{"id":94195,"date":"2026-04-24T22:27:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T20:27:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=94195"},"modified":"2026-04-24T22:27:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T20:27:12","slug":"hibbert-shield-blown-wide-open-on-thrilling-first-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=94195","title":{"rendered":"Hibbert Shield blown wide open on thrilling first day"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Westville Boys’ High held SACS to a 2-2 draw on day one of the Standard Bank Hibbert Shield. Photo: Imraan Mahomed<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When the 16 teams competing in the Standard Bank Hibbert Shield<\/strong> arrived in Gqeberha, one thing was clear: no team was safe, and for the first time in years, the tournament was wide open.<\/span><\/p>\n

The opening day’s play, on Friday, proved that statement true, and if the results were a measure of what’s to come over the weekend, then shockwaves will be sent through the schoolboy hockey landscape.<\/span><\/p>\n

Catch the action LIVE on SuperSport Schools<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Upsets and cracking goals filled the day, with top-notch hockey lighting up Grey High’s Rectory AstroTurf<\/strong> and the Collegiate Girls’ High Astro<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here’s a look at the action:<\/p>\n

Pool A<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Parel Vallei High School<\/strong>, from Somerset West, fell into the dark horse category in the lead-up to the tournament. However, they quickly changed that narrative to thrust themselves into the conversation about title contenders.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coach Michael van Rensburg<\/strong>‘s side recorded back-to-back wins, outplaying the hosts, Grey High<\/strong>, 5-2 in a cracking affair before recording a 3-0 win over St Alban’s College<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Against Grey, the boys from the Western Cape were a class apart, even though they had to come from behind after conceding an early goal to James Chree<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Luka Meets<\/strong> began the fightback, exhibiting some outstanding 3D skills and dribbling past a couple of defenders to pull one back for his side.<\/span><\/p>\n

That solo effort energised PV, and Meets, who is one of the most dangerous forwards in the school game, soon had a second. Late in the second chukka, he completed his hat-trick from a short corner.<\/span><\/p>\n

Grey skipper Dante Elkington<\/strong> made it 2-3, but the home side’s joy was cut short when Tristan Rautenbach<\/strong> tapped in on the far post.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meets wasn’t done yet, and scored his fourth in the third chukka. PV’s shot-stopper, Julian Thiering<\/strong>, also pulled off multiple saves to keep the score unchanged as the visitors stunned their hosts in an unexpected turn of events.<\/span><\/p>\n

In their second match of the day, Parel Vallei defeated St Alban’s, thanks to goals from Benjamin Traut<\/strong>, Nicolas Havinga<\/strong> and Meets.<\/span><\/p>\n

While PV made a statement, Durban High School (DHS)<\/strong> produced mixed results.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Coach Keegan Hezlett<\/strong>‘s boys edged St Alban\u2019s 2-1 in the tournament opener, courtesy of strikes from Jessie van Wyk<\/strong> and Bonga Maphanga<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

They met Grey in their second outing of the day and were beaten 5-1 as the hosts bounced back emphatically and ended the Horseflies<\/strong><\/em>‘ unbeaten season. <\/span><\/p>\n

Day two’s action will decide which team finishes top of the pool when Parel Vallei faces DHS, while Grey takes on St Alban\u2019s in a must-win encounter. Saturday’s showdown will also be an opportunity for PV to avenge a 3-6 loss to DHS at the Coastal Cup.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pool B<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul Roos Gimnasium<\/strong> (PRG) headed to the Hibbert Shield off the back of a 1-2 loss against Grey High in Gqeberha<\/a><\/strong> last week.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coach Michael Baker’s charges dominated that clash but failed to take their chances and turn possession and territory into goals.<\/span><\/p>\n

They were far more clinical on Friday, powering their way to two convincing victories: 7-1 over Clifton College<\/strong> and 5-1 over St Stithians College<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

At half-time, against Clifton, PRG held a narrow lead. In the second stanza, they pulled away. <\/span>Luke van der Merwe<\/strong> bagged a brace while Ruben Gouws<\/strong>, Caleb Cilliers<\/strong>, Seth Paterson<\/strong>, Christiaan Fouch\u00e9<\/strong>\u00a0and Daniel de Waal<\/strong> also chipped in to seal a big win. Tye Milne<\/strong> scored the solitary goal for Clifton.<\/span><\/p>\n

St Stithians, despite going down to PRG, did mark a tick in the W column after outplaying Selborne College<\/strong> 3-0, with Didier le Roux<\/strong>, Sebastien Poussin<\/strong> and Christian Bernhardi<\/strong> getting their names onto the scoresheet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Clifton also bounced back, grabbing a close 3-2 win over Selborne.<\/span><\/p>\n

