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  • Boishaai bully Oakdale at the Buco Brug Street Stadium

    Photo: Deborah Redelinghuys

    Paarl Boys’ High continue to find answers, regardless of their challenges. On Saturday, the Boishaai first team kept their unblemished record for the season intact as they defended their home turf at the Buco Brug Street Stadium against the visiting Oakdale Landbou.

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    Kurt Coetzee, the electric inside centre from Riversdal, opened the scoring early on as the visitors drew first blood by way of a penalty.

    However, two quickfire tries by the boys in blue, in response, put the home team in the driver’s seat early on.

    First, hooker Christiaan Grundling powered his way through the farmers’ defenders, then winger Aiden Jacobs had too much gas and left the visitors grasping at air when he went over five minutes later.

    Even though Boishaai had to defend with 14 men for large periods of the match, as they received three successive yellow cards, the team from Paarl kept control of the game throughout.

    After the break, their big bruiser at flank, Rubin Dames, increased their lead when he barrelled through a couple of would-be defenders. Flyhalf Viaan Mentoor, who has been excellent so far this season, added the extras to extend the host’s lead to 19-3.

    Photo: Deborah Redelinghuys

    A raft of penalties meant that the game couldn’t fall into a rhythm, but the hosts had done more than enough to add another big name to the list of teams they’ve dealt with already this season.

    Oakdale continued to apply pressure through the likes of Duraan Janse van Rensburg and Erick Steyn, but Boishaai captain Dian Smal and his team were rock solid on defence and utilised their own opportunities better.

    A late try by Oakdale’s replacement prop, Sine Mdlankomo, softened the blow, but it came too late to trouble the hosts.

    Next weekend, the Paarl outfit welcomes Wynberg Boys’ High, who are also still undefeated in 2024.

    Wynberg convincingly beat Hoërskool Durbanville 36-19 on Saturday, but Boishaai overwhelmed the same team 73-7. The boys from the southern suburbs will, no doubt, enter the forthcoming match as the underdogs.

    If players like Dames, Mentoor and Grundling maintain the form they have displayed thus far, Paarl Boys’ High will be a difficult team to beat this season.

    Scorers

    Paarl Boys’ High 19 (12) – Tries: Christiaan Grundling, Aiden Jacobs, Rubin Dames. Conversions: Viaan Mentoor (2). Oakdale 10 (3) – Try: Sine Mdlankomo. Conversion: Kurt Coetzee. Penalty: Coetzee.

    All the results

    u19 – Paarl Boys’ High II 34, Oakdale II 7; Paarl Boys’ High III 47, Oakdale III 12.

    u16 – Paarl Boys’ High 29, Oakdale 10; Paarl Boys’ High B 26, Oakdale B 12.

    u15 – Paarl Boys’ High 34, Oakdale 14; Paarl Boys’ High B 63, Oakdale B 5.

    u14 – Paarl Boys’ High 44, Oakdale 0; Paarl Boys’ High B 28, Oakdale B 7.

  • Diamantveld verhang bordjies teen Uppies

    FOTO: Asjas Fotos

    Hoërskool Diamantveld het ‘n stelling gemaak met ‘n klinkende sege van 40-7 oor Hoërskool Upington, en sodoende die bordjies verhang na verlede jaar se skoknederlaag van 31-43 met die hervatting van die twee spanne se jaarlikse interskole.

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    Die Diamonds het die tuisskare binne die eerste vyf minute reeds op hul voete gehad toe heelagter, Kyle Taute, op die teenaanval deur die Uppies-verdedigers gesny en binnesenter, Simon Liversage, weggestuur het vir die eerste drie.

    Liversage het self sy drie verdoel, en met nog vier doelskoppe geslaag vir ‘n bydrae van 15 punte in sy span se spogsege.

    Die span van Kimberley se pak het voorlangs die oorhand geniet, met kaptein, FJ de Vries, en haker, De Wet du Plooy, wat elk ook gedruk het in die eerste skof om die halftydtelling op 21-0 in hul guns te staan te bring.

