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Durban High School (DHS) welcomed Maritzburg College to Van Heerden’s Field on Saturday, with a large crowd in attendance for the King Price Derby Series clash of the traditional rivals.

After a slow start to the game, DHS took charge and ran in four tries to one to score a convincing 29-13 victory.

School was on the scoreboard first with an early penalty, which was slotted by flyhalf Jordan van Wyk. College, though, responded with successive penalties by Adam Cahill to take a 6-3 lead.

Van Wyk had an opportunity to level in the 18th minute, but he was wide of the mark with his kick at goal.

It took until the 32nd minute for the first try of the game to be scored and it went the way of DHS after a searing counterattack from just inside their half, which was set up by a superb kick pass out wide to the left from Zingce Simka.

The ball went neatly to hand and immediately created an overlap for the Horseflies. College’s cover defence scrambled to close down the danger, but flank Daniel Ikotela read the situation perfectly and passed back on his inside to centre Zenkosi Mthiyane, who turned on the afterburners and went over in the left-hand corner.

With the defences of the Red, Black, and White having at last been breached, DHS struck again within two minutes. After College failed to deal with a high kick, the home team’s Craven Week scrumhalf Marcwin Nero gathered the ball, kicked ahead, and then won the race for the ball to crash over for another five points. Van Wyk tacked on two more to give DHS a 17-6 half-time lead.

DHS extended their advantage early in the second half when, after a series of pick and goes, which drew in the College defenders, School let the ball go wide to the left, where left-wing Nathan Aneka took the scoring pass and went over for a try. Van Wyk, again, knocked over the conversion.

The momentum was with DHS, and it looked as if College could be in for a big defeat. Credit to the visitors, though, because they stemmed the tide, although they were assisted by some poor handling in scoring positions by the hosts, just when it appeared they would add to their tally.

“I’m a bit disappointed with our finishing,” DHS coach Peter Engledow admitted after the game. “No disrespect to College, but we should have put them away today and scored two or three more tries.”

It took DHS another 22 minutes to increase their lead, and it came from another pinpoint crosskick. It was set up by a fierce assault from the DHS forwards on the College try line, with the visitors’ pack doing a magnificent job of keeping the locals from crossing the line.

However, when the ball was passed back to fullback Cilermo Carolus, he found Mulisithando George with a beautifully judged kick to the right touchline and he applied the finishing touch.

“It is something that we have started working on,” DHS coach Engledow said about the kick passes. “That worked quite well for us.”

Almost the entire half had been played in the Maritzburg College half. However, when they forced their way onto DHS’s side of the field, near the end of the game, they made it count.

After being awarded a penalty 10 metres from the Horseflies’ line, scrumhalf Rylan Armoed made as if to pass to the left, but he then released the ball to his right to loosehead prop Indiphile Mlotshwa. He offloaded in a tackle to College captain Wasi Vyambwera, who ran a good line to steam onto the ball in a gap. Mthiyane did his best to stop the number eight, but College, at last, had a five-pointer.

Cahill added the extras and shortly thereafter it finished 29-13 in favour of DHS, who bagged a second win of the season after romping to a 63-8 victory at Voortrekker, in Bethlehem, last week.

“We’re happy to get the win. To win at home and to have all the supporters behind us was nice,” DHS coach Peter Engledow commented.

“It’s number four for us as a team over College and that makes me smile.”

It wasn’t smooth sailing, he admitted. “I’m disappointed that our set piece didn’t function too well. We lost lots of lineouts. Even when they didn’t go up, we lost the ball.

“We lost our hooker Okuhle Mbanjwa in the week. He was concussed, so Duhan [du Plessis] stepped up. It was tough for him, and it was his first cap as well. It’s difficult.”

After a 16-point win, which Engeldow said he would gladly have taken if he had been offered it before the game, he was satisfied: “I am very proud of my management team. We’ve worked hard for five months in the pre-season. When matchday doesn’t go according to plan, you’re a bit disappointed, but, at the end of the day, they’re schoolboys.

