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Twee tradisionele aartsvyande kruis hierdie naweek swaarde in Tzaneen.

Volg al die aksie regstreeks op SuperSport Schools. Skakel na die wedstryd.

Die ligblou-gemeenskap van agter die Sitrusgordyn sal terselftertyd senuagtig en opgewonde wees vir dit wat hulle te wagte kan wees wanneer die eerstespanne van Hoërskool Merensky en Hoërskool Ellisras mekaar Saterdag om 13:50 pak.

Die span van Ellisras, onder leiding van die nuwe afrigtingspan bestaande uit Peter Schutte, ‘n ou bekende in die Laeveld, en Dandré Grobler, het reeds vanjaar hul stem dik gemaak teen Hoërskool Zwartkop. Die Rassie-eerstes het oortuigend, met 21-7, met die span, drie afdelings bokant hulle in die SDC Noordvaal Cup, afgereken.

Die Rassies se staatmaker-losskakel, Anzio Swartbooi, skuif na heelagter vir hierdie naweek se stryd, waar hy ook heelwat probleme vir die tuisspan kan veroorsaak. Malose Moshupje neem Swartbooi se plek op nr. 10 in, en kan, saam met buitsenter, FJ Drotske, die lewe vir die Plasie-agterhoede verder bemoeilik.

Die tuisspan beskik nietemin self oor ‘n gedugte kombinasie in die middelveld, met senters, Ulrich Mare en Jens Bezuidenhout, wat tot dusver aangedui het dat hul verdedigingslinie nie maklik gebreek sal word nie. Hulle is boonop ook bedrieglik op die aanval, en beskik oor hope spoed en venynige aanvalslyne.

Die Plasies se pak is verder nie te versmaai nie, met Cravenweek-agsteman, Hardus Terblanche, wat sy flanke, PG Botes en Vorne Swanepoel, sal inspireer om die pap dik aan te maak.

Verder af met die N1 skop Hoërskool Hans Strijdom hul nuwe seisoen af, nes hulle die vorige een afgesluit het, teen Hoërskool Ben Viljoen. Die Hansies sal hierdie slag tuisvoordeel ten volle wil benut om die bordjies te verhang, nadat hulle in die vorige kragmeting met 27-34 teen die span van Groblersdal vasgeval het.

Die tuisspan sal hierdie keer sonder die dienste van hul slot en kaptein, Koedoe Harmse, moet klaarkom, nadat dié ‘n kniebesering opgedoen het tydens die Mauritz Hansen-week. Ewandre Jonker vervang vir Harmse op slot.

Ben Viljoen het ook ‘n paar veranderinge aangebring vir die naweek se stryd. Chris Jordaan, wat in die vorige wedstryd op loskopstut diens gedoen het, skuif na slot, met Leuco Robinson wat sy plek op stut inneem, terwyl Tiaan Scheepers van agtsteman na die kant van die skrum skuif, met Asheeq Bradford wat op agtsteman in aksie sal wees.

In Mpumalanga, kom Hoërskool Piet Retief te staan voor hul grootste toets tot dusver vanjaar, wanneer hulle vir Hoërskool Secunda, in Secunda, die stryd aansê.

Die span van Secunda het tot op hede louwarm vertoon vanjaar en sal op hul hoede wees vir die begeesterde span van Piet Retief. Die besoekers se lostrio, bestaande uit Jaco Klopper, Melo Xulu en Christiaan Pienaar, hou verál groot gevaar in, vernaam by die afbreekpunte.

Secunda sal heelwat staatmaak op hul ervare agtsteman, Bakkies Bezuidenhoud, om goeie teenstand te bied voorlangs, en skrumskakel, Jarno Haarhoff, om bruikbare bal aan die tuisspan se giftige agterlyn te verskaf.

Ander wedstryde:

12:30 – Hoërskool Centurion t. Hoërskool Dr Malan; Bergsig Akademie t. Hoërskool Florida; Hoërskool Driehoek t. Hoërskool Alberton.

