Grey College captured both the u15 and u17 titles at the High School Sevens Series, proudly sponsored by Toyota, Champion of Champions Tournament in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
The big surprise, though, was Northwood’s performance in the u15 competition.
The Durban school, beaten 17-7 by Noordheuwel on Friday, took on Monument in the Cup semi-finals and outplayed their highly regarded opponents 24-5 to power their way into the final. Grey, meanwhile, accounted for Noordheuwel, winning 19-5.
It was tight with the title on the line, but Grey held off Northwood to win 19-12 in the match that preceded the u17 Cup final.
Third place went to Monnas, who lifted their game for a clash with their Krugersdorp rivals, Noordheuwel, and romped to a 33-5 victory.
Graeme College finished strongly, handling the Bloemfontein Invitation team and Kempton Park comfortably to finish in fifth place.
In the u17 competition, Grey, who hadn’t conceded a point on the opening day, scraped by the Cape Schoolswinners, Durbanville, in their Cup semi-final. There were only two points in it at the end, with the home side winning 24-22.
It was one-way traffic in the other semi-final, with Monument cruising to a 47-7 defeat of Kempton Park.
In an entertaining final, Grey took down Monnas, recording a 31-21 victory to secure a double for the renowned Bloemfontein rugby powerhouse.
Durbanville released some of the frustration they must have felt after missing out so narrowly on the title decider, smashing Kempton Park 55-0 to finish third.
Fifth place went the way of Bloemfontein’s Jim Fouché, who got by Dinamika 26-19.
U15 RESULTS
Bowl semi-finals
Kempton Park 17-7 Sentraal
Graeme College 48-5 Bloemfontein Invitation
Cup semi-finals
Monument 5-24 Northwood
Grey 19-5 Noordheuwel
Final Placings
Sentraal 21-19 Bloemfontein Invitation (7th/8th)
Kempton Park 10-21 Graeme College (5th/6th)
Monument 33-5 Noordheuwel (3rd/4th)
Grey 19-12 Northwood (1st/2nd)
U17 RESULTS
Playoffs
Bloemfontein Invitation 17-21 Jim Fouche
Dinamika 33-14 Cambridge
Grey College 24-22 Durbanville
Monument 47-7 Kempton Park
Final Placings
Sarel Cilliers 26-19 Welkom Gimnasium (9th/10th)
Bloemfontein Invitation 29-14 Cambridge (7th/8th)
Jim Fouche 26-19 Dinamika (5th/6th)
Durbanville 55-0 Kempton Park (3rd/4th)
Grey College 31-21 Monument (1st/2nd)
Hoërskool Kathu‘s Gregory Julie produced a remarkable T20 bowling performance during his school’s clash against the Kalahari Eye Warriors Hub in a Northern Cape Schools SA20 showdown in Kathu on Wednesday.
In a very rare occurrence, Julie didn’t concede a single run, and he further enhanced that feat by picking up a five-wicket haul, which included dismissing four frontline batsmen. That must surely rank as one of the best T20 bowling performances at any level of the game.
With the medium-pacer’s jaw-dropping performance leading the way, Kathu restricted the Kalahari Eye Warriors to 62 all out. Tshidiso Phou, with 23, was the only batsman to make it into double figures for the losing side. TJ Lategan also bowled well for Kathu, taking 2/8.
Set a low target for victory, Kathu crossed the line in 14.3 overs to record a seven-wicket win, with Christiaan Erasmus (27*) and Garren Stonestreet (15) making the biggest contributions with the bat.
In the Eastern Cape, Graeme College smashed Port Alfred by 227 runs.
Batting first, the team from Makhanda amassed 262/2 in their 20 overs. Luphelo Mdyesha led the way, top-scoring with an unbeaten 124, while Andrew Muir weighed in with 54 not out.
Port Alfred was skittled for only 41 runs in their reply. Corbin Tidbury (3/3) and Ethan Bokbaard (3/14) removed three batsmen each, and Kits McConnachie (2/21) helped speed Graeme to a one-sided victory.
Selborne College was every bit as dominant in a 10-wicket win over Stirling, whose innings lasted only 11.1 overs as they were skittled for just 61.
