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After playing to a 1-1 draw against Somerset College in their opening match of the Bishops Hockey Festival on Thursday, Langa Hockey Club returned on the second day to claim two victories at the Woodlands Astroturf in the southern suburbs to maintain their unbeaten record at the festival.

Langa entered the event as the underdogs, but they have quickly turned the tide and shown they’re made of stern stuff.

After their stalemate on day one, they came out firing on Friday against Bloemfontein’s St Andrews School and won that clash 1-0, courtesy of a solitary goal by Anda Dike.

Coach Wandile Mayekiso’s players then quickly turned their attention to their second match of the day, against Uplands College.

The team from Mpumalanga didn’t get any game time on Thursday after their match against St Andrew’s School was called off when the Bloemfontein side ran into transport problems on their way to the Mother City.

Uplands, however, started brightly, scoring the opening goal of the encounter. That turned out to be the only goal they would score in the match, however, with Langa taking control of proceedings for almost three chukkas.

Dike got his name on the score sheet once again, before Inathi Mngushelwa’s double sealed a 3-1 win for the side.

Reacting to his team’s performances, coach Mayekiso said he was pleased with the manner in which his players have applied themselves at the festival.

“I’m quite happy with the way things are going in terms of our tactics and the structure of the team,” he told SuperSport Schools.

“The tournament will be a great help for the club in terms of preparations for the season ahead, and we are learning as a club too.”

Langa will take on a side in top form on day three, when they tackle St Andrew’s College, at 13:20, before completing their day against Michaelhouse at 18:20.

In other matches played on Friday, Bishops were also on song, winning twice to keep their record clean.

They beat KwaZulu-Natal’s St Charles College 4-0 in their first match before seeing off St David’s Marist Inanda 2-0 in their second game, with goals from Robert Veldtman and Albert Steyn.

Commenting on their win over St David’s, coach Ryan Julius said: “It was a well contested match from both teams. I think we moved the ball quite nicely and manipulated their press really well.

“I think chances were quite equal on both sides.”

Bishops face St Andrew’s School and St Andrew’s College on Saturday.

Meanwhile, St Benedict’s College continued its impressive run at the festival. They drew 1-1 with Somerset College, before claiming a 3-1 win over St Andrew’s School.

Byron Comley scored against Somerset, while Josh Grobler struck twice, and Timothy Burnham netted the other, against Saints.

St Andrew’s College kept its unbeaten record with wins over St Charles College and Uplands.

Day three will see St David’s Marist Inanda going up against St Charles in the opening match at 08:20.

St Benedict’s College faces Michaelhouse, while the final match of the day, fittingly, brings together the unbeaten Bishops and St Andrew’s College.

Day 2: Results

Langa Hockey Club 2-1 St Andrew’s School
Uplands College 1-2 St Andrew’s College
Somerset College 1-1 St Benedict’s
Bishops 4-0 St Charles College
St David’s Marist Inanda 2-2 Michaelhouse
Langa Hockey Club 3-1 Uplands College
St Benedict’s 3-1 St Andrew’s School
St Charles 0-1 St Andrew’s College
Bishops 2-0 St David’s Marist Inanda
Somerset College 3-2 Michaelhouse

Fixtures

Saturday, 23 March 

08:20 – St David’s Marist Inanda vs St Charles; 09:30 – Somerset College vs Uplands; 10:40 – St Benedict’s College vs Michaelhouse; 11:50 – Bishops vs St Andrew’s School; 13:20 – Langa vs St Andrew’s College; 14:30 – Somerset College vs St David’s Marist Inanda; 15:40 – St Benedict’s College vs Uplands; 17:10 – St Charles vs St Andrew’s School; 18:20– Langa vs Michaelhouse; 19:30 – Bishops vs St Andrew’s College.

Sunday, 24 March 

08:00 – St David’s Marist Inanda vs Uplands; 09:10 – Michaelhouse vs St Andrew’s College; 10:20 – Langa vs St Charles; 11:30 – Somerset College vs St Andrew’s School; 12:40 – Bishops vs St Benedict’s College.

Michaelhouse produced a clinical display on the Piley Rees to hand Bishops Diocesan College their first loss of the season at their 175 Rugby Festival.