Die spanne: 

Merensky t. Ellisras om 13:50 in Tzaneen:

Hoërskool Merensky: 15 Maritz Meintjies, 14 Andreas Honiball, 13 Ulrich Mare, 12 Jens Bezuidenhout, 11 Leon de Lange, 10 Byron Hendricks, 9 JD Boshoff, 8 Hardus Terblanche, 7 PG Botes, 6 Vorne Swanepoel, 5 Lukas Pieterse, 4 Craig Walker, 3 Tirelo Mashapa, 2 Ruan Marcos, 1 Ethan Maritz.

Hoërskool Ellisras: 15 Anzio Swartbooi, 14 Tinisha Chauke, 13 FJ Drotskie, 12 Rabadiba Lebo, 11 Ashley Monyelo, 10 Malose Moshupje, 9 Ethan Muller, 8 Funi Simba, 7 Derik Blessing, 6 Hanno Kay, 5 Daniel Leahy, 4 Rigby Hobarth, 3 Boela van Heerden, 2 Dean Otto, 1 Wessel Strooh.

Hans Strijdom t. Ben Viljoen om 11:20 in Naboomspruit:

Hoërskool Hans Strijdom: 15 Mpiri Gadebe, 14 Francois Koen, 13 Lewalt Ferreira, 12 Nathan Pool, 11 Tebogo Mapopgelo, 10 Hendriko van der Kolf, 9 MW de Jager, 8 Janneman Benson, 7 Marcus van der Walt, 6 Hannes Viviers, 5 Juan van Staden, 4 Ewandre Jonker, 3 Alwyn Geyser, 2 Leander Janse van Rensburg, 1 Marnus Ruytenberg.

Hoërskool Ben Viljoen: 15 Mignon Stevens, 14 MJ de Beer, 13 Clementino Bowers, 12 Mihlali Ntebi, 11 Dylan Nieuwenhuys, 10 Anvernio Adonis, 9 Joe Cloete, 8 Asheeq Bradford, 7 Jaco Botha, 6 Tiaan Scheepers, 5 Chris Jordaan, 4 Erich Labuschagne, 3 JP Singleton, 2 Flippie Nieman, 1 Leuco Robinson.

Secunda t. Piet Retief om 12:30 in Secunda:

Hoërskool Secunda: 15 Damian de Beer, 14 Dillan Grundelingh, 13 Brink la Grange, 12 Bismark Jansen, 11 Divan Mulder, 10 EJ Venter, 9 Jarno Haarhoff, 8 Bakkies Bezuidenhout, 7 Zander Scheepers, 6 Zander van der Merwe, 5 Franko Rossouw, 4 Regardt du Preez, 3 Jean Janse van Nuwenhuizen, 2 Rico Schoeman, 1 Stefaan Bezuidenhout.

Hoërskool Piet Retief: 15 Langelihle Ntuli, 14 Siposethu Sibisi, 13 Aphiwe Khumalo, 12 Gilles van der Meulen, 11 Vuyani Tshabalala, 10 Owethu Shabalala, 9 Kyle Stock, 8 Jaco Klopper, 7 Melo Xulu, 6 Christiaan Pienaar, 5 Vusi Nhleko, 4 Renco Venter, 3 Louis Groler, 2 Jandre van Deventer, 1 Sfundo Mayisa.

Hoërskool Punt het einde Maart hulself deeglik laat geld by die jaarlikse Arthur Johnson-sportweek in Mosselbaai.

Dit was die 43ste keer dat die spogbyeenkoms in die Suid-Kaap aangebied is.

Skole van regoor die land het rugby-, hokkie- en netbalspanne gestuur om aan die byeenkoms deel te neem, maar daar was vanjaar niemand wat by die tuisskool kon kers vashou nie. Punt het skoonskip gemaak in die senior afdelings om in al vier sportsoorte as kampioene gekroon te word.

Die o. 19 A-rugbyspan het nie ‘n enkele teenstander oor hul doellyn gelaat gedurende hul drie wedstryde nie, terwyl hulle self die tuisondersteuners vergas het op 13 pragdrieë.

In hul eerste uitstappie het Punt vir Hoërskool Vredendal op ‘n drafstap met 24-3 verslaan. Daarna was daar eenvoudig geen keer aan die span van Mosselbaai nie en het hulle ook wegholseges oor Hoërskole Aliwal-Noord en Paul Erasmus behaal.