Reece Wait removed five of Stirling’s batsmen for only three runs in two overs, while Aaron Senekal, who claimed 2/17, also troubled the losing side’s batsmen.
Selborne College then reached the required target in only 4.4 overs thanks to some aggressive batting by Joshua Wilkie (33*, 17b) and Senekal (24*, 13b).
Dale College defeated Central Hub by 56 runs. The team from Qonce posted 113/8 in their allotted overs before restricting Central Hub to 57 runs.
Marais Viljoen of Alberton is the early favourite to be crowned the champion in the Easterns’ region. They defeated Actonville Hub by six wickets.
Actonville batted first and tallied 102/9 in their 20 overs. Yousuf Teladia kept the Marais Viljoen bowlers at bay, making 38, and he received solid support from Mabutho Maseko, who contributed 21. The pick of the bowlers was Tiaan Hall, who snapped up 2/8, while Abdullah Tadwala bagged 2/12.
Marais Viljoen was made to work hard for their win, but after 17.2 overs they had scored 106/4, thanks to Rieshaeel Hashim (43*) and Jaden Govender (33).
Graeme College 262/2 (Luphelo Mdyesha 124*, Andrew Muir 54*); Port Alfred 41/10 (Corbin Tidbury 3/3, Ethan Bokbaard 3/14, Kits McConnachie 2/21). Graeme College won by 227 runs.
Stirling 61/10 (Reece Wait 5/3, Aaron Senekal 2/17); Selborne College 62/0 (Joshua Wilkie 33*, Aaron Senekal 24*). Selborne College won by ten wickets.
Actonville Hub 102/9 (Yousuf Teladia 38, Mabutho Maseko 21; Tiaan Hall 2/8, Abdullah Tadwala 2/12); Marais Viljoen 106/4 (Rieshaeel Hashim 43*, Jaden Govender 33). Marais Viljoen won by six wickets.
This year’s Currie Cup final will have a strong shade of Grasshopper green with a tint of Maroon.
Glenwood High School from Durban and Paul Roos Gimnasium from Stellenbosch have the biggest representation in this year’s final with four old boys from each that will be in action at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg on Saturday.
The Lions will host the Sharks in the first Currie Cup final between these two sides since 2011.
In total 26 schools will be represented in the final. The Lions have four players in their squad of 23 who were schooled in the union. They are Darrien Landsberg (Northcliff), Asenathi Ntlabakanye (St Stithians College), Morné Brandon (Monument) and Kelly Mpeku (King Edward VII).
All four have also represented the Golden Lions at the Craven Week during their school careers.
The Sharks have eight players in their squad who also played their school rugby within the union. They are Jordan Hendrikse, James Venter (both Glenwood), Ethan Hooker, Tian Meyer (both Westville Boys’ High), Fez Mbatha, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Mawande Mdande (all Maritzburg College) and Dylan Richardson (Kearsney College).
Interesting is that four KwaZulu-Natal school scrumhalves Hendrikse, Sanele Nohamba (Durban High School), Nico Steyn (Glenwood) and Meyer will take the park in the final.
Ben Vorster from Tzaneen will probably for the first time have two representatives in the final with Renzo du Plessis and Trevor Nyakane who will be on the opposing side. Du Plessis matriculated in 2019 while World Cup winner Nyakane matriculated in 2007.
The High School Sevens Series, proudly sponsored by Toyota, reaches its zenith on Saturday when the playoffs in the Champion of Champions Tournament take place at Grey College.
On Friday, the hosts went unbeaten through their pool in the u17 competition, but their u15 side was beaten by Monument.
In the u17 competition, Grey didn’t surrender a single point as they overwhelmed Cambridge, the Bloemfontein Invitation side, and Kempton Park, racking up 148 points in those three outings. The last victory, by 60-0, was surprisingly one-sided because Kempton Park won their other two games to finish second in the pool.
Monument took top spot in Pool B, but they didn’t produce a spotless record. Dinamika held Monnas to a 19-19 draw but fell to Durbanville 10-38. In a very tight contest, Monument edged out Durbies 21-19.
That loss means Durbanville will tackle Grey in the Cup semi-finals, while Monnas go up against Kempton Park.
