{"id":85812,"date":"2025-10-30T17:07:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T15:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=85812"},"modified":"2025-10-30T17:07:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T15:07:08","slug":"stipcevich-vows-to-bring-his-best-for-sa-at-dato-mirnawan-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=85812","title":{"rendered":"Stipcevich vows to bring his best for SA at Dato Mirnawan Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Matteo
Matteo Stipcevich was in action for the Southern Gauteng u18A side at this year’s SASHOC National Week in Pietermaritzburg. Photo: TeamPhotoSA<\/a><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The South African u17 boys\u2019 team, set to take part in the 2025 Dato’ Mirnawan Cup<\/a><\/strong> in Malaysia next week, is stacked with quality players all around.<\/p>\n

The 18-player squad is coached by Justin Collins<\/strong>, who will have a selection conundrum from the get-go.<\/p>\n

The team opens its campaign on Sunday, 2 November, against Australia<\/strong> in Kuala Lumpur at 12:00 SAST<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

One of the key decisions coach Collins and his backroom staff have to make centres around combinations and fielding players who complement each other.<\/p>\n

A player\u2019s name that will undoubtedly come up in the conversation is that of Matteo Stipcevich<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The St David\u2019s Marist Inanda<\/strong> pupil, who plays outside midfielder but can also operate as a drop centre forward, will be a massive asset for the side.<\/p>\n

SuperSport Schools Plus<\/a><\/strong> caught up with him ahead of the tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very excited to be able to represent my country; it means the world to me,\u201d Stipcevich said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel very fortunate that I was selected. I am the first in my family to play for South Africa, and it is an opportunity many people do not get to experience, so I\u2019m grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n

The midfield maestro had a wonderful season with St David\u2019s this year.<\/p>\n

His hard work on the turf was rewarded after he was named in the Southern Gauteng u18A<\/strong><\/a> side for the SASHOC National Week. Stipcevich was influential and played a major role in helping the side reach the final, only to go down against Western Province<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: Supplied<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

His performances in front of the selectors earned him a spot in the SA Schools team<\/a><\/strong>. He admitted it\u2019s something he\u2019s been working towards since he started playing hockey.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say it\u2019s a dream come true.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started playing hockey when I was eight, and seeing players like Jamie Seale and Dalpiarro Langford representing South Africa, it quickly became my long-term goal. I was working towards it as my biggest dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 17-year-old doesn\u2019t shy away from putting in the hard yards on the turf, doing extra defensive work, and putting his body on the line. He also has the incredible ability to scan the field, make crucial plays and take calculated risks, which pay off more often than not.<\/p>\n

Stipcevich will be paired with some of the best from around the country and is excited to bring his skills to the party.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am very keen to play at the top level with this team. I\u2019m looking forward to us gelling as a unit because I believe all of us combined can be a force to be reckoned with.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom me, you can expect a team player who will put in the hard yards and do anything in his power to ensure the success of the team,” he concluded.<\/p>\n

TEAM<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marley Musasa<\/strong>, Daniel Fisher <\/strong>(both Rondebosch Boys\u2019 High and Western Province), Viwe Ndlovu<\/strong>, Andile Lembethe<\/strong> (both Maritzburg College and KZN Inland), Ruben Gouws<\/strong>, Logan Lackey<\/strong> (both Paul Roos Gimnasium and Boland), Cameron Cordeiro<\/strong>, Chavez Sanger<\/strong>, Mohlodi Maseko<\/strong> (all SACS and Western Province), Keegan de Jager<\/strong> (Kearsney College, KZN Coastal), Jacques van Dyk<\/strong> (Stellenberg High, Western Province), Liam Brooker<\/strong> (Pretoria Boys High, Northern Gauteng), Thandanani Zuma<\/strong> (Michaelhouse, KZN Inland), Matteo Stipcevich<\/strong> (St David\u2019s Marist Inanda, Southern Gauteng), Neilyandro van Schalkwyk<\/strong> (Grey College, Southern Free State), Ryan Groenewald<\/strong> (Fairmont High, Western Province), Chad Julius<\/strong> (Wynberg Boys’ High, Western Province), Martin de Bruyn<\/strong> (Paarl Boys’ High, Boland).<\/p>\n

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

Note: Fixtures are in South African Standard Time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

2 November
\n12:00 \u2013 South Africa vs Australia Crocs<\/p>\n

3 November
\n12:00 \u2013 South Africa vs Malaysia Tigers<\/p>\n

5 November
\n12:00 \u2013 South Africa vs Malaysia Speedy<\/p>\n

6 November
\n10:00 – South Africa vs Queensland (Australia)<\/p>\n

8 November
\n10:00 – South Africa vs Japan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The South African u17 boys\u2019 team, set to take part in the 2025 Dato’ Mirnawan Cup in Malaysia next week, is stacked with quality players all around. The 18-player squad is coached by Justin Collins, who will have a selection conundrum from the get-go. The team opens its campaign on Sunday, 2 November, against Australia […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":85816,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85812","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\/85812","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=85812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/85816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=85812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=85812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=85812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}