Vredendal het nietemin goed herstel om vir Hoërskool Adamantia, van Kimberley, met 32-0 af te stof, voordat hulle die toernooi afgesluit het met ‘n rillerstryd teen Aliwal-Noord, waar hulle  net-net met 10-5 kon seëvier.

Aliwal-Noord moes met 6-33 die aftog blaas teen Punt, maar die Aliwal-Noord “Buffels” het goed gevaar om die tuisspan in die eerste helfte taamlik opdraande te gee. Teen lemoentyd was die kragmeting nog wawyd oop.

Punt het egter in die tweede helfte totale beheer oorgeneem en drieë deur Wikus Smit (haker), Gabriel Hinkman (vleuel), Henro Kuhn (flank), Dean Vorster (flank) en Keanu Oktober (losskakel) het die tuisspan se uiteindelike oorheersing onderstreep.

Oktober was een van Punt se top-puntemakers en het in al drie hul wedstryde uitgeblink om ‘n vername bydrae te lewer tot die span se sukses.

Hoërskool Hopetown se eerstespan het hard geswoeg om ook die byeenkoms met ‘n wenrekord van 100% te voltooi, en kon uiteindelik welverdiend met Curro Mosselbaai (12-0), Hoërskool Middelburg (17-15) en Hoërskool Wolmaransstad (17-13) afreken.

Na afloop van die byeenkoms is daar ‘n groep van 70 seuns aangewys wat teen die einde van die jaar na die eiland van Malta sal toer.

Puntemakers:

Hoërskool Punt 31 – Drieë: Keanu Oktober, Jeandre Pieterse, Gabriel Hinkman, Dailen Daniels, Henro Kuhn. Doelskoppe: MC Barnard, October. Hoërskool Paul Erasmus 0.

Hoërskool Punt 33 – Drieë: Wikus Smit, Gabriel Hinkman, Henro Kuhn, Dean Vorster, Keanu Oktober. Doelskoppe: Oktober (4). Hoërskool Aliwal-Noord 6.

Hoërskool Punt 24 – Drieë: Wikus Smit, Keanu Oktober, Anton Lombaard. Strafdoele: Oktober (3). Hoërskool Vredendal 3.

Al die uitslae

Dag 1

o. 19 – Punt 24, Vredendal 3; Hopetown 12, Curro Mosselbaai 0; Aliwal-Noord 26, Adamantia 5; Grens 47, Douglas 10; Stella 5, Hillcrest Sekondêr 0; Curro Langebaan 7, Wolmaransstad 7; Paul Erasmus 7, Hartbeespoort 0; Pro-Ed Akademie 25, Kirkwood 5; Hartswater 19, Hoërskool Middelburg 10.

o. 16 – Punt 19, Duineveld 14; Strand 14, Swartland 0.

Dag 2

o. 19 – Punt 33, Aliwal-Noord 6; Pro-Ed Akademie 29, Grens 5; Paul Erasmus 48, Stella 10; Curro Langebaan 21, Punt II 5; Hopetown 17, Hoërskool Middelburg 15; Wolmaransstad 10, Hartswater 5; Hartbeespoort 17, Curro Mosselbaai 6; Vredendal 32, Adamantia 0; Kirkwood 26, Douglas 19.

o. 16 – Strand 24, Punt 12; Swartland 20, Duineveld 7.

Dag 3

o. 19 – Punt 31, Paul Erasmus 0; Douglas 3, Hoërskool Middelburg 0; Hopetown 17, Wolmaransstad 13; Grens 19, Kirkwood 10; Adamantia 31, Stella 5; Vredendal 10, Aliwal-Noord 5; Hartbeespoort 7, Hartswater 5; Curro Langebaan 21, Curro Mosselbaai 6.

o. 16 – Punt 0, Swartland 0; Strand 14, Duineveld 7.

Selborne College will pursue a 15^th consecutive win since the start of the 2024 season when they face off against Pearson High School in Gqeberha on Friday evening.

The match begins at 18:30 on the Top Astroturf.

Since playing their first match, Selborne is undefeated and untied, winning every one of their matches.