In Pool A of the u15 competition, Grey College and Monument were expected to do battle for first place and so it proved to be, although Kempton Park stretched the Bloemfontein boys in their opener, with Grey winning only 12-7. Later, when Grey faced Monnas, the Krugersdorp school claimed a hard-fought 26-19 victory.
The top dogs in Pool B were Monument’s Krugersdorp rivals, Noordheuwel, who beat Durban’s Northwood to secure first place. Northwood, meanwhile, saw off Graeme College and Sentraal to book a semi-final showdown with Monnas.
U17 RESULTS
Pool A
Kempton Park 12-12 Welkom Gimnasium
Grey College 57-0 Cambridge
Kempton Park 24-22 Bloemfontein Invitation
Cambridge 26-15 Welkom Gimnasium
Grey College 31-0 Bloemfontein Invitation
Kempton Park 40-12 Cambridge
Bloemfontein Invitation 31-19 Welkom Gimnasium
Kempton Park 0-60 Grey College
Bloemfontein Invitation 26-10 Cambridge
Grey College 55-7 Welkom Gimnasium
Pool B
Sarel Cilliers 12-47 Monument
Dinamika 19-26 Jim Fouché
Sarel Cilliers 18-33 Durbanville
Jim Fouché 12-35 Monument
Dinamika 10-38 Durbanville
Sarel Cilliers 17-17 Jim Fouché
Dinamika 19-19 Monument
Durbanville 38-17 Jim Fouché
Sarel Cilliers 19-40 Dinamika
Durbanville 19-21 Monument
Playoffs – Saturday, 21 September
Match 21 – 09:00 – Bloemfontein Invitation (3rd Pool A) vs Jim Fouché (4th Pool B)
Match 22 – 09:20 – Dinamika (3rd Pool B) vs Cambridge (4th Pool A)
Match 23 – Grey College (Winner Pool A) vs Durbanville (2nd Pool B)
Match 24 – Monument (Winner Pool B) vs Kempton Park (2nd Pool A)
Final Placings
10:20 – Welkom Gimnasium vs Sarel Cilliers (9th/10th)
10:40 – u15 – Loser Bowl Semi 1 vs Loser Bowl Semi 2
11:00 – Loser Match 21 vs Loser Match 22 (7th/8th)
11:20 – u15 – Winner Bowl semi 1 vs Winner Bowl semi 2 (5th/6th)
11:40 – Winner Match 21 vs Winner Match 22 (5th/6th)
12:00 – u15 – Loser Cup semi 1 vs Loser Cup semi 2 (3rd/4th)
12:20 – Loser Match 23 vs Loser Match 24 (3rd/4th)
12:40 – u15 – Winner Cup semi 1 vs Winner Cup semi 2 (Cup final)
13:00 – Winner Match 23 vs Winner Match 24 (Cup final)
U15 RESULTS
Pool A
Grey College 12-7 Kempton Park
Monument 38-0 Bloemfontein Invitation
Grey College 48-0 Bloemfontein Invitation
Monument 33-10 Kempton Park
Grey College 19-26 Monument
Kempton Park 29-5 Bloemfontein Invitation
Pool B
Graeme College 15-26 Northwood
Sentraal 10-29 Noordheuwel
Graeme College 22-31 Noordheuwel
Sentraal 0-36 Northwood
Northwood 7-17 Noordheuwel
Graeme College 19-7 Sentraal
Bowl
09:00 – semi 1 – Kempton Park vs Sentraal
09:20 – semi 2 – Graeme College vs Bloemfontein Invitation
Cup
09:40 – semi 1 – Monument vs Northwood
10:00 – semi 2 – Noordheuwel vs Grey College
SA Emerging u19 opening batsman Muhammed Bulbulia. Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
Muhammed Bulbulia scored a magnificent unbeaten half-century to lead South Africa u19 Emerging to a comprehensive eight-wicket win over Zimbabwe u19 Emerging in their 50-over contest at Queen’s Sports Club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on Friday.
The visitors bowled out Zimbabwe u19 Emerging for 161 in 41 overs after being asked to bowl first.
Set a moderate victory target, the Jason Rowles-captained side treated the run chase like a T20 as they romped to 162/2 in 23.1 overs.