The KZN outfit hit the ground running and stunned the hosts early on, but Bishops clawed their way back into the contest in the second half, only to be denied by the visitors’ strong closing quarter.

Michaelhouse’s outside centre, Rourke O’Sullivan, scored a hat-trick of tries to help his team take down the Diocesan College boys on their home field.

It took less than a minute for the visitors to open their account after the Bishops’ attempt to exit their danger area was charged down, with flanker, Riley Gehren, diving over for the opening score.

By the end of the half, Michaelhouse had increased their lead to 25-3 and it looked like it might be a long night for the locals.

Coach Wes Chetty’s halftime talk and some fresh bodies in the pack sparked something in the Bishops’ side, though. Both tries for the hosts came through their substitutes, as Imma Magongwa and Chris du Toit helped their side pick up some momentum.

However, ‘House regrouped well to quell the Bishops boys’ fightback in the final stanza. In the last 15 minutes, O’Sullivan dotted down his third five-pointer and the big loosehead prop, Aphiwe Shelembe, rounded off the win with one last try to make the full-time score 37-17.

Though Bishops will be bitterly disappointed with the loss, they will take some motivation from the fact that they outscored the visitors in the second half and will look to bounce back immediately when they face St Andrew’s College on Saturday.

St Andrew’s ran into an in-form Wynberg Boys’ High side in their first outing at the festival.

Wynberg’s big 8th man, Torren February, crossed the whitewash twice in their 43-21 win.

An early yellow card to the local school gave the boys from Makhanda an advantage and they made good use of it to go 14-0 up through tries by winger Aza Nonxuba and centre Nic Hall.

Wynberg responded through their big prop, Luqobo Makwedini, just before the break. Once they got their tails up, though, they began pummelling the visitors’ defence in the second half.

February crossed over almost immediately after the restart, and three minutes later his hooker, Xabiso Mkiva, followed suit, to hand Wynberg the lead for the first time in the match.

More tries by the Capetonians’ captain, Aden da Costa, as well as February, Tyron Gombe and Kunene Gadu, put Saints to bed, and they were able to reply only once through their speedy winger, Julian Mapoore.

Kingswood College continued to impress after making a statement earlier in the season with a 29-14 win over Marlow Landbou.

They trailed Hilton College 7-25 with about 20 minutes left to play but finished strongly to sneak the victory by a single point, 26-25.

In the first match of the day, Grey High School, from Gqeberha, won an intense, low-scoring battle against SACS, with an interception leading to Grey’s winger, Meyer Prinsloo, scoring the only try of the match.

SACS had some difficulties with their goal-kicking during the pre-season and they again missed a couple of opportunities on Thursday. Clearly, that is something that needs to be worked on. However, there were also positives to take from their performance against the visiting side.

The first team action continues on Saturday when Bishops take on St Andrew’s, Wynberg crosses swords with Kingswood College, and Michaelhouse seeks to keep their record clean when they run out against SACS. The action kicks off at 11:30 when Grey High and Hilton College do battle.

Saturday, 23 March

Piley Rees Field (1st XVs): 11:30 – Grey High vs Hilton College; 13:00 – SACS vs Michaelhouse; 14:30 – Wynberg Boys’ High vs Kingswood College; 16:00 – Diocesan College vs St Andrew’s College.

Avenue Rugby Field (2nd XVs): 09:00 – Grey High vs Rondebosch Boys’ High; 10:30 – Wynberg Boys’ High vs Michaelhouse; 12:00 – SACS vs Bergvliet; 13:30 – Diocesan College vs St Andrew’s College.

Results and scorers, 21 March

Michaelhouse 37 (25) – Tries: Rourke O’Sullivan (3), Riley Gehren, Aphiwe Shelembe. Conversions: Luke Davidson (3). Penalties: Davidson (2). Diocesan College 17 (3) – Tries: Imma Magongwa, Chris du Toit. Conversions: Lucca Mynhardt (2). Penalty: Mynhardt.

Wynberg Boys’ High 43 (5) – Tries: Torren February (2), Luqobo Makwedini, Xabiso Mkiva, Tyrone Gombe, Kunene Gadu, Aden da Costa. Conversion: Yaqeen Ahmed (3). St Andrew’s College 21 (14) – Tries: Julian Mapoore, Nic Hall, Aza Nonxuba. Conversions: Scott Miles (2), Karabo van Heerden.

