{"id":68946,"date":"2025-04-04T15:21:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T13:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=68946"},"modified":"2025-04-04T15:21:08","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T13:21:08","slug":"st-albans-welcomes-stacked-line-up-for-independent-schools-hockey-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=68946","title":{"rendered":"St Alban’s welcomes stacked line-up for Independent Schools Hockey Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"St
St Alban’s College will host the 2025 edition of the Independent Schools Hockey Festival. Photo: St Alban’s College on Instagram<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The last weekend of March produced some thrilling schoolboy hockey action as spectators were treated to the Nomads Hockey Festival<\/a><\/strong>, Founders Festival<\/strong>, and Belgotex Coastal Cup<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Those events kicked off an exciting season, and this weekend’s action at the Independent Schools Hockey Festival<\/strong> is set to match that high standard of entertaining hockey.<\/p>\n

The annual festival takes place at St Alban\u2019s College<\/strong>, in Pretoria, and runs from 5-7 April.<\/p>\n

In action will be some of Gauteng’s top teams, who will be challenged by sides from across the country.<\/p>\n

Gauteng’s interests are represented by St Alban’s, Trinity House Centurion<\/strong>, Helpmekaar Kollege<\/strong>, St David’s Marist Inanda<\/strong>, and St Benedict’s College<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

St Alban’s, led by coaches Robin Jones<\/strong> and Guy Elliot<\/strong>, will look to build on the momentum they built up against top opposition at the Belgotex Sport Coastal Cup<\/strong> last week.<\/p>\n

Down in KwaZulu-Natal, the Checks<\/strong><\/em>, as they’re affectionately known, posted mixed results, which included an upset 2-1 win over Durban High School<\/strong> (DHS)<\/strong> before they went down to Paul Roos Gimnasium<\/a><\/strong>, and Michaelhouse, two of the Coastal Cup’s top performers.<\/p>\n

They played out a 2-2 draw against Westville Boys’ High<\/strong>, and they’ll take confidence from that result into their home event.<\/p>\n

St Benedict’s College<\/strong> is another side that was in action, contesting the Nomads Hockey Festival, which was hosted by Jeppe High School for Boys<\/a><\/strong> last week.\u00a0There, coach Owen Mvimbi<\/strong>‘s troops found the going tough, but they pulled off an impressive win against Selborne College<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

They also took unbeaten Grey College<\/strong> to the trenches on the final day but succumbed to a 0-2 defeat. Those hard outings will surely stand them in good stead in Pretoria.<\/p>\n

The remainder of the field includes teams from KZN, the Western Cape, and the Free State.<\/p>\n

Michaelhouse and St Charles College<\/strong> will fly the flag for KZN, and they\u2019ll head to the festival looking to make a big statement.<\/p>\n

‘House<\/em><\/strong> has impressed early on. They were superb in a 4-3 comeback win over Parel Vallei<\/a><\/strong> at the Coastal Cup, scoring three times in a dramatic last chukka to overcome a 1-3 deficit. The kind of firepower and that top performance against one of the Western Cape’s top sides will make teams wary of coach Nick B\u00e9richon<\/strong>\u2019s charges.<\/p>\n

\"St
St Andrew’s School from Bloemfontein will be on a mission to impress at the Independent Schools Hockey Festival. Photo: Shot by Shani Photography<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Somerset College<\/strong> and Bishops [Diocesan College]<\/a><\/strong> are the Western Cape schools heading upcountry for the festival.<\/p>\n

It has been a challenging start to the season for both sides, with coaches Kyran Fortuin<\/strong> and Ryan Julius<\/strong> taking on rebuilding missions.<\/p>\n

The Cape is known for its strong competition, though, and both sides will be focused on finding their mojo.<\/p>\n

Another interesting team that will be in action is St Andrew’s School<\/strong>, from Bloemfontein.<\/p>\n