Coach KJ Friend‘s team has been deadly in front of goal, causing their opposition many problems, while remaining solid as a rock on defence.

Their unbeaten record began at the Tony Godding Festival, hosted in East London, in March.

There, they recorded wins against St Andrew’s School (Bloemfontein) (4-0), Woodridge College (6-0), Linden High School (4-1) and Voortrekker High School (8-0), from Bethlehem.

They were far from done, however, and quickly turned their attention to the Nomads Hockey Festival, hosted by Maritzburg College in KwaZulu-Natal.

The Nomads Festival brings together many of South Africa’s traditional hockey powers, giving them an opportunity to test themselves against the best, and to work on their teamwork and tactics ahead of the second term’s full hockey schedule.

Selborne, along with Grey High, was a cut above the rest during the festival, with both going unbeaten after recording five wins each.

The East London school defeated King Edward VII (5-2), before claiming the scalps of Maritzburg College (2-0), St John’s College (2-1), Pretoria Boys High (1-0), and Jeppe (1-0), respectively.

They went on to sweep their opposition at the KES Easter Hockey Festival last weekend, maintaining their unbeaten record while scoring 15 goals and conceding only three in their five matches.

Pearson, on the other hand, has produced mixed results thus far.

At the Tony Godding Festival, they picked up convincing wins against Cambridge High (5-0), and Queen’s College (4-0).

They were then held to a 1-1 draw by St Andrew’s School, before suffering a 0-2 defeat to Grey College.

Coach Dalan Phillips‘s boys then made the trip to the Coastal Cup in KwaZulu-Natal for another stern early season test.

There, they held their own against some tough opposition. They recorded very good wins against Menlopark (4-0), and Paarl Boys High (5-0), but went down by 0-1 margins to both St Alban’s College and Westville Boys’ High.

The last time the two sides met, Pearson High came from behind to salvage a 1-1 draw with Selborne in the dying minutes of their encounter. The two teams met again at the Hibbert Shield in Gqeberha, and it was Selborne who won 3-0.

Pearson are the under-dogs, but they will enjoy home-ground advantage and would love nothing more than to end their Eastern Cape rivals’ spectacular winning streak to start the season.

Other matches:

The first weekend of action will also see Hudson Park taking on Cambridge High School, while Stirling High School welcomes Queen’s College to East London.

Fixtures

Friday, 5 April

17:30 -Hudson Park High vs Cambridge High School
18:00 -Stirling High School vs Queen’s College
18:30 – Pearson High School vs Selborne College

 

The annual St Mary’s Waverley Hockey Festival is without a doubt one of the highlights on the girls’ school hockey calendar.

Catch all the action live on SuperSport Schools (www.supersportschools.com).

Eunice from Bloemfontein is the defending champions but they will without a doubt miss their playmaker Taheera Augousti who matriculated last year.

Results | Day 1 

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Schools in the Western Cape will officially commence their 2024 inter-school hockey season this weekend. An exciting and intriguing showcase of the sport awaits.

Many teams head into the season off the back of their participation in Easter festivals all around the country.

Paarl Gimnasium, SACS, Stellenberg, and Parel Vallei will all be in action after enjoying promising starts to their respective seasons.

Last year’s number-one ranked team in the country, SACS, travelled to KZN for the Founders Festival, hosted by Kearsney College, at the end of March and showed why they are considered the favourites to take first spot again in 2024.

There, SACS dominated every opponent they came up against, scoring a whopping 31 goals in five matches, while conceding only two.

They thumped St Stithians College 6-0, the Northwood 2nd XI 8-0, Queen’s College 5-0, and the Gauteng duo of Affies and Parktown Boys’ High 5-1 and 7-1 respectively.

This weekend, they take on Fairmont High School, who finished in sixth place out of 40 teams at the Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Tournament in Cape Town.

Another team aiming to ride their festival momentum is Paarl Gimnasium. Gim, just like Fairmont, took part in the Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Tournament and claimed gold for a third year running.

Coach Jacques Grobler’s troops impressed in pool play and then breezed past Private School Swakopmund 9-1 in the semi-final. They had to dig deep in the title-decider, but goals from captain LD Nel and Juan Swanepoel saw them to a 2-1 victory over Worcester Gimnasium.