“If you look around, they were well supported, and we got the win. It’s good.”

Maritzburg College will have better days. They faced a DHS team that, again, looks like a quality outfit and is likely to challenge for the number one position in KwaZulu-Natal. They also had the advantage of playing a match last weekend, while it was College’s first outing.

Next weekend, DHS visits Michaelhouse, while College hosts Northwood in their home opener.

POINTS SCORERS

DHS 29 (17) – Tries: Zenkosi Mthiyane, Marcwin Nero, Nathan Aneke, Milisuthando George. Conversions: Jordan van Wyk (3). Penalty: Jordan van Wyk. Maritzburg College 13 (6) – Try: Wasi Vyambwera. Conversion: Adam Cahill. Penalties: Adam Cahill (2).

RESULTS

u19 – DHS I 29 Maritzburg College I 13; DHS II 22 Maritzburg College 15; DHS III 5 Maritzburg College III 7; DHS IV 12 Maritzburg College IV 5; DHS V 14 Maritzburg College V 17; DHS VI 0 Maritzburg College VI 32; Michaelhouse VII 7 Maritzburg College VII 14; Michaelhouse VIII 5 Maritzburg College 24; Hilton College VII 33 Maritzburg College IX 0; Michaelhouse IX 5 Maritzburg College X 3; Hilton College VII 33 Maritzburg College XI 7.

u16 – DHS A 25 Maritzburg College A 23; DHS B 7 Maritzburg College B 0; DHS C 9 Maritzburg College C 14; DHS D 3 Maritzburg College D 19; DHS E 7 Maritzburg College E 27; Westville E 12 Maritzburg College F 27

u15 – DHS A 19 Maritzburg College A 7; DHS B 24 Maritzburg College B 7; DHS C 14 Maritzburg College C 15; DHS D 10 Maritzburg College D 34; DHS E – Maritzburg College E 63; Westville E 21 Maritzburg College F 7

u14 – DHS A 5 Maritzburg College A 22; DHS B 17 Maritzburg College B 0; DHS C 15 Maritzburg College C 7; DHS D 14 Maritzburg College D 12; DHS E 33 Maritzburg College E 31; Westville E 36 Maritzburg College F 12; Westville F 29 Maritzburg College G 17.

The level of schoolgirls’ hockey in the Western Cape is rapidly rising, and the weekend’s action at the Springfield Convent School Pre-Season Festival proved that.

Seven top teams assembled at the school on St Johns Road, for a series of pre-season matches on 14-15 March.

It was another opportunity for the hosts, Paarl Girls’ High, Wynberg Girls’ High, St Cyprian’s School, and Parel Vallei, to get match minutes under their belts after they participated in last week’s Spar Hockey Festival.

Paarl Gimnasium was in action for the first time, while Rustenburg Girls’ High School had already faced Rhenish Girls’ High School twice.

Gim, who played three matches on Friday, began their season with a goalless draw against Parel Vallei before playing to a 1-1 stalemate with Springfield. They ended the day with a 1-0 win over St Cyprian’s School.

Day two delivered a much better showing from coach Danelle van Zyl‘s side. They scored eight goals, beating Rustenburg Girls’ High 2-0, and Wynberg Girls’ 6-0 before being held to a goalless draw by their rivals, Paarl Girls’ High.

“We have a young team that still needs a lot of experience in pressure situations,” coach Van Zyl told SuperSport Schools Plus after the second day’s play.

“We played better as a team together as the weekend progressed, but, with that said, we have to use our opportunities, especially in short games.”

After going unbeaten at the Spar Hockey Festival last weekend, St Cyprian’s School impressed again. Coach Natalie Esteves’s girls lost just once, against Gim.

They, also, played to a goalless draw against Paarl Girls’ High before beating Parel Vallei 2-0, Rustenburg Girls’ High 1-0, and Wynberg Girls’ 5-1.