The Free State boys made a big statement at the Synsport Tony Godding Festival<\/a><\/strong> when they defeated Selborne College 3-2.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all about consistency, though, and building from that hard-fought win will be the aim for coach Trevor Raubenheimer<\/strong> and his charges.<\/p>\n

York High School<\/strong>, from George, opted out of the Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Tournament<\/a> <\/strong>to attend the event in Pretoria.<\/p>\n

Led by coach Jason Slater<\/strong>, they’re a school that has produced some strong teams in past seasons, but they head into the festival as a bit of an unknown. They would like to leave it with their game better known and respected.<\/p>\n

Day one\u2019s action kicks off at 07:30 between Trinity House and St Andrew’s School.<\/p>\n

FIXTURES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Day 1 – Saturday, 5 April<\/strong><\/p>\n

07:30<\/strong> – Trinity House vs St Andrew’s School
\n08:00<\/strong> – St Benedict’s College vs Reddam House Constantia @Hatfield Christian\u00a0School<\/strong>
\n08:45<\/strong> – Helpmekaar Kollege vs York High
\n10:00<\/strong> – St Alban’s College vs Somerset College
\n11:15<\/strong> – St Charles College vs Bishops
\n12:30<\/strong> – Michaelhouse vs St David’s Marist Inanda
\n13:45 –<\/strong> St Benedict’s College vs Trinity House
\n15:00<\/strong> – St Andrew’s School vs York High
\n16:15<\/strong> – Reddam House Constantia vs Helpmekaar Kollege
\n17:30<\/strong> – St Alban’s College vs St Charles College
\n17:30<\/strong> – St David’s Marist Inanda vs Somerset College @Hatfield Christian\u00a0School<\/strong>
\n18:45<\/strong> – Bishops vs Michaelhouse<\/p>\n

Day 2 – Sunday, 6 April\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

07:30<\/strong> – St David’s Marist Inanda vs Reddam House Constantia
\n08:00<\/strong> – St Charles College vs Helpmekaar Kollege @Pretoria Boys High AstroTurf<\/strong>
\n08:45<\/strong> – Somerset College vs Trinity House
\n10:00<\/strong> – St Alban’s College vs St Andrew’s School
\n11:15<\/strong> – Bishops vs St Benedict’s College
\n12:30<\/strong> – York High vs Michaelhouse
\n13:45<\/strong> – Reddam House Constantia vs Trinity House
\n15:00<\/strong> – St Charles College vs St David’s Marist Inanda
\n16:15<\/strong> – Helpmekaar Kollege vs Somerset College
\n17:30<\/strong> – St Alban’s College vs Bishops
\n17:30<\/strong> – St Andrew’s School vs Michaelhouse @Pretoria Boys High AstroTurf<\/strong>
\n18:45<\/strong> – York High vs St Benedict’s College<\/p>\n

Day 3 – Monday, 7 April<\/strong><\/p>\n

07:30<\/strong> – Bishops vs St David’s Marist Inanda
\n08:00<\/strong> – Reddam House Constantia vs York High @@Pretoria Boys High AstroTurf<\/strong>
\n08:45<\/strong> – Somerset College vs St Charles College
\n09:20<\/strong> – Helpmekaar Kollege vs St Andrew’s School @Pretoria Boys High AstroTurf<\/strong>
\n10:00<\/strong> – Michaelhouse vs St Benedict’s College
\n11:15<\/strong> – St Alban’s College vs Trinity House<\/p>\n

All other fixtures will take place at the St Alban’s College AstroTurf.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The last weekend of March produced some thrilling schoolboy hockey action as spectators were treated to the Nomads Hockey Festival, Founders Festival, and Belgotex Coastal Cup. Those events kicked off an exciting season, and this weekend’s action at the Independent Schools Hockey Festival is set to match that high standard of entertaining hockey. The annual […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":68947,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68946","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\/68946","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=68946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68946\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/68947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=68946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=68946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=68946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}