex Tony Godding Festival wound down on Sunday afternoon.

St Andrew’s College, Grey High and Selborne College were the only sides to keep clean records at the hockey extravaganza, named after the former player, coach and administrator. The event, now into its seventh year, was co-hosted by Clarendon, Selborne, Cambridge, Stirling, and Merrifield.

A closely contested 1-1 draw between Hudson Park and Woodridge brought an end to the action. That tie was preceded by a 12-noon double-header: Cambridge against Pearson at the Cambridge Astro, and in the other match, a showdown between Grey College and St Andrew’s College at Selborne College.

The Cambridge-Pearson contest was a mismatch. Heading into the contest, Cambridge had conceded 28 goals and scored only two, while Pearson had scored five and conceded three, boasting a win over Queen’s and a 1-1 draw against St Andrew’s School. The result was an expected 5-0 win for Pearson.

The Grey College versus St Andrew’s College match would have been a perfect way to close off the event. St Andrew’s had quietly gone about registering wins in a manner that demonstrated consistency, with 3-0 wins against Hudson Park and Voortrekker and a 5-0 victory over Merrifield.

The Makhanda-based team entered the contest as the only team yet to concede in the festival. Grey College, on the other hand, waltzed into the clash with a reputation for being prolific in front of goal.

Grey began their Tony Godding campaign like a house on fire and did not give their opposition breathing room. Coach Wayne Coetzee’s team had rammed 23 goals past their opponents in four matches, conceding only once. Only a strong and stubborn team could stop that runaway train. That strong and stubborn team turned out to be St Andrew’s College.

While they gave up a first goal of the festival, St Andrew’s rallied and overcame Coetzee’s charges to inflict a first defeat of the season on Grey by a 2-1 margin.

The festival was a good proving ground for Kenneth John (KJ) Friend and his Selborne College outfit. They had produced solid wins over the Phoenix Hockey Club and Merrifield in the lead-up to the event, but Friend felt that they needed more competition for him to determine how far they had come. By all appearances, his players are primed and ready for their next assignment, the Nomads u18 Tournament in Pietermaritzburg, which starts on 20 March.

Selborne registered early wins against St Andrew’s School, Woodridge, and Linden, and finished off their campaign with an 8-0 massacre of Voortrekker. Gilbert and his teammates completed the festival having netted 22 times and given up only a single goal.

The other unbeaten side, Andrew Beynon’s Grey High, quietly went about their business, scoring a ton of goals while conceding next to nothing in their matches. The Gqeberha team’s record included putting 11, four, five and six past Cambridge, St Andrew’s School, Stirling and Hudson Park respectively over the four days while conceding only a single goal to St Andrew’s School. Like their namesake, Grey College, they were prolific in front of goal and excellent in defence.

Dale College had a slow start, drawing 1-1 with Curro Waterstone. After that early stumble, they recovered to record a 4-3 win over Voortrekker. They later wound down their campaign with a 5-0 victory over Linden.

The campaign will be a great confidence booster for the Qonce outfit, who endured a nightmarish season last year. There’s nothing that uplifts a programme quite as much as stacking a few wins together.

After a competitive weekend in the Eastern Cape, the top teams are now wiping their hockey sticks, polishing their skills, and composing themselves as they prepare for some major tournaments in the coming week, including Nomads, Founders and the Coastal Cup.

Results

Westering 3-2 Duineveld, Framesby 0-1 Montana, Alex Rd 4-2 Krugersdorp, Selborne 8-0 Bethlehem Voortrekker, Dale 5-0 Linden, Stirling 0-5 Grey High, Pearson 5-0 Cambridge, Grey College 1-2 St Andrews College, Linden 1-4 Selborne, Hudson Park 1-1 Woodridge.

Grey College and Selborne College put on clinical performances on the third day of the Belgotex Tony Godding Festival on Saturday to remain unbeaten at the four-day event.

The two sides’ showings the festival – jointly hosted by Clarendon, Selborne, Cambridge, Stirling, and Merrifield –should send out a warning to their future opposition, with the pair combining for 27 goals with only one conceded on day three.

Selborne College’s captain and SA u17 hockey star, Tre’ Gilbert, missed out on the goals on Friday when he and his team defeated St Andrew’s School 4-0. On Saturday morning, Gilbert wiped away the dirt from his stick and nailed a hat-trick.