It was competitive all around, with almost nothing to separate some of the teams, which was best demonstrated in the results of Springfield, who drew five of their six matches before a 0-1 loss against Rustenburg Girls’ High.

Parel Vallei, led by coach Wayne Coetzee, also scored an impressive 1-0 win over Wynberg Girls’ High on Friday before edging out Paarl Girls’ High 1-0 on Saturday.

Only 29 goals were scored in the 21 matches, which was evidence of the slim margins, if any, that there were between the teams. There were nine goalless draws, with six of those occurring on the first day.

The Western Cape girls teams will return to turf action next weekend. Stay glued to SuperSport Schools and SuperSport Schools Plus for more updates.

DAY 1

Rustenburg Girls’ High School 1-1 Wynberg Girls’ High
Paarl Girls’ High 0-0 St Cyprian’s School
Paarl Gimnasium 0-0 Parel Vallei
Springfield Convent School 0-0 Wynberg Girls’ High
Rustenburg Girls’ High School 0-0 Paarl Girls’ High
St Cyprian’s School 3-2 Parel Vallei
Springfield Convent School 1-1 Paarl Gimasium
Paarl Girls’ High 1-0 Wynberg Girls’ High
Rustenburg Girls’ High 0-0 Parel Vallei
Paarl Gimnasium 1-0 St Cyprian’s School
Springfield Convent School 0-0 Paarl Girls’ High

DAY 2

Parel Vallei 1-0 Wynberg Girls’ High
Paarl Gimnasium 2-0 Rustenburg Girls’ High
Springfield Convent School 0-0 St Cyprian’s School
Parel Vallei 1-0 Paarl Girls’ High
Paarl Gimnasium 6-0 Wynberg Girls’ High
Rustenburg Girls’ High 1-0 Springfield Convent School
Paarl Gimnasium 0-0 Paarl Girls’ High
St Cyprian’s School 1-0 Rustenburg Girls’ High
Springfield Convent School 0-0 Parel Vallei
St Cyprian’s School 5-1 Wynberg Girls’ High

Epworth School claimed a tight 1-0 victory over Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School (GHS) in a closely contested final of the Spar KZN Pietermaritzburg Central Regional tournament at St John’s DSG on Saturday.

They became the third team to book a place at the Spar KZN Hockey Challenge Grand Finals to be held at St Mary’s DSG, Kloof, in July. They join St Mary’s and Maris Stella, who punched their tickets last week.

There was little to separate Epworth and GHS. When they met in the round-robin, they played to a 0-0 draw.

That was the first of two draws that Epworth recorded in the round-robin phase of the competition. They were also held to a 2-2 draw by the hosts, St John’s. According to tournament rules, goalless draws earn teams a single point each, while draws with goals are worth two points.

While GHS and St John’s gave as much as they received from Epworth, the rest of the schools at the showpiece couldn’t match them. Epworth fired 17 unanswered goals past Russell High, Alexandra High (Alex), Carter High, and Maritzburg Christian School (MCS) to finish with 19 points after the group stage.

GHS appeared to be the team to beat. They swept five of their six pool matches and drew one, scoring 23 goals without giving up one in their round-robin outings. That gave them 21 points.

The hosts, St John’s, put on a good show in front of their home crowd, scoring freely, with 32 goals to their name, to finish as the most prolific side on the day. They conceded only three to the finalists, GHS and Epworth.

Unfortunately, for St John’s, they came up just shy of qualifying for the final, with their 18 points trailing the eventual champion, Epworth, by just one.

RESULTS

St John’s DGS 2-2 Epworth
GHS 1-0 St John’s
St John’s 8-0 Russell
St John’s 5-0 MCS
St John’s 7-0 Alex
St John’s 7-0 Carter
Epworth 0-0 GHS
Epworth 5-0 Russell
Epworth 4-0 MCS
Epworth 4-0 Alex
Epworth 4-0 Carter
GHS 6-0 Russell
GHS 5-0 MCS
GHS 5-0 Alex
GHS 6-0 Carter
Russell 0-1 MCS
Russell 0-1 Alex
Russell 0-0 Carter
Alex 0-0 Carter

Parel Vallei High School, Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG), and Paarl Gimnasium completed a clean sweep of their opposition at the Parel Vallei Hockey Festival in Cape Town over the weekend.