This week, they welcome Hoërskool Outeniqua to their home turf, with the clash starting at 18:45.

Parel Vallei, after a tour of the Netherlands, will be in action against DF Malan. Coach Michael van Rensburg‘s side played against some of the world’s best during their time in abroad.

They came short against HC Schiedam (5-4), and Den Bosch (4-2) before recording a fine 3-1 win over HC Cartouche. They will use their clash against DF Malan as preparation for a much-anticipated showdown with SACS next weekend.

Other matches on the weekend include Wynberg Boys High against Curro Durbanville and Belgotex finalists, Worcester Gymnasium, against Swartland, while Stellenberg welcomes Rondebosch Boys’ High.

Fixtures

Friday, 5 April

17:10 – Worcester Gimnasium vs Swartland
18:15 – Fairmont vs SACS
18:30 – Wynberg Boys’ High vs Curro Durbanville
18:45 – Paarl Gimnasium vs Hoërskool Outeniqua
19:00 – Rondebosch Boys’ High vs Stellenberg
19:00 – Brackenfell vs Wynberg Invitational
19:30 – Parel Vallei vs DF Malan

Saturday, 6 April

09:45- HTS Drostdy vs Hugenote

At the beginning of May, HTS Louis Botha will begin their defence of the Absa Wildeklawer Football Tournament title. In fact, they’ll be going for a three-peat.

The school enjoyed a very impressive 2023, ultimately finishing it ranked in third spot in South Africa, just behind Maritzburg College.

College had an exceptional year, led by their captain and current u19 Amazulu FC player Mateo Horstead, who was featured in SuperSport Schools Class of 2023.

Under Horstead, the College boys achieved a treble and were hailed by many as the best team in the school’s 160-year history. However, Westville Boys’ High, after a very consistent year (throughout all the age groups) claimed the top spot.

Last year, in Kimberley, HTS Louis Botha captured the Wildeklawer tournament title with a 4-2 win over Virginia High School in the final.

Up against a tough opponent, Louis Botha was held to a 2-2 draw in regulation time.

Then, with a penalty shootout beckoning, the Bloemfontein boys struck twice in quick succession to come away with the victory and the title.

That was one of many outstanding achievements by the school in 2023, during which they confirmed their position as number one in the Free State and one of the country’s elite teams.

Apart from the Wildeklawer title, they were also crowned the Magnificent Wednesday Motheo District champions, the Magnificent Wednesday Provincial champions, the winners of the St Andrew’s Friday Night League, and the Most Entertaining team of the St Andrew’s Friday Night League.

In addition, they won silver at the prestigious Kloof High Soccer Tournament.

HTS Louis Botha defensive midfielder, Xolani Tshaka, who is on the books of the Soweto giants, Orlando Pirates, was also selected to represent the South African u17 national team at the Africa Cup of Nations, which was held in Algeria last year.

Coach CT Moahloli declared himself proud of Tshaka’s achievements and that of the school’s football team in 2023.

In their quest for a hattrick of Wildeklawer titles, HTS Louis Botha will face determined opposition in Pool B, taking on Dale College, Navalsig High School, and Potchefstroom Boys High.

Based on their past accomplishments, HTS Louis Botha will be favoured to secure top spot in the group. Nothing is a given, however, and Dale College, for example, have made significant progress under the guidance of Tevin Klaasen, the school’s football director.

Another captivating group to keep an eye on is Pool C, which includes Clapham High School, a feeder to Mamelodi Sundowns FC’s football development programme, who were the runners-up in the inaugural edition of the CAF African Schools Football Championships, Maritzburg College, Northwood School, and Blinkklip High School.

This group appears to be the dreaded “Group of Death”, which promises to deliver thrilling action.

Pool A
Kimberley Boys High, Selborne College, Wildeklawer Academy, St Benedict’s College

Pool B
HTS Louis Botha, Navalsig High School, Potchefstroom Boys High, Dale College

Pool C
Clapham High School, Maritzburg College, Northwood School and Blinkklip High School

Pool D
Paul Roos Gimnasium, Glenwood High School, Norkem Park High School, Emang Mmogo Comprehensive School

Pool E
Benny Sports Academy, Brebner High School, Grey College, Virginia High School

The road leads to St Mary’s Waverley, in Johannesburg, for 32 of the nation’s top hockey-playing girls’ schools, who will be contesting the annual St Mary’s Hockey Festival from Thursday.