Kingswood College 26 – Tries: Munangi Kamwendo, Vizi Labase, Likhona Kepe, Liyema Katikati. Conversions: Praise Matsila (3). Hilton College 25 – Tries: Emmanuel Dankwah, Ben le Roux, Ivan Jjuuko. Conversions: Liyema Nela (2). Penalties: Nela (2).

Grey High School 7 – Try: Meyer Prinsloo. Conversion: Kyle Callaghan. SACS 3 – Penalty: Rayaan Solomons.

Stellenberg was the talk of the town during the opening day of the annual Jean de Villiers u16 Festival hosted by Paarl Gimnasium. They defeated the Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool of Pretoria by 31-26 in the dying moments of the match.

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

Stellenberg will face Hilton College on Saturday in what will be yet another tough encounter. Grey College of Bloemfontein defeated Hilton College by 25-8 on the opening day.

The Boland-trifecta – Paarl Gimnasium, Paarl Boys’ High, and Paul Roos Gimnasium all secured comfortable victories over Hoërskool Nelspruit (40-0), Waterkloof (71-11) and Die Brandwag of Uitenhage (72-5) during their first encounters.

Affies will face Paul Roos in their second clash, while Paarl Gimnasium is facing Monument of Krugersdorp in Saturday’s main match. Monnas lost their encounter on the first day against Oakdale Landbou by 19-29.

All the results: 

Paul Roos Gimnasium 40, Hoërskool Nelspruit 0; Paarl Gimnasium 71, Waterkloof 11; Paarl Boys’ High 72, Die Brandwag (Uitenhage) 5; Grey College 25, Hilton College 8; Oakdale Landbou 29, Monument 19; Hoërskool Durbanville 25, Noordheuwel 20; Hoërskool Rustenburg 24, Nico Malan 19; Outeniqua 31, Diamantveld 17; Marlow Landbou 23, Menlopark 17; HTS Drostdy 43, Potchefstroom Gimnasium 5; Stellenberg 31, Affies 26; Boland Landbou 52, Framesby 3.

Fixtures | Saturday, 23 March 2024 

JA KRIEL FIELD 

19:00 – Paarl Gimnasium vs Monument
17:45 – Affies vs Paul Roos Gimnasium
16:30 – Boland Landbou vs Grey College
15:15 – Stellenberg vs Hilton College
14:00 – Waterkloof vs Hoërskool Durbanville
12:45 – Framesby vs Diamantveld
11:30 – Marlow Landbou vs Potchefstroom Gimnasium

STOFBERG FIELD 

16:30 – Paarl Boys’ High vs Menlopark
15:15 – Nico Malan vs Outeniqua
14:00 – HTS Drostdy vs Hoërskool Nelspruit
12:45 – Hoërskool Rustenburg vs Oakdale Landbou
11:30 – Die Brandwag (Uitenhage) vs Noordheuwel

Teams participating in the Kloof Netball Festival now have an added incentive to strive for excellence.

Thanks to Worldwide Scholarships (WWS) stepping in as a sponsor, a junior and a senior team, made up of selected players, will earn the chance to travel overseas, which will act as a catalyst for intensified competition.

Munya Maraire, the CEO of WWS, emphasised the importance of exposure and learning in sports development, and said WWS aims to connect players with international opportunities, including scholarships at universities.

With a tour planned for September, WWS will select 12 players from the participating schools for the junior side (u14 and u15) and the senior team (u16, u17 and u19) to journey to England as All-Star squads.

Maraire said: “Worldwide Scholarships is a multifaceted global sports, art, and academics organisation, impacting lives, communities, and nations.

“We are the largest university placement agency in the African region, and we are here to empower the talent by linking scholars to international colleges and universities that match their God-given talents and abilities.

“At Worldwide Scholarships we believe that each scholar is unique. Our assessment process is vigorous and using these assessment methods we have managed to link over 1 000 students with educational opportunities that have changed their lives for the better and led them to a pathway of achieving greatness.”

The Kloof Netball Tournament organisers will also select the best junior and senior defensive teams. Additionally, they will recognise the junior and senior teams which concede the fewest goals in the tournament.