Bulbulia, who expertly anchored the chase, carved seven fours and a single six in his 80-ball 67. The Fields College student was untroubled throughout his innings, and his composed knock allowed his batting partners to express themselves with the bat.
Rowles, who joined Bulbulia in the middle after AdnaanLagadien’s early dismissal, was aggressive, cracking back-to-back boundaries off the first two deliveries he faced. After that show of intent, the St David’s Marist Inanda batsman went on to score a free-flowing 22-ball 29 before he was dismissed in the 16th over. However, by then, his 54-run second wicket stand with Bulbulia had put the game beyond Zimbabwe.
His replacement, Ben Hockly, struck his first boundary from the third ball he faced and was unstoppable from that point onwards. The Hilton College learner batted like he had a plane to catch, smashing three fours and as many sixes on his way to an unbeaten 45 off 28 balls. Together with Bulbulia, Hockly put on an unbeaten 64-run third-wicket partnership from only 43 deliveries.
Benny Zuze was the only successful Zimbabwean bowler with two wickets for 58 runs in seven overs.
Bulbulia, Rowles, and Hockly capitalised on the good work done by the South African bowlers earlier in the day. Zimbabwe’s captain, Nathaniel Hlabangana, must have immediately rued his decision after he won the toss and asked the visitors to bowl first.
South Africa’s left-arm paceman JJ Basson was outstanding with the new ball. He bagged his first wicket when he castled Ambitious Mudimu with his second delivery of the match.
The left-arm quick, then, worked over Zimbabwe’s number three batsman, Rowyn Konson, so much that Konson tried to take a single where there wasn’t one, just so he could get off strike. That rash decision resulted in a run out and the hosts were 2/3 after 2.4 overs. Things did not get easier for the home side, who seemed to be more focused on survival than anything else.
Basson caused the hosts all sorts of difficulties in his eight overs, two of which were maidens, and finished the match with two wickets for 27 runs. However, the pick of the bowlers was Rowles. The South African skipper sent down 10 economical overs, three of them maidens, and bagged two for 24.
Basson’s new ball partner, Buyanda Majola also captured two wickets in his 10 overs, but conceded 48 runs, while Ntando Soni took two wickets for 27 runs in eight overs.
Only two Zimbabwean batsmen exited the twenties, Hlabangana, with 31, and Kirby Madharamete, who made 30.
Scores
Zimbabwe u19 Emerging 161/10 (Nathaniel Hlabangana 31, Kirby Madharamete 30; Jason Rowles 2/24, JJ Basson 2/27, Ntando Soni 2/27); SA u19 Emerging: 162/2 (Mohammed Bulbulia 67*, Ben Hockly 45*; Benny Zuze 2/28).
Callie Fryer, fast bowling prospect from Hoërskool Rustenburg, celebrating one of his wickets. Photo: Melanie de Witt
As many of the other provinces prepare to start their Schools SA20 campaigns, the teams in the North West are already looking forward to seeing who will be crowned the king of the province on Sunday.
However, the finalists will first need to be decided on Saturday.
Potchefstroom Gimnasium and Hoërskool Rustenburg are the strong favourites to battle it out in the final, but both will have their work cut out for them when they face unpredictable opponents in the semi-finals.
The new country-wide competition has created a platform to expose young up-and-coming talent to opponents that they might not usually meet and it has also opened up a stage for that talent to be exposed to a wider audience.
Jan van Staden, the head coach of Hoërskool Rustenburg, expressed his delight with the competition on the eve of the semi-finals.
“The SA20 presents a tremendous opportunity for all cricket players involved. It allows them to showcase their talent at one of the highest levels of school competition,” he said.
“This platform can help identify potential future stars and serves as an opportunity for selectors to scout new talent. At Rustenburg High School, we cherish every moment we get to compete in these top-level competitions and we eagerly await the upcoming semifinals.”
The Gimmies, last year’s North West T20 champions, will have to get past Hoërskool Wolmaransstad to have a shot at winning the regional title. The Wollies have surprised with a couple of good performances in the round-robin and, in their most recent outing, they beat Hoërskool Schoonspruit by six wickets to qualify for the semi-finals.
Their key player is André Dreyer. His impressive all-round performances have been pivotal in his side’s successes.