The three sides were in action for the first time in 2025 and put on a show, which suggests another entertaining season of top-class hockey awaits in the Western Cape.

The hosts, led by coach Michael van Rensburg, entered the festival aiming to fine-tune their structure and systems while also impressing their supporters.

They got off to a wonderful start, dominating their opponents, Hoërskool Hermanus, 6-1, on the opening day.

Parel Vallei’s good form continued on the second day with a convincing 3-1 win over Worcester Gimnasium, which they followed with a 4-2 defeat of Outeniqua in their last outing.

The three victories on home soil mean Parel Vallei will face Bishops (Diocesan College) in a mid-week clash brimming with confidence.

Following that, they will turn their focus to the Belgotex Sport Coastal Cup, which takes place in Durban at the end of March.

Paul Roos is another side that was on song during the two-day event. Coach Michael Baker‘s troops quickly found their rhythm and scored goals with ease in their three matches.

They netted 13 times and, as importantly, returned to Stellenbosch without having conceded a single goal.

Somerset College, Outeniqua, and Reddam House Constantia, who put on a valiant fight, were on the receiving end of PRG’s efforts.

Their next assignments will also be at the Coastal Cup, where they will face Westville Boys’ High, St Alban’s College, Durban High School, and Michaelhouse.

Paarl Gimnasium didn’t sit back and watch their rivals dominate. They, also, got in on the action.

Led by new skipper Juan Swanepoel, they laid on a blistering attack, scoring a whopping 16 goals in their three matches.

A 6-0 victory over Worcester Gimnasium sealed a near-perfect weekend for coach Jacques Grobler‘s players.

They have some tough tests ahead of them., though. Next week, they play in another pre-season festival before travelling to Pretoria for the Founders Hockey Festival, which will be played at Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) from 28-31 March.

RESULTS

DAY 1

Paarl Gimnasium 5-0 Reddam House Constantia
Paul Roos 5-0 Somerset College
Parel Vallei 6-1 Hermanus
Worcester Gimnasium 3-0 Outeniqua

DAY 2

Paarl Gimnasium 5-1 Hermanus
Parel Vallei 3-1 Worcester Gimnasium
Paul Roos 5-0 Outeniqua
Reddam House Constantia 6-0 Somerset College
Hermanus 1-0 Somerset College
Parel Vallei 4-2 Outeniqua
Paul Roos 3-0 Reddam House Constantia
Paarl Gimnasium 6-0 Worcester Gimnasium

Hoërskool Nelspruit se John Duncan was die hoofargitek van die Laevelders se suksesverhaal Saterdagmiddag in Boksburg.

Herleef al die aksie regstreeks op SuperSport Schools – (www.supersportschools.com)

Die Rhinos se losskakel het twee keer agter Hoërskool Dr EG Jansen se doellyn gaan kuier in sy span se naelbytsege van 24-22, waarmee hulle hul rekening in vanjaar se NWU Sportreeks geopen het.

Die Jansies was blitsig uit die blokke en het giftig voorgekom in die eerste helfte, om teen rustyd met 19-14 voor te loop. Hul bereidwilligheid om die bal so vinnig moontlik te versprei na snellers soos regtervleuel, Jayden du Preez, en heelagter, Zulu Otlotleng, het duidelik dividende gelewer, maar Duncan het ander planne gehad.

Benewens sy uitmuntende vertoning op die aanval, was hy ook rotsvas op verdediging en het hy ál drie sy span se drieë verdoel en ook met ‘n strafdoel geslaag, wat uiteindelik die verskil tussen wen en verloor beteken het.