Nie eens ‘n rooikaart, kort voor rustyd, was genoeg om Hoërskool Hans Strijdom in die hoofwedstryd op die eerste dag van hul Mauritz Hansen-rugbyweek te stuit nie.

Die gashere kon, danksy ‘n strafdrie in die doodsnikke, met ‘n telling van 12-10 oor Northcliff High School, van Johannesburg, seëvier.

Slot en kaptein, Pieter Harmse, en steelkantflank, Janneman Benson, het uitgeblink onder die Hansies se groot pak voorspelers, en is elkeen met met ‘n drie vir hul harde werk beloon.

Northcliif het nietemin ‘n verbete stryd opgesit. Om die waarheid te sê, die Johannesburgers het vir die grootste gedeelte van die wipplankstryd die oorhand geniet en was verál voorlangs uitstekend.

Die Northcliff-pak het telkens, met rotsvaste verdediging in die vaste los, die Hansies se balbesit ontwrig, met agsteman, Mardoche Katanga, wat uiters prominent was in dié opsig. Binnesenter, Matthew Hunt, het agterlangs die septer geswaai en vir die besoekers ook met sy geleerde skopvoet deeglik in die wedloop gehou.

Hoewel Ligbron Akademie vir Hoërskool Witteberg met 22-5 kon verslaan, was die eindtelling geensins ‘n getroue weergawe van die gebeure nie. Inteendeel, die span van Bethlehem was teen rustyd met 5-0 voor.

Ligbron se gevaarlike agterlyn het in die laaste 20 minute egter die krane begin oopdraai. Die span van Ermelo se aanslag is deur hul sneller op linkervleuel, Bandile Thanjekweyo, gelei. Hy was deurgaans ‘n gevaar met die bal in die hand, en was duidelik op sy gelukkigste, en gevaarlikste, uit gebroke spel.

‘n Driekuns deur haker, Luan Pretorius, het bygedra dat ‘n uiters indrukwekkende Hoërskool Hugenote met ‘n telling van 38-0 teen Hoërskool Linden as oorwinnaars uit die stryd kon tree. Die span van Springs het voorlangs sake oorheers, om ‘n platform te lê vir die gevaarman in die middelveld, Vian van Dyk (binnesenter), om twee keer agter die Linden doellyn te gaan kuier.

Petri Shutte en Hoërskool Fochville het hulle week met ‘n puik oorwinning van 26-12 teen Hoërskool Pretoria-Noord afgeskop. Schutte was oudergewoonte venynig op die aanval en het, benewens drie doelskoppe, ook na ‘n skitterende individuele lopie gaan druk.

Sy goeie visie en balverspreiding het voorts die grondslag gelê vir Marchand de Villiers se indrukwekkende vertoning op binnesenter. De Villiers het met netjiese aanvalslyne daarin geslaan om twee keer deur te breek vir drieë.

Hoërskool Kalahari en Hoërskool Brits moes albei hard spook vir hul eerste oorwinnings by vanjaar se toernooi. Die span van Kathu het twee keer agter Ferrum High School se doellyn gaan kuier vir ‘n sege van 14-0. Die manne van Brits kon eers in die laaste 20 minute die nodige ritme bewerkstellig om met 28-3 oor Empangeni High School te seëvier.

Hoërskool Frans du Toit het, na ‘n beter vertoning in die tweede helfte, met 23-17 vir Hoërskool Die Anker se tweedespan getroef.

Puntemakers:

Hoërskool Hans Strijdom 12 (5) – Drieë: Janneman Benson, Pieter Harmse, Strafdrie. Northcliff High School 10 (10) – Drie: Mardoche Katanga. Doelskop: Matthew Hunt. Strafdoel: Hunt.

Ligbron Akademie 22 (0) – Drieë: Bandile Thanjekweyo (2). Doelskoppe: Divan van Jaarsveldt (2). Strafdoel: Van Jaarsveld. Hoërskool Witteberg 5 (5) – Drie: Kirsten Fourie.

Hoërskool Hugenote (Springs) 38 (24) – Drieë: Luan Pretorius (3), Vian van Dyk (2). Doelskoppe: George Lourens (4). Hoërskool Linden 0 (0).

Hoërskool Fochville 26 (14) – Drieë: Marchand de Villiers (2), Junoir Naude, Petri Shutte. Doelskoppe: Petri Schutte (3). Hoërskool Pretoria-Noord 12 (7) – Drieë: Clayton van der Colf, Wian van der Merwe. Doelskop: Anthony Smith.