Gimmies, on the other hand, have benefitted from a number of regular contributors, with Jahndré Coetzee leading the way. His consistency with both the bat and ball has taken significant pressure off the shoulders of captain Tommie Botha, who has been equally impressive with the willow thus far.
Hoërskool Lichtenburg will have a second bite at the cherry in less than a week when they face Hoërskool Rustenburg. When they squared off recently in a 50-over-a-side match, the Rusties recorded a comfortable win.
After that contest, Lichtenburg will be aware of the danger that Rustenburg’s Callie Fryer poses. Fryer, still only 16 years old, has provided Rustenburg with a massive boost. His pace and his ability to nip the ball about will sternly test the character and ability of the Lichtenburg batsmen.
They, in turn, have a couple of bowling weapons of their own in Ona Senekwane and Lethabo Memani. That duo will, without a doubt, test the abilities of Thian Labuschagne and the rest of the Rustenburger’s batting line-up and, in the shorter form of the game, anything is possible.
Affies beat Maritzburg College by three wickets at the 2023 Oppenheimer Michaelmas Week. College will have an opportunity to avenge that defeat when the teams meet on day two of the 2024 event.
TEAMS
Maritzburg College: Llewellyn Sutherland, Daniel Nadasan, Chad Mason, Oliver Da Costa, Michael Gibson, Tian van Niekerk, Deolyn Naidoo, Samuel Hughes, Karl Dedekind, Reece Willson, Ryan McKean, Julian Konigkramer. Coaches: Kyle Nipper, Robbie Coutts.
Hilton College: Robert Burman, Ben Erasmus, Simon Steyn, Charles Swart, Jayden Roux, Alex Pitman, James Peattie, David Hill, Ethan van Heerden, Kyle Christie, Natenzi Denega, Beniot Rey, Luke Campbell. Coaches: David Griffiths, Travis Pieters.
Grey College: Ruben Maree, Christian Kind, Cullen Marais, Henru de Wet, Dale Williams, Pieter Smit, Adem Nieuwoudt, River Scott, Daniel Hattingh, Jano Venter, Darion Rabie, Otto Krause, Sicelo Matayi. Coaches: Adri Swanepoel, Ryan McLaren, Sean van Niekerk.
Jeppe High School for Boys: Munib Ayob, Kai van Aardt, Jeremaih Marshall, Ryan Young, Aiden Reyneke, Keegan Caixeiro, Tiago Almeida, Matthew Costa, Christopher Elston, Luke Cannon, Shreshth Kumar, Sipho Potsane, Ahmed Sheri. Coaches: Casey Arnold, Craig Templeton.
Kearsney College: Ross Coetzee, Murray Weyer, Jack O’Donovan, Keegan de Jager, Cameron Veenstra, Matthew Mendes de Oliveira, Cole Young, Jason de Gryse, Matthew Lamplough, Sandiswa Yeni, Asavela Khambule, Ryan Browning, Litha Gonya. Coaches: Matt Savage, Cameron Gordon.
King Edward VII School: Callum Ritchie, Cameron Smith, Fayaaz Vawda, Troy Gordon, Wade McQuinn, Abdullah Mohammed, Tiago Dias, Luke Clark, Connor Kuijers, Christian Sabela, Zieg Roos, Matthew Burgess, Khwezi Nyamathe. Coaches: Vincent Jordaan, Sharmin Naidoo.
Northwood School: Kyle White, Pride Buthelezi, Ben Cilliers, David de Bruyn, Connor Leclezio, Alistair Duncan, Jamie Wimbie, Thayin Kuppan, Nqobani Mokoena, Tuswa Phetha, Thomas Oosthuizen, Mfanafuthi Shange, Mason Storm. Coaches: Alex van der Merwe, Nantie Hayward, Richard Tyler.
Paul Roos: Luca Plekker, Ruben Coetzee, Matthew Seymore, Cornel Swart, Liam Basson, Beor van Reenen, Roux Joubert, Neil Barnard, Callum Appollis, Keanu Williams, Dian Winkel, Dylan van Schalkwyk. Coaches: Deon Botes, Dereno Alexander, Rian Wolfaardt.