Up against Woodridge College, Selborne powered their way to a 6-0 victory, with Gibert responsible for half of their big goal haul. The other half belonged to Cade Kock.

The Amathole provincial player also scored against St Andrew’s in Selborne’s previous outing, so he leads the East London school with four in two matches at the Tony Godding Festival.

Pearson headed into day two on the back of a loss to the on-fire Grey College on the opening day. They were down, but not out, and Queen’s College, beaten 3-1 by Woodridge the previous day, presented an opportunity for Ignatius Malgraff’s boys to get back on track.

Sensing an opportunity, the Gqeberha-based outfit grabbed hold of it and subjected Queen’s to a 4-0 loss to add to their misery. Later in the day, St Andrew’s School, who have played one of the tougher schedules at the festival, delivered a good performance to hold Pearson to a 1-1 draw.

The schedule, though, was not kind to Queen’s College. They had to contend with Grey College after Pearson, and it didn’t go well, with the Bloemfontein boys racing away to an 8-0 victory. Grey continued on their merry way later in the day against Hudson Park, romping to a 6-0 win.

Coach Wayne Coetzee and his charges have been very impressive thus far in 2024, and they’re unbeaten and untied, but tougher challenges lie ahead of them.

Coming up from 20-23 March, Grey will join some of South Africa’s traditional hockey powerhouses as the Nomads u18 Tournament, which will be hosted at Maritzburg College, on Pape’s Astro, which hosted its first-ever floodlit game on Friday night.

They will, most certainly, not be underprepared and they will be full of confidence that they can continue their winning form in Pietermaritzburg.

Grey College completes their Tony Godding schedule with a showdown against St Andrew’s College. The school from Makhanda has quietly gone about defeating their opposition throughout the event – recording a 3-0 win over Voortrekker and a 5-0 defeat of Merrifield on Saturday – but their toughest test lies ahead of them.

Dale College finishes with a game against Linden High. Their resurgence continued on Saturday with a 4-3 win over Voortrekker.

Results

Hudson 0-3 Grey College, Merrifield 4-0 Duineveld, Grey High 4-1 St Andrew’s School, Witteberg 0-3 Stirling, Selborne 6-0 Woodridge, Queen’s 0-4 Pearson, St Andrew’s College 3-0 Voortrekker, Curro Waterstone 1-0 Westering, Framesby 2-3 Duineveld, Kingswood 1-0 Linden, Stirling 3-0 Witteberg, Queen’s College 0-8 Grey College, Dale 4-3 Voortrekker, Kingswood 1-0 Witteberg, Framesby 0-0 Krugersdorp, Cambridge 0-0 Alex Rd, Alex Rd 2-0 Montana, Cambridge 0-4 Woodridge, Stirling 0-0 Krugersdorp, Pearson 1-1 St Andrew’s School, Hudson 0-6 Grey College, Westering 1 – 0 Curro Waterstone, Selborne 4-1 Linden, St Andrew’s College 5-0 Merrifield.

Fixtures

Sunday

08:15 – Framesby vs Montana; 08:15 – Alex Rd vs Krugersdorp; 08:15 – Westering vs Duineveld; 08:15 – Queen’s College vs Kingswood College; 09:30 – Grey College vs St Andrew’s College; 09:30 – St Andrew’s School vs Curro Waterstone; 09:30 – Stirling vs Grey High; 10:45 – Selborne College vs Voortrekker; 10:45 – Merrifield vs Witteberg; 12:00 – Dale College vs Linden High; 12:00 – Cambridge vs Pearson; 13:15 – Hudson Park vs Woodridge.

Spectators were treated to all-round good quality hockey action, closely fought contests and blowouts, on the second day of the annual Belgotex Tony Godding Festival, being jointly hosted by Clarendon, Selborne, Cambridge, Stirling, and Merrifield.

The four-day festival kicked off on Thursday and ends on Sunday.

Despite it not being a victory, Dale College was the first team to record a result they could view in a positive light. Last year, they had such an atrocious run that in May they were at a psychological low and, according to assistant coach, Andrew Senekal, they needed a mental recalibration. Selborne College and Queen’s College completed doubles over them, handing the Qonce boys severe losses.