    In die tweede helfte is die sluise heeltemal oopgemaak, met vleuel, Carel Viljoen, wat onderskep het vir buitesenter, Clinton Brits, om eerste te druk na die omdraaislag, en die ander vleuel, Jonathan Harding, wat die Uppies-verdediging twee keer aan flarde gehardloop het om die oorwinning bo alle twyfel te stel.

    Die besoekers het egter nooit hul koppe laat sak nie en in die laaste 10 minute steeds gapings in die Diamantveld-verdediging probeer ontgin. Een so ‘n briljante stukkie samespel tussen agsteman, Roelof Slabbert, en kaptein, Ruan Janse van Rensburg, het gesorg dat die span van Upington ook punte op die bord kon kry.

    Vir Diamantveld behoort hierdie uitslag te dien as die begin van ‘n splinternuwe hoofstuk. Die trotse span van Kimberley het reeds twee puik seges oor Voortrekker Hoërskool en Hoërskool Trio behaal in die Wesgrow Sentrale Skolesport-reeks, en nou het hulle ook verlede jaar se Noord-Kaap ligakampioene verslaan.

    Volgende naweek pak hulle vir Hoërskool Duineveld in Upington. Die Velties het die afgelope naweek vir Hoërskool Kalahari met 38-9 oorrompel en het vroeër, by die NMI Noord/Suid-toernooi, vir ‘n witwarm Hoërskool Noordheuwel laat sweet vir ‘n naelskraapse oorwinning van 33-32.

    Daar wag dus tawwe stryd op die manne van Diamantveld.

    Puntemakers:

    Hoërskool Diamantveld 40 (21) – Drieë: Jonathan Harding (2), FJ de Vries, De Wet du Plooy, Simon Liversage, Clinton Brits. Doelskoppe: Liversage (5). Hoërskool Upington 7 (0) – Drie: Ruan Janse van Rensburg. Doelskop: Hercules Hudson.

    Ander uitslae

    o. 19 – Diamantveld II 60, Upington II 10.

    o. 16 – Upington 30, Diamantveld 19; Diamantveld B 29, Upington B 21.

    o. 15 – Diamantveld 19, Upington 17.

    o. 14 – Diamantveld 64, Upington 0.

     

  • Uppies seëvier naelskraaps teen Diamonds

    Kayla du Plessis, Liebe Karsten, Lané Esterhuizen, Anria Oberholzer, Jenique Matthys, Raquel Raman, Cara Fourie, Lida Louw, Mari-Alet van Zyl en Amé Kotzé.

    Hoërskool Upington se eerste netbalspan het Saterdag, in ‘n titaniese kragmeting in Kimberley, ‘n welverdiende oorwinning van 37-32 oor die tuisspan, Hoërskool Diamantveld, behaal.

    Uppies het vanuit die staanspoor die krane oopgedraai om blitsig ‘n voorsprong van 14-9 in die eerste kwart op te bou.

    Diamonds was egter nie van voorneme om te gaan lê nie en het in die tweede kwart uitstekend teruggeveg.

    Hoewel Uppies ‘n verdere agt doele aangeteken het, het Diamonds hulle doel-vir-doel die stryd aangesê om self nege doele te behaal.

    Teen die tyd wat die rustydfluitjie geblaas het, het Uppies aan ‘n skrale voorsprong van 22-18 geklou, wat die weg gebaan het vir ‘n riller van ‘n stryd in die oorblywende kwarte.

    Namate die wedstryd gevorder het, het die spanning toegeneem, met albei spanne wat alles in die stryd gewerp het.

    Ten spyte van Diamonds se voortdurende pogings om die gaping verder te laat krimp, het Uppies egter daarin geslaag om hul voorsprong effens te vergroot en die vierde kwart met ‘n telling van 30-24 tegemoet te gaan.

    Gedurende die laaste kwart het Diamonds verbete aanhou veg vir ‘n oorwinning, maar Uppies het met ‘n eindtelling van 37-32 die knoop deurgehak.

    Onder hul uitblinkers was die hoofdoel, Lané Esterhuizen, en hulpdoel, Anria Oberholzer, met ‘n merkwaardige doelgemiddeld van 80%.

    Boonop was die bydraes van die senter, Liebe Karsten, en verdediger, Lida Louw, instrumenteel om oorwinning vir die Uppies te kon verseker.