Pretoria Boys High: Adam Cannata, Johan Coetzer, Tim Gordon, Eduan Gottfried, Graydon Lubbe, Patrick Mouton, Nicolas Rossouw, Grant Spencer, Tim Tattersall, Marc van der Merwe, Aidan van Straaten. Coaches: Maurice Aronstam, Abram Ndhlovu.
St Alban’s College: Kyle Block, Ethan Nel, Patrick Weir, Liam Basch, Boago Motlhabedi, Wayne Kruger, Liam Detert, Josh Melville, Mduduzi Mahlangu, Tim Hewitt, Kyle Earle, Luke Ward, James Godwin. Coaches: Barry Detart, Shylock Captain, Gareth Morgan.
St David’s Marist Inanda: Samrat Basu, Jared Beilings, Kyle Butler, Hayden Campbell, Christopher Emslie, Ethan Greenstein, Armaan Manack, Morteza Manack, Roberto Mariano, Kamogelo Phiri, Khutso Sekgobela, Jared Stern. Coaches: Jeff Levin, Grant Mokoena.
St John’s College: Cole Francis, Thomas Ievers, Joe McRobert, Kago Masote, Oliver Tait, Alec Loveland, Malan du Plessis, Nkosana Sibiya, Darshik Lutchman, David Ireland, Lwazi Khupe, Jacob Smith. Coaches: Bongani Ntini, Gilbert de Villiers.
St Stithian’s College: Liam Mudenda, Pranav Raichetti, Emile Odendaal, Richard Seletswane, Tasheen Hanslo, Chris Anderson, Josh Meyer, Daydun Sunker, Kwena Maphaka, Ethan Jacobs, Oliver Wilson, Aidan van der Westhuizen. Coaches: Lazurus Mokoena, Jonathan von Hoesslin.
Waterkloof: Wian Ruthven, Divan Behrens, Marcus Bakker, Beukes van den Berg, Riley Miller, Alexander Volschenk, Rico van der Walt, Marno Pienaar, Ruan Ferreira, GJ de Swart, JAco van der Walt, Jaydon Blom, Franco Schmidt. Coaches: Cobus Pienaar, Rigardt Roos.
Westville Boys’ High: Max Robertson, Nicandro Kistna, Kaeden McAllister, Roxton Payne, Chad van Breda, Josh Beck, Sekou Shangase, Sean McCough, Seth Simpson, Heath Scott, Kyle McGough, Trisyan Delvin, Bashkar Sewlal. Coaches: Richard Wissing, Thomas Jackson.
SACS skipper, Zack Cicero during this year’s Currie Cup Tournament in East London. Photo: Shot by Shani Photography
South Africa’s top 20 water polo-playing schools have assembled in the Western Cape for the highly anticipated SACS Water Polo Tournament.
The annual tournament, hosted at the SACS Aquatic Centre in the southern suburbs of Cape Town, kicks off on Saturday, 21 September, and ends on Monday, with the final scheduled for 14:30.
The tournament promises to deliver fireworks. Almost all of the teams will feel they have a shot at top honours, while many of the coaches and players will use it to help prepare themselves for the forthcoming Inter-Provincial Tournament in East London at the end of the year.
Last year’s champions, SACS, will be aiming to win back-to-back titles for the first time in 35 years. The last time they pulled off the feat, they shared the 1989 title with Westville Boys’ High.
In last year’s tournament, coach Devon Card‘s side defeated Paul Roos Gimnasium 6-3 in the final behind four goals from the reliable Nicholas Fall, while Conor Melling-Williams and Zack Cicero also got their names onto the scoresheet.
This year, SACS has been drawn in a tough Pool A, and they will need to bring their A-game consistently if they are to claim the title again.
They’ll have to get past Northwood School, and the Gauteng quartet of St Alban’s College, St Benedict’s College, Parktown Boys’ High, and a dangerous St John’s College team.
St John’s, led by Jon-Marc de Carvalho and the experienced Vlado Trninic, will likely pose the stiffest challenge to the home side. They won the SACS Tournament in 2022.
Selborne College dangerman Liam Hansen will represent his team at this year’s tournament. Photo: TeamPhotoSA
Pool A also features last year’s beaten finalist, Paul Roos, coached by Vaughn Marlow. Also in the Pool A lineup are the Eastern Cape’s St Andrew’s College and Selborne College.