The hockey showcase was launched in 2000 with just 12 teams and has grown exponentially over the years to become, arguably, the most prestigious girls’ hockey event on the South African sporting calendar.

Forty-nine festival participants have gone on to represent South Africa, and another two have donned the colours of Namibia, on the international stage.

Catch all the action live on SuperSport Schools (www.supersportschools.com).

Defending champions Eunice heads into the festival hunting back-to-back titles. The Bloemfontein team will be looking to assert itself in Pool A, which also includes the inaugural champions, Pretoria High School for Girls.

The hosts, St Mary’s Waverley, have a point to prove in Pool B. They’re on the hunt for a sixth title, but last won it in 2011.

They won’t have things easy and will have to fight their way past, among others, DSG Makhanda, Paarl Girls’ High, high-flying St Anne’s, and St Mary’s DSG, Pretoria, also a previous winner.

Pool C is led by the seven-time champions Oranje. Since capturing the title for the first time in 2008, Oranje has been a dominant force. Between 2014 and 2017, they produced an unprecedented run of four consecutive titles. Another potential streak, between 2019 and 2022, was broken by Covid-19.

While Oranje was rampant in the Balling Hockey Festival and the Greg Beling Festival earlier this season, winning all of their games comfortably, another Greg Beling participant that shone was Rhenish, who are also in Pool C. They were convincing winners of all of their games, including a big 5-1 win over Eunice.

Fellow Pool C participants, Somerset College, this past weekend, lifted the Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Tournament title.

Meanwhile, Pool D is hard to call. Collegiate Girls’ High School opens their challenge for a place in the history books with an outing against Our Lady of Fatima DCS.

Paarl Gimnasium‘s quest begins against the St Mary’s Waverley Festival XI, while former finalists, St Stithians Girls College, go up against Pearson High School.

Later, Saints will face the two-time champions (2007 and 2018) St Mary’s DSG, Kloof.

The hosts’ co-captains, Tyla Gibbs and Amy Smith, have extended a welcome to all festival attendees, saying: “We, as the captains and players of St Mary’s School, are delighted to welcome teachers, coaches, parents, and, most importantly, players to our school.

“The St Mary’s Hockey Festival is, undoubtedly, the best tournament of the season! Each and every one of you has worked so hard to get to this point, so go out and make the most of this experience.”

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

Pool B: St Mary’s Waverley 1^st XI; Durban Girls’ College; Paarl Girls’ High School; Menlopark; The Wykeham Collegiate; Windhoek High School; St Anne’s Diocesan College; St Mary’s DSG, Pretoria.

Pool C: 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.

Fixtures | Day 1 

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Much like the miners of years gone by, the ‘City of Gold’ has always had an allure for small-town migration into a city known for bright lights and big attractions. 

The current head coach Marco Engelbrecht of King Edward VII, a former old boy of the school who hails from the small mining town of Thabazimbi, found himself travelling a fair distance away from home to attend one of South Africa’s premier all-boy schools. 

During his time at the school which spanned from 2008-2013, he represented the First XV as fly-half for several seasons where he represented The Red Army with pride.

He was part of a talented squad which had maintained a good record which included some big wins over rivals Jeppe High School for Boys and Pretoria Boys High School.

He played in the same side as current South African hooker and World Cup Champion Malcom Marx, where they played together in 2011 and 2012. 

He has maintained a relationship with his former teammate and has organised that he comes back when not on national duty to present new first-team players with their first XV jerseys – a nice way for current schoolboys to draw inspiration from. 

After six knee injuries that sidelined the talented Lions u19 fly half from pursuing a professional playing career in the sport himself, he needed to look at a change in direction in terms of a career path. 

He turned to coaching where he felt that he would be able to help guide and nurture the next generation of talented individuals which he is well-positioned to do. 

Marco started off his career coaching at the prep school at St David’s Marist Inanda in 2014, before making the move across to his former school in 2017 to take on coaching responsibilities at King Edward VII. 

