{"id":44116,"date":"2024-05-05T09:11:01","date_gmt":"2024-05-05T07:11:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=44116"},"modified":"2024-05-05T09:11:01","modified_gmt":"2024-05-05T07:11:01","slug":"prgs-mentality-monsters-claim-back-to-back-hibbert-shield-titles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=44116","title":{"rendered":"PRG’s “mentality monsters” claim back-to-back Hibbert Shield titles"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"In
In possession, Paul Roos’s Keith Siebrits is met by two SACS players during the Hibbert Shield final in Gqeberha on Saturday, 4 May. Photo: Karl Seebach<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

Coach Michael Baker<\/strong>\u2019s team was forced to do it the hard way after trailing 0-3 early in the match.<\/p>\n

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

In their journey to the final, PRG<\/strong> put together a spotless record in the group stages, then eliminated Paarl Gimnasium<\/strong> in the quarterfinals, before facing Garsfontein<\/strong> in the last four.<\/p>\n

On Saturday morning, they made light work of the Pretoria side netting 10 times and making a statement ahead of the final.<\/p>\n

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

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

The Cape Town school dictated play and camped in PRG’s half, forcing the Stellenbosch side into mistakes.<\/p>\n

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

With a minute to play in the chukka, Theunis beat shot-stopper Beor van Reenen<\/strong> for a second time, leaving SACS 3-0 to the good.<\/p>\n

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

They looked more organised in midfield, where Joshua Smit<\/strong>, Christo Swanepoel<\/strong>, and Callum van Oudsthoorn<\/strong> displayed some much-needed energy.<\/p>\n

Baker\u2019s boys finally got their opener with a minute to play in the first half when their skipper Reuben Sendzul<\/strong> found himself inside SACS’s circle and, with not many defenders around him, managed to sneak the ball past Noah Venter<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The scores remained static in the third chukka, but the complexion of the match changed in the fourth.<\/p>\n

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

From that PC, Sendzul played a variation and picked out Keith Siebrits<\/strong>, who was in the right spot to tap in and make it 3-2.<\/p>\n

SACS were, then, kept in the game by their goalkeeper, Venter, who produced two fine saves to keep his side in front.<\/p>\n

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

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

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

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

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

This coming weekend, SACS will host Paul Roos\u00a0at the Brewery Astroturf<\/strong>. Another thriller is on the cards.<\/p>\n

Scorers in the final:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul Roos:<\/strong> Reuben Sendzul, Keith Siebrits, Callum van Oudsthoorn. SACS: <\/strong>Litha Kraai, Reece Theunis (x2).<\/p>\n

\"Garsfontein
Garsfontein in action against Grey High in the 3rd\/4th play-off match at the 2024 Hibbert Shield. Grey won the encounter 4-1. Photo: Karl Seebach<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After losing their semi-final to SACS on penalties, Grey High<\/strong> finished on a high, beating Garsfontein 4-1 to take bronze.<\/p>\n

Coach Ryan Julius<\/strong>‘s Bishops side finished fifth after coming back from two goals down to defeat Westville Boys’ High<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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

Results: Day 4<\/strong><\/p>\n

St Stithians College 2-2 Clifton College
\nPaul Roos 10-0 Garsfontein
\nSACS 1(4)-1(2) Grey High
\nSelborne College 2-0 Pearson High
\nDurban High 3-1 Paarl Gimnasium
\nBishops 3-2 Westville
\nGrey High 4-1 Garsfontein
\nPaul Roos 3(6)-3(5) SACS<\/p>\n

Final Standings\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul Roos
\nSACS
\nGrey High
\nGarsfontein
\nDurban High School\/Bishops Diocesan College
\nWestville Boys High\/Paarl Gimnasium
\nSelborne College
\nClifton College
\nSt Stithians College
\nPearson High<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After going unbeaten in the pool stages and knock-out rounds, Paul Roos Gimnasium capped off a perfect Hibbert Shield campaign when they defeated South African College High School (SACS) 6-5 on penalties in the final of the tournament at Grey High’s Rectory Astroturf in Gqeberha on Saturday. Coach Michael Baker\u2019s team was forced to do […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":44122,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44116\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}