Die Rhinos se oopkantflank, Prosper Chillione, het ook hand opgesteek, deur te woel in die los en hy was oral op die veld te sien. Chillione het ook nie teruggedeins vir die fisieke stryd wat vir die volle 70 minute onder die groot manne voorlangs gewoed het nie.

Die kragmeting tussen Hoërskool Eldoraigne en Hoërskool Piet Retief het ‘n ware drieëfees opgelewer, met die Drake wat uiteindelik die laaste sê gehad het met ‘n oorwinning van 40-34. Die dag het behoort aan Eldos se buitesenter, Hanno Jacobs, wat nie minder nie as vier keer agter die doellyn gaan draai het nie. Jacobs was boonop ‘n tier op die verdediging en het ‘n groot aandeel daarin gehad om die besoekers se giftige agterlyn aan bande te lê.

Die Pieties se linkervleuel, Vuyani Tshabalala, het nietemin steeds sy pad deur die Drake se verdediging oopgekloof om self drie keer oor te duik vir ‘n indrukwekkende driekuns. Dus is sewe van die 11 drieë in die eerstespan-wedstryd deur slegs twee spelers gedruk.

Manie Buitendag, die tuisspan se heelagter, was op die einde van die dag met sy stewel die deurslaggewende faktor. Buitendag se vyf doelskoppe het aan die Eldos genoeg asemhalingspasie gebied om die besoekers se hewige aanslag in die laaste 20 minute, waartydens hulle 12 punte aangeteken, af te weer, en ‘n eerste oorwinning vanjaar te verseker.

Puntemakers:

Hoërskool Nelspruit 24 (14) – Drieë: John Duncan (2), Tinyiko Silubane. Doelskoppe: Duncan (3). Strafdoel: Duncan. EG Jansen 22 (19) – Drieë: Zulu Oltlatleng, Jayden du Preez, Marco Ventura. Doelskoppe: Deshean Pietersen (2). Strafdoel: Zian Ueckermann.

Eldoraigne 40 (26) – Drieë: Hanno Jacobs (4), Darren Bruwer, MC Scheepers. Doelskoppe: Manie Buitendag (5). Hoërskool Piet Retief 34 (22) – Drieë: Vuyani Tshabalala (3), Sfundo Mayisa, Sfiso Methula. Doelskoppe: Olwethu Shabalala (3). Stradoel: Shabalala.

Ander spanne:

o.16: EG Jansen 22, Hoërskool Nelspruit 20; Hoërskool Piet Retief 12, Eldoraigne 5.

o.15: EG Jansen 22, Hoërskool Nelspruit 22; Eldoraigne 19, Hoërskool Piet Retief 12.

o.14: EG Jansen 29, Hoërskool Nelspruit 7; Hoërskool Piet Retief 43, Eldoraigne 0.

Karabo Meso saved her best for last, smashing an unbeaten 117 runs against Saints Christian School, of Potchefstroom, at the Tuks Oval in Pretoria on Saturday to drive Steyn City School to a 61-run victory in the national final of the inaugural Schools SA20 competition.

Meso, a wicketkeeper/batter, who has already represented the national women’s team, was in scintillating form throughout the event, amassing 228 runs in only four innings. She was dismissed only once, which left her with an unbelievable average of 228 runs for the Final Showdown tournament.

That earned her the Player of the Tournament and the Batter of the Tournament awards.

Earlier this year, Meso helped the South Africa u19 team reach the final of the ICC u19 T20 World Cup for the first time.

Meso and Steyn City captain, Diara Ramlakan (35), shared a 111-run partnership for the second wicket to set up their team for victory.

Chasing 179 to win, Saints Christian School was restricted to 117/9 in their 20 overs.

Reabetswe Dithipe (39) and captain Tshegofatso Monyela (23) were the leading contributors with the bat.

Sivaakani Naidoo led the Steyn City attack (4/26), while Olivia Marais (2/21) also caused Saints problems.