Having worked his way up the ranks, the coach found himself in the assistant coaching position for a period of two years, before taking on the head coach responsibilities in 2021. 

On the topic of coaching mentors that have played an important part in his career thus far, he was quick to answer with one name, which was former Blue Bulls player and the current Sharks Defense Coach, Joey Mongalo. 

“Joey took me under his wing in the coaching world, he definitely laid the cornerstone on how I want to approach the game as a coach and mentor to players.” 

However, Marco is very much his own coach, as he looks to grow his own brand of coaching. His philosophy when it comes to his coaching style is, “ I have a real care principle for my players, with a focus on keeping it very simple by optimizing his players’ ability to see where they can reach their potential.” 

Outside of rugby, he sees the value in on-going education, having seen the benefits from it in his own career having suffered from a long run of injuries which halted his playing career, picking up a BA in Sports Psychology from the University of Johannesburg and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education. 

When asked about how he sees his role as coach and the importance of finding balance with education, he believes that rugby can be used as a tool to help further develop a players career in the sport, even if the players don’t go onto making it onto the big stage – there are so many other opportunities within the game. 

“Education is as important as the game. At King Edward VII we have a great program to assist the boys with making sure that they achieve off the field in their academics through the assistance of creating study schedules and helping the boys obtain the necessary scores to get them into the tertiary education system.” 

With a jam-packed season of fixtures, Engelbrecht believes that he is fortunate with the current crop of players that he has at the helm, working with such a diverse group of individuals and trying to shape them into a team. 

He is looking forward to watching how his players from last year will grow as 9 out of the 15 players from the starting XV make a return which includes several talented players that represented the school year. 

The likes of South African Schools hooker Esethu Mnebelele along with fly-half Vuyo Moyo, who the coach has been working with on improving his kicking game are set to play important roles this season.

With the KES Easter Festival wrapping up over the weekend, The Red Army ended the festival with one big win against Bishops 45-8 on the final day but lost a hard-fought match against Paarl Boys’ High going down 22-7.

As the season draws on, it will be interesting to keep tabs on the coach and see where his journey takes him – the future looks bright for one of the upcoming coaches in the schoolboy rugby scene. 

After finishing 10th out of 40 schools in last week’s Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Tournament, the Hudson Park High School girls’ hockey team will aim to carry that momentum into their opening league match of the season against Cambridge High School in East London on Friday.

The opening whistle will sound at 16:15 on the Cambridge High Astroturf.

Early in the season, Hudson has been one of the most promising Eastern Cape sides, playing an appealing brand of hockey, while holding their own against some of the best teams in the country.

They began competitive action at the Greg Beling Festival in East London early last month.

There, Hudson only lost two matches against St Anne’s Diocesan School (0-5), and Oranje (2-10), both sides who have made cases for being among the best in South Africa this year.

Coach Jerry Snyman‘s girls did, however, record a 1-0 win over Collegiate, before holding last year’s number one ranked team in the country, Eunice, to a 1-1 draw.

“The girls have come together nicely and fairly early in the season, which is encouraging to see,” he told SuperSport Schools.

“We’ve put in a lot of effort behind the scenes to ensure we get the best out of our girls this season. There are still some aspects that need work. It’s not picture-perfect. But sport never is.”

Hudson defied the odds at the Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Tournament, and their 10th-place finish was just three spots behind Woodridge College, who ended the event as the best of the Eastern Cape teams.

On their way to that 10^th place finish, Hudson impressed in Pool A, losing only one match to the eventual runners-up, Hoërskool Middelburg.

In the Plate final, they East London side was edged out 0-1 by Fairmont, who scored a late winner.

Coach Snyman said he was proud of how his players carried themselves throughout the tournament, adding that he is excited to see how the mix of youth and experience helps the side evolve during the course of the season.

“We are very happy with the performance of the girls at Belgotex,” he stated.

“It was a tough one as the top of every pool went automatically into the top eight. Nonetheless, the girls played well, adjusted to each game, and worked as a team.

“We have six new players in the set-up this year, who moved up from u16A last year. The girls have all played with each other at some stage.

“We only have two matrics in the team, so it’s a fairly consistent side and will remain so for the next two years.