Selborne College, under coach Storm Siebert, missed out on the quarterfinals last year. In their final match of the tournament, they defeated St Benedict’s College 7-2.
Makhanda’s St Andrew’s College won the tournament in 2014. They’re returning after a two-year absence in place of Kearsney College.
The group is completed by Wynberg Boys’ High, who will be aiming to stake their claim just a few kilometres away from their home waters.
Pool B is arguably the tougher group, and the room for error will be minimal.
The clear favourites to progress are coach Jabulani Sibiya‘s Bishops Diocesan College, Grey High, Rondebosch Boys’ High, and the KwaZulu-Natal duo of Clifton College and Hilton College, who finished third and fourth respectively in 2023.
Bishops, in last year’s event, were eliminated in the quarterfinals after losing 1-3 against coach Jason Sileno‘s Hilton College side. They will be out for redemption, and aiming to start their season on a high before the Clifton Water Polo Tournament later this month.
Clifton College and Gqeberha’s Grey High School are two interesting teams not to be taken lightly. Earlier this year, Clifton won the Vides Water Polo Tournament in East London. Coach Paul Martin will hope his side hits its stride before their home tournament in KZN next weekend.
Rondebosch Boys’ High will enter this year’s SACS tournament in high spirits. Photo: TeamPhotoSA
Rondebosch Boys’ High will also enter the tournament with high hopes. They proved themselves against many of the teams they will face in the SACS tournament earlier this year when they won the Standard Bank King Edward VII Water Polo Tournament in Johannesburg, defeating St John’s College 11-7 in the final.
It could be a tough weekend for the likes of Jeppe High School for Boys, Pretoria Boys High, and St David’s Marist Inanda, while St Stithians College is an underdog that could spring some surprises.
The tournament’s opening clash will see St Andrew’s College take on Northwood School at 07:10.
Pool A: Northwood School, Parktown Boys’ High, Paul Roos Gimnasium, SACS, Selborne College, St Alban’s College, St Andrew’s College, St Benedict’s College, St John’s College, Wynberg Boys’ High.
Pool B: Bishops Diocesan College, Clifton College, Grey High School, Grey College, Hilton College, Jeppe High School for Boys, Pretoria Boys High, Rondebosch Boys’ High, St David’s Marist Inanda, St Stithians College.
The eagerly awaited 2024 Royal Bafokeng Jr. NBA Finals, featuring primary and secondary schools’ boys’ and girls’ teams, takes place on Saturday, 21 September, at the Royal Marang Hotel in Phokeng, North West.
A large audience is expected and an exhilarating dunk show has been lined up to thrill them. That will be complemented by music and dance performances, including from South African rapper and songwriter Maglera Doe Boy, and Amapiano artist Ch’cco.
The Royal Bafokeng Jr. NBA programme, which launched in 2011, has grown to 118 teams from 45 schools across all five regions of the Royal Bafokeng Nation, with the participation of more than 30 000 youth over the past 14 years. Over 100 000 have been impacted over that time through basketball development and youth engagement initiatives.
The 2024 programme includes a youth basketball league for boys and girls in primary and secondary schools, elite development camps, coaching clinics, and basketball court refurbishments.
Last year’s Royal Bafokeng Junior NBA Finals began with road shows and dunk performances at various Royal Bafokeng schools. A Royal Bafokeng Sports’ Future Stars Camp was hosted and a Her Time to Play clinic was held at Phokeng’s Civic Centre. Top players, coaches, educators and alumni were honoured at the annual Royal Bafokeng Jr. NBA Sports Awards and Gala Dinner.
The finals brought together 12 teams from nine schools to contest six championship matches.
The defending champions on Saturday will be Lebone Primary School’s u14 girls’ team, Bonwakgogo Primary School’s u14 team, HF Tlou Secondary School’s u16 girls’ team, Tshuku Secondary School’s u16 boys’ team, Kitsong School’s u18 girls’ team, and Lebone II College’s u18 boys’ team.
One of the highlights of the 2023 finals was an appearance by former Seattle Supersonics and Orlando Magic centre, Olumide Oyedeji, who helped Nigeria win Afrobasket 2015.