  • JF troef Fichies met 26 doele

    Hoërskool Jim Fouche: Lesedi Sebiloane, Elri Pieters, Zandria Bastone, Lindsey Neveling, Jenilee Kotze, Ansune Humphries, Dimpo Totola, Jana Rossouw, Roechelle van der Merwe.

    Hoërskool Jim Fouché het Saterdag vir Hoërskool Fichardtpark op indrukwekkende wyse met 39-13 verslaan in die Wesgrow Sentrale Sportreeks.

    Jim Fouché het van meet af die toon aangegee en, na ‘n sterk begin, teen die einde van die eerste kwart reeds met 12-5 voorgeloop. Hulle het momentum opgetel in die tweede kwart, om hul rustydvoorsprong na 19-9 te rek.

    Namate die wedstryd in die derde kwart gevorder het, het JF eenvoudig van krag tot krag gegaan en met ‘n vlaag doele die gaping aan die einde van dié kwart na 29-10 vergroot.

    Jim Fouché was haas onkeerbaar in die laaste kwart om 10 verdere doele by hul totaal te voeg, terwyl Fichies tot slegs drie beperk is.

    Hoewel die wenspan as geheel uitstekend vertoon het, het Zandria Bastone en Lindsey Neveling in besonder uitgeblink.

  • Trekkers oorheers Trio op netbalbane

    Hoërskool Voortrekker het Saterdag koning gekraai teen Hoërskool Trio op die netbalbane.

    Agt uit Trekkers se 10 spanne het oorwinnings behaal, terwyl een span gelykop gespeel het.

    Trekker se eerstespan het behoorlik hul stempel afgedruk op verrigtinge, en vanuit die staanspoor die leiding geneem om die eerste kwart met 10-4 te wen en teen rustyd met 23-8 voor te loop.

    Hoewel Trio hul bes probeer het om die gaping te laat krimp, het Trekkers nie minder nie as 13 doele in die derde kwart aangeteken, en Trio slegs vyf, om die telling op 35-13 te staan te bring.

    Toe die eindfluitjie blaas het Trekkers ‘n klinkende sege van 46-18 behaal.

    Hierdie uitslag verstewig nie alleen Trekkers se posisie as ‘n krag om mee rekening te hou in die Wesgrow Sentrale Sportreeks nie, maar verleng ook hul onoorwonne status in die reeks, saam met die van Hoërskool Sentraal.

    Dit was ‘n uitstekende spanpoging deur Trekkers, met vernaam die verdedigende spel van Lykie Jonck en veelsydigheid van Mianca van Niekerk, op sowel die aanval as verdediging, wat beïndruk het.

    Al die uitslae:

    O. 19 A 46-18
    O. 19 B 25-1
    O. 19 C 24-2
    O. 19 D 17-6
    O. 17 A 15-16
    O. 16 B 39-6
    O. 15 B 15-10
    O. 15 C 22-6
    O. 14 B 16-12
    O. 14 C 4-4

    O. 14 A, 15 A en 16 A speel Maandag, 8 April.

  • Wins for Selborne and Hudson, Stirling vs Queens ends in a stalemate

    Selborne College's Cade Kock on the charge against Pearson High School in Gqeberha. Photo: Janet Barry
    Selborne College’s Cade Kock on the charge against Pearson High School in Gqeberha. Photo: Janet Barry

    There were hard-fought wins for Selborne College and Hudson Park High School on the opening weekend of the inter-schools’ hockey season in the Eastern Cape on Friday night.

    Selborne edged Pearson High School 2-1 in Gqeberha, while Hudson won by the same scoreline against Cambridge High School in East London. Meanwhile, Stirling High and Queen’s College shared four goals in an entertaining 2-2 draw.

    Selborne made the trip to the Windy City high in confidence, chasing a 15th consecutive victory since the season started.

    They had picked up 14 wins during the school holidays at the Tony Godding Festival, Nomads Hockey Festival, and the King Edward VII Easter Hockey Festival.

    Pearson, on the other hand, entered the clash after mixed results at the Tony Godding Festival, and the Coastal Cup in KwaZulu-Natal.

    Riding their momentum, Selborne was quickly out of the blocks, scoring in the first chukka through Jacques van der Merwe.