Saints Christian School’s seam bowler Siphumelele Duma was the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, removing nine batters at a cost of only eight runs per wicket. She was named the Bowler of the Tournament.

Her teammate Tshego Monyela was very effective, too, picking up eight wickets at an average of 8.6 runs per wicket.

The Potchefstroom school’s efforts received further recognition when they received the Spirit of the Week Award.

Summarised Scorecard

Steyn City School 178/2 (Karabo Meso 117*, Diara Ramlakan 35; Siphokazi Duma 1/36); Saint Christian School 117/8 (Reabetswe Dithipe 39, Tshegofatso Monyela 23, Extras 23; Sivaakani Naidoo 4/26, Olivia Marais 2/21). Steyn City School won by 61 runs.

Die Hoërskool Menlopark‘s first girl’s hockey side claimed a big scalp on Saturday in Bloemfontein by outmuscling Eunice to record an impressive 1-0 victory.

The girls from Pretoria were far from their best on the day but dug deep and produced the goods and the all-important goal when it most mattered.

They had kicked off their Bloemfontein excursion with a clash against Oranje Meisieskool in the first of 2025’s Hyundai Friday Night Lights showdowns.

That match ended in a 1-3 defeat. Earlier in the season, their clash with Oranje at the Balling Festival in Bethlehem produced eight goals.

Menlo had to quickly move on from their loss on Friday night and they had plenty of motivation, knowing a win over Eunice would give them something to show for their Bloemfontein excursion.

It was a tightly contested affair, with both teams showcasing strong defensive systems.

The visitors applied relentless pressure throughout the contest and they were rewarded in the final chukka when, after a strong drive along the baseline, 15-year-old Monique Gerber laid off a teasing ball for Naidene Bouwer, who scored a tap-in goal at the far post to secure the victory.

It was a significant win for coach Brook’s team, considering the calibre of their opponents.

“The trip to Bloem is always a tough one,” he told SuperSport Schools Plus. “When you come here, you’re not just playing the best teams in the Free State, you’re playing two of the best powerhouses in the country.

“We went into the matches with a clear vision, and to walk away with a loss and a win is not what we were hoping for, but we will take it.”

Menlopark didn’t have much turnaround time from Friday’s game but finetuned certain areas of their game for the clash with Eunice.

“We were a bit loose on our press against Oranje, so we had to tighten up there,” Brook explained.

“We also worked on our connections and, once we moved the ball, we looked pretty good.

“It wasn’t our most polished performance, but that’s because they are a well-coached side and have great personnel. With that said, we are very happy to walk away with the win,” he said.

The Pretoria school has already played a whopping 13 matches this season and they’re not slowing down anytime soon.

They will play their first league match against Montana in the coming week before shifting their attention to the NWU-Reeks semifinals.

In April, they’ll chase silverware at the St Mary’s Waverley Hockey Festival.

RESULTS

Menlopark 1-3 Oranje
Menlopark 1-0 Eunice

Diocesan College, or Bishops, as they are affectionately known, are the inaugural champions of the Schools SA20 competition.

The Cape Town school comfortably beat St David’s Marist Inanda for a second time in two days on the Tuks Oval in Pretoria to lift the crown.

On Friday, they defeated the Gauteng champions by eight wickets and, if anything, they won even more convincingly on Saturday, by 99 runs.

Watch all the action again on SuperSport Schools (www.supersportschools.com).

Bishops’ captain, James Robb-Quinlan (22), led his side from the front, top-scoring in his team’s 168/7 from their 20 overs.

His key contributions to Bishops’ title-winning run – 160 runs in five matches at an average of 53.3 – resulted in Robb-Quinlan being named the Cricketer of the Tournament.

Their opening batsman Adnaan Lagadien (22) again chipped in with valuable runs. The South African Schools’ opener was also the tournament’s leading run-scorer, tallying 170 runs at an average of 42.5. He was named the Batter of the Tournament.