A dunk team from the USA got the pulses racing and musical performances included South African artists, Focalistic, and Robot Boii.
Since the programme was introduced in 2011, more than 120 players and 15 coaches from the Bafokeng community have represented the North West province in national tournaments.
Six girls and two boys have gone on to represent South Africa in international tournaments at youth and senior levels, while two girls and two coaches participated in the Junior NBA Global Championships in Orlando, Florida, in 2018 and 2019.
Earlier this month, Reatlegile Taukobong became the latest player from the Royal Bafokeng nation to represent South Africa when she ran out in the U18 FIBA AfroBasket Tournament in Pretoria. She was also an invited participant to the 19th edition of the Basketball Without Borders Camp in August at the American International School, Johannesburg.
More than 100 former participants in the Royal Bafokeng Junior NBA programme have gone on to study at universities and colleges in South Africa, while another former participant received a full scholarship to a high school in the United States, and one other was awarded a university scholarship.
The programme’s former head coach Moratiemang Junior Mmoloke joined the Cleveland Cavaliers coaching team at the 2023 NBA 2K24 Summer League in Las Vegas, Nevada, last July, as one of 28 basketball coaches from 17 African countries who were included on various NBA teams’ coaching staffs as part of the Africa Coaches Program.”
This year, Brian Ditsheko served on the Houston Rockets’ staff during the NBA Summer League in July.
Curro Nelspruit High School‘s Sandile Khoza, an 18-year-old matriculant, is currently in the United Kingdom where he is undergoing a trial camp with players from all over the world.
The hope is for the 18-year-old to bag a contract with one of the highly respected UK academies, build a career overseas, and set himself up for a long and successful career playing in the Premier League.
The camp is being staged in Manchester, which means that, among others, scouts from the highly respected Manchester United Academy and Manchester City Academy will be present.
Khoza’s coach, Devon Eaton, described how the opportunity came about for the youngster.
“What happened was that he went through to a training camp at Camp Discovery where there were a lot of scouts. It was a three- or four-day camp where they were put through drills,” Eaton told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“It was more for them to learn and for the scouts to have a look. That’s where he was spotted and how the opportunity came about. It was pretty much straight after that they got in communication with him and started lining up this whole process
“I think the trials will go all the way through to October, where there will be a bunch of academies that will be there watching,” he added.
Having coached Khoza from the age of 16, coach Eaton told SuperSport Schools that the youngster was not quite sure about whether or not he wanted to play school football.
“He was, actually, indecisive about playing school soccer. After he decided to play, from there he was number one,” said Eaton.
He described Khoza as a versatile player, one who could play any position on the field.
“I think he’s been the top goal scorer and has had the top assists from Grade 10 through to this year. Now, this year, he’s going to win football player of the year again, and I don’t think it will ever happen again.
“This boy can play anywhere. In Grade 10, we played him at centre-back and he was just a wall in that position. He was unstoppable and no one could get past him.
“From defence, all the way through to attack, he can flip the switch. We often give him a free-roaming game because he creates magic. The game could be tight and there’s Andile creating something,” he enthused.
Grey College captured both the u15 and u17 titles at the High School Sevens Series, proudly sponsored by Toyota, Champion of Champions Tournament in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Hoërskool Kathu‘s Gregory Julie produced a remarkable T20 bowling performance during his school’s clash against the Kalahari Eye Warriors Hub in a Northern Cape Schools SA20 showdown in Kathu on Wednesday.
This year’s Currie Cup final will have a strong shade of Grasshopper green with a tint of Maroon.
The High School Sevens Series, proudly sponsored by Toyota, reaches its zenith on Saturday when the playoffs in the Champion of Champions Tournament take place at Grey College.
Lebone Primary School’s u14 girls’ team, Bonwakgogo Primary School’s u14 team, HF Tlou Secondary School’s u16 girls’ team, Tshuku Secondary School’s u16 boys’ team, Kitsong School’s u18 girls’ team, and Lebone II College’s u18 boys’ team.
Curro Nelspruit High School‘s Sandile Khoza, an 18-year-old matriculant, is currently in the United Kingdom where he is undergoing a trial camp with players from all over the world.