With their two wins, PRG is already assured of a place in the quarterfinals. Clifton and Saints<\/strong> <\/em>will battle it out for the second spot in the last eight. They previously met at the St Stithians Easter Festival, where Clifton claimed a tight 1-0 win.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pool C<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The defending champion, South African College High School<\/strong> (SACS), was held to a 2-2 draw by Westville Boys’ High<\/strong> in their opening match.<\/span><\/p>\n

That result opened Pool C wide, ensuring there’s everything to play for on the second day.<\/span><\/p>\n

SACS was considered the favourite heading into the clash, but the boys from KwaZulu-Natal had other ideas and were intent on making a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Capetonians opened the scoring through Luke Laver<\/strong>. However, his strike was cancelled out by a beautifully lofted shot from Bo Mokoena, <\/strong>who showed great awareness to pick up the scraps from a short corner and lift the ball past Ethan October<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Litha Kraai<\/strong> snatched back the lead for his side in the third chukka, and SACS looked set to see the game out with a one-goal win.<\/span><\/p>\n

Westville, however, has been playing some entertaining, winning hockey under coach Harold Siyaya<\/strong>, and they refused to give in. With a minute remaining in the final chukka, Connor Lilford,<\/strong> who was added to the team at the eleventh hour, found himself in space inside the circle and pounced on a rebound to level matters. <\/span><\/p>\n

SACS came back firing in their second match, thumping Grey College<\/strong> 7-0. Earlier in the day, the Bloemfontein boys put up a good fight but fell 1-2 to Garsfontein<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pool D<\/strong><\/p>\n

At a glance, before the start of the Hibbert Shield, it appeared that Pool D would be an entertaining group. It’s safe to say it lived up to those expectations on Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n

The group, featuring Paarl Gimnasium<\/strong>, Pearson High<\/strong>, Bishops<\/strong>, and the debutants, Jeppe High School for Boys<\/a>,<\/strong> dished up drama and suspense.<\/span><\/p>\n

The day, however, belonged to Jeppe and Paarl Gim, who both finished it with four points, which included a 1-1 draw between the pair at <\/span>Collegiate Girls’ High in the morning.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeppe, eager to claim a first-ever win at the tournament, faced Bishops in the afternoon. They were on song and finished well while maintaining a solid defence, coming away with a comfortable 4-0 victory.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Kensington school dominated possession and territory, but what stood out <\/span>the<\/span> most was how they converted their opportunities into goals when it mattered <\/span>most<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kade Lottering<\/strong> led the charge with a hat-trick of goals, all of which came from penalty corners, while Matthew Mackenzie<\/strong> was on the end of a beautifully worked team goal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Paarl Gim, meanwhile, outplayed Pearson High School 4-0 in their second match of the day.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite going down to Jeppe, Bishops ended the day with three points. They picked up a win in their first outing, with goals from Litha Mbiko<\/strong>, Robert Vincent, <\/strong>and Max Morgan<\/strong> carrying them to a 3-0 win over Pearson.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pearson is out of quarterfinal contention, but there’s next to nothing separating the top three in the group as they head into crucial fixtures on Saturday.<\/p>\n

RESULTS <\/strong><\/p>\n

Pool A<\/strong><\/p>\n

DHS 2-1 St Alban’s College
\nParel Vallei 5-2 Grey High
\nParel Vallei 3-0 St Alban’s College
\nGrey High 5-1 DHS<\/p>\n

Pool B<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul Roos 7-1 Clifton
\nSt Stithians College 3-0 Selborne
\nPaul Roos 5-1 St Stithians College
\nClifton 3-2 Selborne<\/p>\n

Pool C<\/strong><\/p>\n

SACS 2-2 Westville
\nGarsfontein 2-1 Grey College
\nSACS 7-0 Grey College<\/p>\n

Pool D<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paarl Gimnasium 1-1 Jeppe
\nBishops 3-0 Pearson
\nJeppe 4-0 Bishops
\nPaarl Gimnasium 4-0 Pearson High<\/p>\n

Saturday, 25 April\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

@Grey High School\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

07:30 – Westville vs Garsfontein
\n08:45 – Paarl Gimnasium vs Bishops
\n10:15 – St Alban’s vs Grey High School
\n11:30 – DHS vs Parel Vallei
\n13:00 – Jeppe vs Pearson
\n14:15 – Clifton vs St Stithians College
\n15:45 – SACS vs Garsfontein
\n17:00 – Paul Roos Gimnasium vs Selborne
\n18:30 – Westville vs Grey College<\/p>\n

Playoff fixtures will be provided at the conclusion of the pool stages.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the 16 teams competing in the Standard Bank Hibbert Shield arrived in Gqeberha, one thing was clear: no team was safe, and for the first time in years, the tournament was wide open. The opening day’s play, on Friday, proved that statement true, and if the results were a measure of what’s to come […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":94255,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94195","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\/94195","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=94195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/94255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=94195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=94195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=94195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}