This year, they have a new coach, Junior Mqingwana, and they are hopefully in a different headspace after beginning the Tony Godding Festival with a gritty 1-1 draw against Curro Waterstone. Later in the day, they were comfortable 5-0 winners over Montana.

Selborne, coached by Kenneth John (KJ) Friend, made an emphatic start, walloping St Andrew’s School 4-0.

The Tre’ Gilbert-captained unit looked sharp and played with purpose as they wrestled control of the contest from St Andrew’s. A testament to how well they functioned as a team was the fact that the four goals were scored by different players, with 2023 veterans, Cade Kock and Waeden Plaatjes, among those to get their names on the scoresheet.

Grey College, under coach Wayne Coetzee, came into the festival high in confidence after sweeping all of their preseason games, including a gritty 1-0 win over Hoërskool Waterkloof and a thrilling 3–2 triumph over Hoërskool Garsfontein. The Bloemfontein outfit then kicked off their Tony Godding Festival campaign with a 9–1 dismantling of Cambridge.

Seven-and-a-half hours after man-handling Cambridge, Grey College faced stiffer competition in the form of Pearson. Ignatius Malgraff‘s boys were a handful last year, giving many a team a run for their money, and they carried that trait into 2024.

They put up a spirited fight against Grey College, but the in-form boys from Bloem came away with a 2-0 win. College’s namesake, Grey High, produced the biggest winning margin of the day in their 11–0 thrashing of Cambridge.

One of the big stories of the day occurred in the early afternoon on the Stirling Astro, when Woodridge faced an optimistic Queen’s College. Queen’s coach Michael Baiden had high hopes his charges would make their mark at the first event on the hockey calendar only to be upstaged 3-1 by their Eastern Cape opposition.

Day three promises more fireworks with mouthwatering contests that include a tussle between the two Greys, College and High, Queen’s going toe-to-toe with Grey College, and Pearson against St Andrew’s School (Bloemfontein), among others.

Results

Cambridge 0-1 Montana, Curro Waterstone 1-1 Dale College, Cambridge Boys 1-9 Grey College, Selborne 4-0 St Andrew’s School, Westering 2-1 Krugersdorp, Hudson Park 0-3 St Andrew’s College, Framesby 0-5 Linden, Westering 2-1 Krugersdorp, Dale 5-0 Montana, Curro Waterstone 0-1 Witteberg, Merrifield 0-4 Kingswood, Pearson 0–2 Grey College, Cambridge 0–11 Grey High, Montana 3–0 Westering, Stirling 1–2 Voortrekker, Queen’s 1–3 Woodridge

Fixtures

Saturday

07:00 – Montana vs Westering; 08:15 – Curro Waterstone vs Dale College; 08:15 – Kingswood College vs Linden High; 09:30 – Framesby vs Krugersdorp High; 09:30 – Merrifield College vs Duineveld; 09:30 – Hudson Park vs Grey College; 10:45 – Grey High vs St Andrew’s School; 10:45 – Stirling vs Witteberg; 10:45 – Queen’s College vs Pearson; 12:00 – Selborne vs Woodridge; 12:00 – Cambridge vs Alex Rd; 12:00 – St Andrew’s College vs Voortrekker; 13:15 – Curro Waterstone vs Westering; 13:15 – Queen’s College vs Grey College; 14:30 – Framesby vs Duineveld; 14:30 – Alex Rd vs Montana; 15:45 – Dale College vs Voortrekker; 15:45 – Kingswood College vs Witteberg; 15:45 – Merrifield College vs St Andrew’s College; 15:45 – Hudson Park vs Grey High; 17:00 – Pearson vs St Andrew’s School; 17:00 – Cambridge vs Woodridge; 17:00 – Stirling vs Krugersdorp High; 18:15 – Selborne vs Linden High

Sunday

08:15 – Framesby vs Montana; 08:15 – Alex Rd vs Krugersdorp; 08:15 – Westering vs Duineveld; 08:15 – Queen’s College vs Kingswood College; 09:30 – Grey College vs St Andrew’s College; 09:30 – St Andrew’s School vs Curro Waterstone; 09:30 – Stirling vs Grey High; 10:45 – Selborne College vs Voortrekker; 10:45 – Merrifield vs Witteberg; 12:00 – Dale College vs Linden High; 12:00 – Cambridge vs Pearson; 13:15 – Hudson Park vs Woodridge