    The goal came after excellent inter-linking play between the defence and midfield players, and Van der Merwe found himself in the right place at the right time, with the ball landing on his stick before he calmly slotted it into the bottom right corner to put the visitors 1-0 ahead.

    They doubled their tally with seconds remaining in the first chukka through a Cade Kock cracker. Kock received the ball in the box with his back facing the defence. Reacting speedily, he quickly scooped it up with his stick, turned, and fired into the back of the net.

    That goal sparked Pearson into life, and they started to forge a foothold in the match.

    Four minutes into the second chukka, coach Dallan Phillips’s boys were awarded a penalty corner and they made it count. Zack Willimot’s drag flick cut the deficit to one goal at half-time.

    The last two chukkas of the match didn’t produce any goals, although both teams created several chances to add to their tallies. Selborne maintained much of the ball possession but none of their scoring opportunities were clear-cut.

    Pearson won a number of short corners but failed to find another finish. It ended 2-1 and Selborne College had their 15th consecutive win.

    In East London, Hudson Park edged out Cambridge High 2-1.

    Coach Siphe Matafeni’s side was made to work hard for the 2-1 win, with Ayola Rubushe and Somila Mkhokeli striking for Hudson.

    They will next turn their attention to the u18 Oakhill Co-Ed Festival, which starts on Wednesday.

    Stirling High School will surely be happy with how they performed against Queen’s College on the opening weekend.

    After going down 0-2 and looking dead and buried, the boys in green and white pulled off a comeback for the ages to steal a 2-2 draw.

    They were aided to a share of the spoils by a double from Hisharm Pillay. Their next assignment will be to face Pearson in Gqeberha next weekend.

    Scorers:

    Selborne College (2): Jaques van der Merwe, Cade Kock. Pearson High (1): Zack Willimot

    Hudson Park (2): Ayola Rubushe, Somila Mkhokeli. Cambridge High (1): Aqhama Mdlulwa

    Stirling High School (2): Hisharm Pillay (x2). Queens College (2): Brett Hoffman, Damian Miles.

  • School Rugby Results – 6 April 2024

    The results from around South Africa will be updated here as we receive the results from the various schools.

    If your school’s match is not listed below or you would like to send in your team’s results – please contact us via e-mail at rugby@superschoolsnews.co.za or via WhatsApp at 072 172 5455.

    Or you can submit a result via our website – Submit Result.

    All the results: 

    EASTERN CAPE 

    [ninja_tables id=”40468″]

    FREE STATE/GRIQUALAND WEST

    [ninja_tables id=”40469″]

    KWAZULU-NATAL 

    [ninja_tables id=”40472″]

    NOORDVAAL 

    [ninja_tables id=”40470″]

    NWU SPORT SERIES 

    [ninja_tables id=”40473″]

    NWU PRESTIGE SERIES 

    [ninja_tables id=”40474″]

    WESTERN CAPE 

    [ninja_tables id=”40471″]

  • Bellville and Brackenfell headline at the Margaret Pansgrouw Sports Day

    PHOTO: Reinhardt Ham

    The Hoërskool Brackenfell first team is no stranger to playing in the main event. They’ve already played in a couple of headline games this season.

    In their first, they beat Hopefield in a dramatic main game at the Brackenfell Sports Weekend. Then, at the Oakdale Klein Karoo Saadproduksie Rugby Week, they tore through their competition to earn a place in the finale, where they came up just short against Charlie Hofmeyr.

    On Saturday, the Brakkies take on Hoërskool Bellville in the final match of the Margaret Pansgrouw Sports Day in Bellville.

    The hosts are coming off an impressive run of performances at the Mauritz Hansen Rugby Weekend, where they took down Piet Retief (19-13) and Witteberg (12-10), and also put up a real fight in a 7-19 loss to Hans Strijdom.

    Watch out for the Brakkies’ flyhalf Junior Louw, and the centre pairing of Jaydon La Douce and Marquine Abrahams, in the final match. That trio has shown big-game temperament already this season and finds a way to get points on the board.

    In the penultimate game, Melkbosstrand squares off against Hoërskool Porterville, and before that Hoërskool Hermanus will attempt to tame the Hoërskool Tygerberg Tigers.

