{"id":78077,"date":"2025-07-25T11:47:42","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T09:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=78077"},"modified":"2025-07-25T11:47:42","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T09:47:42","slug":"heavyweights-dhs-and-jeppe-set-for-thrilling-showdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=78077","title":{"rendered":"Heavyweights DHS and Jeppe set for thrilling showdown"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Josh
Josh Mungherera will lead DHS against Jeppe and spearhead the Horseflies’ attack. Photo: Brad Morgan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two of South Africa’s most respected schoolboy hockey powerhouses, Durban High School<\/strong> (DHS)<\/strong> and Jeppe High School for Boys,<\/strong> are set to renew their rivalry in a highly anticipated fixture on Saturday.<\/p>\n

The clash, which will be hosted by the Kensington school, has delivered some outstanding, tense and exciting matches in recent seasons, and another thriller is on the cards.<\/p>\n

Both sides have enjoyed dominant runs in their respective provinces, but only Jeppe remains unbeaten in 2025.<\/p>\n

Last season, DHS claimed a hard-fought 3-2 win in Durban. They’d be delighted if they could repeat that result and end Jeppe’s unbeaten run.<\/p>\n

DHS<\/strong> captain Joshua Mungherera<\/strong> believes his side is up for the challenge, pointing to the recent experiences of many of his teammates at the Inter-Provincial Tournament<\/strong> (IPT) as key preparation for Saturday’s test.<\/p>\n

“The majority of the players in our team participated in the IPT this holiday, so all of us have already played hockey at a high level,” Mungherera explained. “With that experience, plus the training we’ve had this week, we’re confident that we can rise to the occasion against Jeppe.”<\/p>\n

However, he acknowledged, it’s challenging playing in Johannesburg. “We know it’s going to be a tough game, especially adjusting to the altitude and intensity of Joburg, but I feel we are all up to the challenge. These are the kinds of games we live for as competitive athletes.”<\/p>\n

For Mungherera, the match carries an emotional edge as well, especially given that he was part of a team that went down at Jeppe in 2023.<\/p>\n

“Honestly, beating Jeppe at Jeppe would mean everything to us because we lost to them in 2023, and we’re determined to change the narrative of that story.,” he admitted.<\/p>\n

DHS head coach Keegan Hezlett<\/strong> echoed the captain’s optimism and praised his team’s focus ahead of the big game.<\/p>\n

“Our preparations have gone well,” he said. “The first week back after holidays is always a challenge, but, fortunately, many of our boys have stayed sharp through provincial duties.<\/p>\n

“We’re fortunate to have a squad packed with talent and experience. Jeppe is always a tough opponent, and they’ve had an outstanding season so far. We haven’t faced them yet this year, but last season’s narrow 3-2 win at DHS gives us belief.”<\/p>\n

Hezlett pointed out a few standout players to keep an eye on, singling out the school’s three South African Schools representatives – Bhavesh Naicker <\/strong>(SA u18B), Sithsaba Siyoyo <\/strong>(SA u18B), and Tyrique Cloete <\/strong>(SA u18A) – as game-changers.<\/p>\n

“Our biggest strength is when we’re playing cohesively and connecting as a team. When we find our rhythm and play with purpose, we’re capable of something special,” Hezlett said. “That’s what we’ll need this weekend if we hope to pull off a result away from home.”<\/p>\n

Jeppe heads into the clash fresh off a 6-0 win over Helpmekaar Kollege<\/strong> on Wednesday. Coach Siya Siyana<\/strong> and his charges, though, are expecting a far tougher test on the Bowden AstroTurf<\/strong> on Saturday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two of South Africa’s most respected schoolboy hockey powerhouses, Durban High School (DHS) and Jeppe High School for Boys, are set to renew their rivalry in a highly anticipated fixture on Saturday. The clash, which will be hosted by the Kensington school, has delivered some outstanding, tense and exciting matches in recent seasons, and another […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":78085,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-78077","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\/78077","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\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=78077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78077\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/78085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=78077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=78077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=78077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}