Lagadien’s and Robb-Quinlan’s efforts were supported well by solid contributions from Litha Mbiko (22), Thaafier Japtha (21), Michael Kruiskamp (18*), and Waco Bassick (17)

Hayden Campbell (3/34) was the pick of the St David’s bowlers, with Kyle Butler (2/21) also producing a good spell.

Unfortunately, for St David’s, their reply fell apart quickly and they were skittled for only 69 runs in the 13th over of their innings. Armaan Manack (22) was the only batsman who kept the Bishops’ bowlers at bay.

Bishops’ spinner Julian Pilkington (3/12) continued his excellent form and finished the tournament with an outstanding 11 wickets at a miserly 8.8 runs per victim. That excellent return earned him the Bowler of the Tournament accolade.

St David’s lanky spin bowler Morteza Manack snagged eight wickets at an average of 13.7 runs per wicket.

St Andrew’s School, of Bloemfontein, received the award for Spirit of the Week.

Summarised Scorecard

Diocesan College 168/7 (James Robb-Quinlan 26, Adnaan Lagadien 22, Litha Mbiko 22, Thaafier Japtha 21; Hayden Campbell 3/43, Kyle Butler 2/21); St David’s Marist Inanda 69/10 (Armaan Manack 22; Julian Pilkington 3/13, Raaid Arendse 2/8). Diocesan College won by 99 runs.

Oranje Meisieskool and Eunice kicked off the 2025 edition of the Hyundai Friday Night Lights in style against Pretoria sides, Menlopark and Waterkloof.

The Bloemfontein schools triumphed in contests that produced exciting, edge-of-your-seat action, with both winning 3-1.

Marichelle Crous, Camilyn Parkin, and Anné Prinsloo were on target in Oranje’s victory, while Storm Harris, Georgia Kambanis, and Claire Volschenk found the back of the net for Eunice in their win.

Friday’s clash was the second meeting of the season between Oranje and Menlopark. In their first meeting, at the Balling Festival in Bethlehem earlier this month, Oranje beat Menlopark 5-3. Coach Gys van Schalkwyk‘s charges knew the right buttons to press and they produced another great performance to perform the double over the ladies from Pretoria..

Oranje was on the offensive from the outset, but Menlopark did a good job of repelling wave after wave of the home side’s attacks through the first and second chukkas.

Oranje’s pressure on Menlopark paid off eventually and they were rewarded with just under seven minutes left in the second quarter when they won a penalty stroke after a shot on goal struck a defender in front of the goalbox. Marichelle Crous stepped up to the penalty spot. It wasn’t the cleanest of strokes, but Crous beat the goalkeeper to her right to give Oranje the lead.

The Bloemfontein girls continued to attack relentlessly and they dialled up the pressure as the clock wound down in the third quarter. With two minutes remaining, they intercepted an overhead in Menlo’s territory and counterattacked through Crous. She picked out Camilyn Parkin in the circle, and Parkin calmly slotted the ball into the goal with a little flip off her reverse stick to make it 2-0.

Then, when Menlopark lost possession while on the offensive, a quick Oranje counterattack earned the home team a short corner at the end of the third chukka. Van Schalkwyk’s charges made no mistake as they extended their lead to 3-0 through Anné Prinsloo’s pinpoint drag flick.

With two minutes to go, Katelyn Blokepoel pulled one back for the never-say-die Menlopark side, but it was too little too late.

At Eunice, Storm Harris fired the home side into the lead with less than 30 seconds left in the first chukka. Her goal came after the sides had traded exploratory attacks into each other’s half.

In the third quarter, Georgia Kambanis extended Eunice’s lead shortly after the restart following the halftime break.

Despite the two-goal cushion, coach Nika Coertzen’s charges attacked as if they had yet to register a goal in the contest. Waterkloof responded by igniting counterattacks. Eunice’s defence stood firm, though. When they succeeded in breaching the hosts’ defensive wall, Waterkloof found themselves face to face with Christene Fouché, the Eunice goalkeeper, who resolutely defied their goalscoring efforts.