    TEAMS

    Hoërskool Bellville: 15 Jaden Gumede, 14 Dominic Adams, 13 Carlo Aucamp, 12 James Parker, 11 Ronaldo Lakay, 10 Ashwin Cox, 9 Jerric Estee, 8 Divan Swanepoel, 7 Kyle Brotherton, 6 Matthew Veldsman, 5 Ethan Swartz, 4 Willick de Klerk, 3 Gavin Peterson, 2 Devan Visagie, 1 Zack Viviers.

    Hoërskool Brackenfell: 15 Zane van Schalkwyk, 14 Cwenga Ntshapo, 13 Jaydon La Douce, 12 Marquine Abrahams, 11 Liam Lucas, 10 Junior Louw, 9 Jaydin Basson, 8 Wade Fortuin, 7 Dawson Lombard, 6 Dante Johnson, 5 Antwone Julies, 4 Zander van Zyl, 3 Graigan Matroos, 2 Matthew Wyngaard, 1 Ntsikayomzi Njongonkulu.

    Fixtures

    A Field: 08:00 – Westcliff u19 A vs Curro Hermanus u19 A; 09:10 – Hoërskool Bellville u16 A vs Hoërskool Brackenfell u16 A; 10:20 – Dirkie Uys u19 A vs WP LSEN u19 A; 11:30 – Jan van Riebeeck u19 A vs Hoërskool Tygerberg u19 B; 12:40 – Hoërskool Bellville u19 B vs Hoërskool Brackenfell u19 B; 13:50 – Hoërskool Tygerberg u19 A vs Hoërskool Hermanus u19 A; 15:00 – Melkbosstrand u19 A vs Hoërskool  Porterville u19 A; 16:10 – Hoërskool Bellville u19 A vs Hoërskool Brackenfell u19 A.

    B Field: 08:00 – Hoërskool Bellville u16 B vs Hoërskool Brackenfell u16 B; 09:10 – Hoërskool Bellville u19 C vs Hoërskool Brackenfell u19 C; 10:20 – Bonnievale u19 A vs Weskusskool u19 A; 11:30 – Hoërskool Swellendam u16 A vs Hoërskool Hermanus u16 A; 12:40 – Hoërskool Tygerberg u16 A vs Hoërskool Porterville u16 A; 13:50 – Hoërskool Swellendam u19 A vs Edgemead High u19 A; 15:00 – Dirkie Uys u16 A vs Melkbosstrand u16 A.

    C Field: 08:00 – Hoërskool Bellville u15 B vs Hoërskool Brackenfell u15 B; 09:00 – Edgemead High u15 A vs Hoërskool Swellendam u15 A; 10:00 – Hoërskool Bellville u14 A vs Hoërskool Brackenfell u14 A; 11:00 – Hoërskool Tygerberg u15 A vs Hoërskool Porterville u15 A; 12:00 – Hoërskool Bellville u15 A vs Hoërskool Brackenfell u15 A; 13:00 – Hoërskool Bredasdorp u14 vs Jan van Riebeeck u14 A; 14:00 – Dirkie Uys u15 A vs Hoërskool Tygerberg u15 B; 15:00 – Edgemead High u16 A vs Hoërskool Tygerberg u16 B; 16:10 – Curro Hermanus u16 A vs Westcliff u16 A.

    D Field: 08:00 – Hoërskool Bellville u14 B vs Hoërskool Brackenfell u14 B; 09:00 – Edgemead High u14 A vs Curro Hermanus u14 A; 10:00 – Jan van Riebeeck u14 A vs Melkbosstrand u14 A; 11:00 – Hoërskool Hermanus u14 A vs Hoërskool Tygerberg u14 A; 12:00 – Bonnievale u15 A vs Hoërskool Tygerberg u15 C; 13:00 – Hoërskool Hermanus u15 A vs Melkbosstrand u15 A; 14:00 – Hoërskool Bellville u15 C vs Westcliff u15 A; 15:00 – Hoërskool Bellville u14 C vs Hoërskool Brackenfell u14 C.

  • Tough Rhenish steals the spotlight at St Mary’s Hockey Festival

    Rhenish Girls’ High School sparkled on Friday at the St Mary’s Hockey Festival in Waverley, winning all four of their matches without conceding a goal against strong opposition.