“The juniors in the team are hungry for the game and have a lot of potential and growth to offer in the sport.”

Last year, Hudson Park won home and away against Cambridge. They will be confident, if they bring their A-game, that they could repeat that feat.

Their opponents have had a challenging start to the season but are slowly finding their way. They were most recently in action at the York High Easter Hockey Festival, where they won three of their five matches.

Those wins were over Pinelands (2-1), St Dominic’s (2-0), and Curro Durbanville (2-0). Against Hudson Park, they’ll be looking to Akhile Mdlalane to lead the assault on the opposition’s defences.

Meanwhile, coach Snyman’s troops will count on the experience of captain, Tarelle Jones, alongside Melnique Langley, Busiwe Mayekiso, Erin Batting, and Hanna Faro, to guide them in their quest to continue their winning ways against their arch-rivals.

Hudson Park

Mbali Khumalo, Erin Batting, Nandi Ndava, Jorja Wilson, Rania Khan, Jordyn Wilson, Mia Smit, Inathi Lubelwana, Hannah Faro, Tarelle Jones, Kara Batting, Melnique Langley, Busiwe Mayekiso, Keera Van Vuuren, Avuyile Qusheka, Faith Nxoyi.

Conceding fewer goals and scoring more will be the main items on the agenda for Eunice High School this week at the annual St Mary’s Waverley Hockey Festival in Johannesburg.

The prestigious event, sponsored by Standard Bank, runs from Thursday to Sunday.

Eunice will be defending the title they won last year with a 1-0 win over the hosts, St Mary’s, in the final.

That victory was one of the highlights of an outstanding season for the Bloemfontein school, which enjoyed a superb run, despite a hectic schedule, to end the year as the number one ranked team in the country.

However, with a much younger side in 2024, Eunice has been challenged, coming up short in a number of matches. But, given their pedigree, good things are still expected of them this season.

Their last outing as a unit was at the Greg Beling Festival in East London where coach Nika Coertzen’s side picked up wins over DSG Makhanda (2-1), Stirling High (2-0), and Affies Girls (3-1).

They did, however, concede eight goals during their time in the coastal city, although five of those came in one game against Rhenish, which ended in a 1-5 defeat. Someone who will be eager to see Eunice’s defence clamp down on opposition attackers is the team’s goalkeepers’ coach, Christelle Erasmus.

It’s rare to find school hockey teams with specialised position coaches, but Erasmus says goalkeepers are the core of the team.

“It’s not a role you see a lot, especially in high schools, but I think it’s one of the most important roles,” she told SuperSport Schools during the Greg Beling Festival in East London.

“It becomes even more important for the team if you have someone passionate about goalkeeping, like me.”

Erasmus played goalkeeper at school and during her university days. She believes to get the best out of a shot-stopper, they must be led by someone who was once in their shoes.

“You need someone to coach you in a specialist position,” Erasmus said.

“Yes, you’ve got strikers, midfielders, and defenders, but the goalkeeper is basically your anchor, and if that person is goal-driven, focused, then that can rub off on the team, and they can also feel secure on the turf.

“My role in coaching is tremendous, and I think, to coach that, you must have done it before. You must know how it works and have researched it.”

At Eunice, Erasmus oversees all the goalkeepers from u14 to the first team. The players are taught the same skills, trained using the same drills and playing tempo, and they go on to put what they’ve learned in practice into action on the turf.

“We have coached three times a week, and they are all coached together,” Erasmus explained.

“We are teaching them the same thing, on the same level, so we are coaching everyone on a first-team level, which is important for me.

“The important thing is that if they can commit to it, it will work, and help them grow,” she concluded.

Eunice faces a tough road if they are to be successful in defence of the St Mary’s title. They’re in Pool A, alongside Herschel Girls, Clarendon High School for Girls, Pretoria High School for Girls, Hoër Meisieskool Bloemhof, Roedean School, Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool Pretoria (Affies), and Hoërskool DF Malan.

The Bloemfontein girls begin their campaign on Thursday at 07:45 against DF Malan.

You can watch that match, and all the St Mary’s Waverley Hockey Festival action, LIVE on SuperSport Schools.