Lenique Vogel denied Fouché the pleasure of a clean sheet when she beat the Eunice goalie from the penalty spot with six minutes left in the contest. On the scoreboard, at last, Klofies were reinvigorated and pushed hard for an equaliser.

Claire Volschenk laid to rest any hope Waterkloof had of snatching a draw, however, when she restored Eunice’s two-goal advantage with less than five minutes to go.

Fouché’s opposite number, Zoe le Roux, was also outstanding, despite being beaten three times. Waterkloof would have lost by a wider margin had it not been for her heroics in goal.

RESULTS

Oranje 3-1 Menlopark
Eunice 3-1 Waterkloof

Steyn City School will face Saints Christian School, of Potchefstroom, in the girls’ final of the Schools SA20 on Saturday. The team from the North West Province is the only unbeaten side left in the competition.

Steyn City, the favourites, surprisingly lost their final pool match against Nomandi, going down by 16 runs.

Karabo Meso (16) was yet again her team’s top run scorer, but they were bundled out for a modest 44 runs, thanks to superb bowling by Enkosi Mditshwa (3/6) and Thembakazo Gegesi (3/8).

South African women’s cricketer Meso (64*) was also on fire for Steyn City in the morning session, striking an unbeaten half-century as the Johannesburg girls posted 119/2 from their 20 overs against Nkowankowa, from Tzaneen.

The majority of those runs came from a 111-run partnership for the second wicket between Meso and her SA u19 teammate, Diara Ramlakan (42).

Steyn City went on to a 63-run win over Nkowankowa and bagged a bonus point for their comfortable victory.

Nkowankowa’s Shelfa Mukhari produced the best bowling performance of the tournament in her side’s 37-run victory over Dr. JL Dube, knocking over five batters at the cost of only nine runs as the KZN champions stumbled to 49 all out.

Summarised Scorecards

Morning Session

Steyn City 119/2 (Karabo Meso 64*, Diara Ramlakan 42; Shelfa Mukhari 1/21); Nkowankowa Hub 56/10 (Extras 16, Respect Mabasa 12; Samia Essop 2/6, Sivaakani Naidoo 2/6, Dominique Ferguson 2/9). Steyn City won by 63 runs.

Victoria Hub 96/9 (Nuhaa Benjamin 30, Extras 22; Enkosi Mditshwa 2/10); Nomandi 45/10 (Olwethu Njani 17*; Zaurah Titus 3/5, Ashline Titus 3/7, Hamin Toefy 2/5). Victoria Hub won by 51 runs.

Saints Christian School 91/4 (Reabetswe Dithipe 29, Jessica Joshua 22); Dr. JL Dube 22/10 (Siphumelele Duma 4/5, Tshegofatso Monyela 2/3, Reabetswe Dithipe 2/8). Saint Christian School won by 69 runs.

Afternoon Session

Nkowankowa Hub 86/4 (Faith Nkuna 32*, Blondy Baloyi 25; Anelisa Mhlongo 3/14); Dr. JL Dube 49/10 (Extras 19; Shelfa Mukhari 5/9). Nkowankowa won by 37 runs.

Nomandi 60/10 (Extras 18, Yamkela Mnqabashe 10*; Jenna-Lee Lubbe 2/9, Olivia Marais 2/11); Steyn City 44/10 (Karabo Meso 21; Enkosi Mditshwa 3/6, Thembakazi Gegesi 3/8, Qhawe Tenjwa 2/18). Nomandi won by 16 runs.

Victoria Hub 62/10 (Imaan van Schalkwyk 21; Siphumelele Duma 3/6, Tshegofatso Monyela 2/18); Saints Christian School 63/5 (Tshegofatso Monyela 31*; Ashline Titus 3/7, Zaurah Titus 2/15). Saint Christian School won by five wickets.