    The Western Cape team, for whom Ruby Celliers earned her 100th cap, began their day with a 2-0 triumph over the recently crowned Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Tournament winners, Somerset College.

    They followed that up with a tight 1-0 win over St Andrew’s School for Girls and then handed Oranje their first loss of 2024.

    The Stellenbosch girls exhibited rock-solid defence against Oranje, who had scored many lop-sided victories earlier in the season, holding them scoreless, and a goal from Kaitlyn van Binsbergen broke the deadlock to secure the win.

    In their last Pool C encounter, Rhenish saw off Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School 4-0.
    Captain Leah du Plessis opened the scoring and then doubled the Rhenish lead 17 minutes before the end of the game. Lily Newton struck from a penalty corner and Pippa Viljoen netted with seconds remaining to complete a big victory.

    It was not an easy day for the team from the KZN capital. They also lost 0-1 to both Somerset College and St Andrew’s, but played to a 1-1 draw with Hoërskool Garsfontein.

    In Pool B’s first game, Hoërskool Menlopark defeated Windhoek High School 2-0, and St Anne’s Diocesan College repeated that scoreline in a win over St Mary’s DSG (Pretoria).

    The Wykeham Collegiate also beat St Mary’s DSG (Pretoria), winning 1-0, and defeated Paarl Girls’ High School 2-1. They were held to a goalless draw by Windhoek.

    Those results marked a strong turnaround for the Pietermaritzburg school, who suffered three losses on the opening day.

    The hosts, St Mary’s Waverley, endured a difficult day, losing 0-1 to Menlopark and drawing goalless with Paarl Girls’ High before going down 0-3 to Durban Girls’ College, who have quietly asserted themselves and dominated Pool B.

    They won all three of their matches, netting nine times while keeping a clean sheet for the day.

    RESULTS

    Friday, 5 April

    Pool B: Windhoek 0-0 Menlopark; St Anne’s 2-0 St Mary’s DSG (Pretoria); The Wykeham Collegiate 2-1 Paarl Girls’ High; Windhoek HS 0-5 Durban Girls’ College; St Mary’s Waverley 1st 0-1 Menlopark; The Wykeham Collegiate 0-0 Windhoek HS; Menlopark 0-1 Durban Girls’ College; The Wykeham Collegiate 1-0 St Mary’s DSG (Pretoria); St Mary’s Waverley 1st 0-0 Paarl Girls’ High; Windhoek HS 0-2 St Anne’s; Paarl Girls’ High 0-0 St Mary’s DSG (Pretoria); Menlopark 0-0 St Anne’s; St Mary’s Waverley 1st 0-3 Durban Girls’ College

    Pool C: Somerset 1-0 Pietermaritzburg GHS; Oranje 3-1 St Andrew’s; Waterkloof 0-0 St John’s; Somerset 0-2 Rhenish; Pietermaritzburg GHS 1-1 Garsfontein; Oranje 1-0 St John’s; Rhenish 1-0 St Andrew’s; Waterkloof 1-1 Garsfontein; St Andrew’s 1-0 Pietermaritzburg GHS; Waterkloof 0-0 Somerset; Oranje 0-1 Rhenish; St John’s 0-0 Garsfontein; Oranje 3-1 Garsfontein; St John’s 1-2 Somerset; St Andrew’s 0-1 Waterkloof; Rhenish 4-0 Pietermaritzburg GHS

    POOLS

    Pool A: Eunice High School; Herschel Girls School; Clarendon High School; Pretoria High School for Girls; Hoër Meisieskool Bloemhof; Roedean School (SA); Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool, Pretoria; DF Malan

    Pool B: St Mary’s Waverley 1st XI; Durban Girls’ College; Paarl Girls’ High School; Die Hoërskool Menlopark; The Wykeham Collegiate; Windhoek High School; St Anne’s Diocesan College; St Mary’s DSG (Pretoria)

    Pool C: C&N Sekondêre Meisieskool Oranje; Hoërskool Garsfontein; Rhenish Girls’ High School; St John’s DSG; St Andrew’s School for Girls; Hoërskool Waterkloof; Somerset College; Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School

    Pool D: Collegiate Girls’ High School; Paarl Gimnasium; St Stithians Girls College; St Mary’s DSG (Kloof); St Cyprian’s School; Pearson High School; St Mary’s Waverley Festival XI; Our Lady of Fatima DCS

  • Unbeaten Eunice and Bloemhof through to the next round

    Pool A’s top teams, Eunice and Bloemhof, qualified for the next round of the annual St Mary’s Hockey Festival without losing a single match, a feat managed by only two other teams in the tournament.

    They finished pool play tied on 19 points and were separated only by goal difference.

    In the next round, they will be grouped together with the top three teams from Pool B in a new group, Pool E. It is here that they will battle it out in the hope of continuing on along the path to the final.

    Eunice is hoping to reach and win back-to-back titles. If they made it that far, it would be their third St Mary’s Festival triumph. Bloemhof, on the other hand, will be hoping to chart a path to their maiden St Mary’s Festival trophy.

    Heading into their last pool match, Eunice was guaranteed a top-three slot, with five wins and a draw from six games. Herschel, their opponent in that game, needed a win for direct qualification, and to avoid having to depend on others’ results to advance, to the top 12. A draw would have left them in a tricky situation, hoping that Affies lost their last match against Pretoria High School for Girls (PHSG).

    When Eunice took on PHSG, who had struggled in their previous matches, coach Nika Coertzen gave some of her younger players a chance to accumulate more meaningful playing time. They showed as much fight and hunger as the regular starters and helped bump up the team’s goal difference.

    The Trusten Barnard-captained side walloped PHSG 6-0, which was the biggest margin of defeat the Pretoria side had suffered at the festival. Their previous worst loss was 0-5 against Bloemhof, on day one.

    If the game against PHSG was a cakewalk, their contest against Clarendon was a gauntlet. Luwan Sedras’ charges were well prepared for Eunice, and they gave them a good run for their money.

    “We didn’t execute the gameplan well against Clarendon. It was a tough game. But it was a good learning experience,” said Coertzen after her team had picked up a 2-1 win.

    That battle against Clarendon solidified their resolve and they were determined maintain their unbeaten record against Herschel, who were in a must-win situation. Stacey-Lee Gedult’s charges took the fight to Eunice on Friday evening in a thrilling contest, but at the end it was Eunice who had held off Herschel 2-1.

    “We are taking things a game at a time,” Coertzen said, choosing not to delve too much into her side’s undefeated run at the tournament.

    After day two, five teams remained unbeaten. One of those sides was Bloemhof.

    Coach Jenny King‘s charges have controlled opposition teams with distinction. Nothing about the way they have played has betrayed the fact they had a shorter pre-season than most of their opponents at the festival.

    Their run of six wins and a draw, scoring 14 goals without conceding one, tells the story of a well-oiled unit. They had three games on Friday, against Clarendon, DF Malan, and Roedean. Bloemhof scored five unanswered goals. “We are taking it a game at a time,” reckoned King.

    Affies headed into Friday’s schedule in need of some victories to keep their hopes of a top-12 finish alive. The previous day, they had won one, lost one, and drawn one. On Friday, the Nicolene Terblanche-coached side appeared revitalised. They trumped Clarendon 1-0 in their first outing and then played to a 0-0 draw with DF Malan.

    Maricha van Greunen and her team needed another win and for Bloemhof to overcome Herschel. The stars aligned. They achieved the victory they required and Bloemhof defeated Herschel 2-1.

    In their new group, Pool E, Eunice, Bloemhof and Affies will be joined by Pool B table-toppers Durban Girls’ College, St Anne’s and Menlopark.

    Pool A Results

    Roedean 1-1 PHSG, Affies 1-0 Clarendon, Bloemhof 1-0 Clarendon, Eunice 6-0 PHSG, Affies 0-0 DF Malan, Roedean 0-2 Herschel, DF Malan 0-1 Herschel, Roedean 0-1 Affies, Eunice 2-1 Clarendon, Bloemhof 2-0 DF Malan, PHSG 0-1 Herschel, Bloemhof 2-0 Roedean, Clarendon 0-0 DF Malan, Affies 1-0 PHSG, Eunice 2-1 Herschel