Hoërskool Kalahari 14 (7) – Driee: SW van Heerden, Luchiano Gouws. Doelskoppe: Zelwyn Julie (2). Ferrum High School 0 (0).

Hoerskool Brits 28 (7) – Drieë: Tjaart labuschagne, Henro van de Walt, Ethan Lindeman, Kiaan Schoeman. Doelskoppe: Hanko Swanepoel (4). Empangeni High School 3 (3) – Strafdoel: N Dube.

Hoërskool Belville 19 (13) – Drie: Ronaldo Lackay. Doelskop: Lackay. Strafdoele: Ashwin Cox (3). Lackay. Hoërskool Piet Retief 13 (3) – Drie: Louis Grobler. Doelskop: Owethu Shabalala. Strafdoele: Shabalala (2).

Hoërskool Frans du Toit 23 (3). Hoërskool Die Anker II 17 (10).

Die energie was tasbaar toe die eerste dag van Waterkloof se Kloof-netbalfees met entoesiasme en mag afgeskop het.

Die toernooi, wat vier dae van intense mededinging en kameraadskap beloof, het netbal-entoesiaste van heinde en ver byeengebring.

Eunice High School, Hoërskool Wesvalia, Hoër Meisieskool La Rochelle, Rand Park High School, Parel Vallei High School en Windhoek Afrikaanse Privaatskool het almal die openingsdag van die toernooi onoorwonne afgesluit.

Te midde van die gewoel wat met die toernooi gepaardgaan, het ‘n verbysterende 107 spanne die bane aangedurf. Van dagbreek tot die laaste eindfluitjie in die aand het die bane gegons van aksie en die toejuiging van ondersteuners.

Een van die uitstaande wedstryde van die dag was die naelbyt-kragmeting tussen die gasheer, Hoërskool Waterkloof, en Hoërskool Framesby, van Port Elizabeth. Soos die horlosie getik en die spanning toegeneem het, het albei spanne aanhou veg en geweier om in te gee. Na ‘n uitmergelende stryd, het Framesbury uiteindelik met 17-14 as oorwinnaars uit die stryd getree en Waterkloof beroof van ‘n onoorwonne titel vir die dag.

Die o. 14-spanne skop Vrydagoggend om 07:30 dag twee van die toernooi af.

Uitslae van Dag Een: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kIP75iV5WiAMy_yT_8OhhwQ-Qn12Zszg?usp=sharing

 

 

The Gauteng Women’s Development League (GWDL) is gearing up for its second season, starting with action in the u14 division on 24 March at the JP Bezuidenhout Stadium in Edenvale, Johannesburg.

The games start at 09:00 and supporters have been urged to get to the venue as early as possible to allow for easy entry and to enjoy a day filled with captivating women’s football.

The league has grown steadily since its inception, and this year will be even stronger with the addition of two streams in the u14 and u16 divisions. The u16 GWDL springs into action on 7 April, just a week after the u14 division kicks off.

“We are thrilled to see such a positive response to the league, with many teams joining and showing great enthusiasm to compete in this prestigious women’s football development league,” said GWDL administrator Mondli Dube.

“This is a significant milestone for women’s football in South Africa and, with a well-structured league and increased investment in the women’s game, we can only imagine the bright future ahead for our national women’s team, Banyana Banyana, which has already achieved remarkable success in recent times under the leadership of coach Desiree Wicks.”

Mamelodi Sundowns, who are the defending champions of GWDL and the inaugural championsof the GWDL top 8 competition, have invested heavily in their women’s football programme. The Brazilians, under the leadership of coach Rhoda Mulaudzi, kick off their title defence on Sunday against Refilwe FC.

JVW should be in the title race. They’ve pushed Sundowns to their limits whenever the teams have met, whether it has been in the Hollywoodbets Super League or the GWDL.

The presence of academies, such Remember Elite Sports Academy (RESA) is also a boost for the GWDL.

RESA narrowly missed out on playing for gold at the GWDL Top 8 Cup. After holding Mamelodi Sundowns to a 0-0 draw, they went down from the penalty spot in their semi-final showdown.

The academy has a strong track record of identifying and producing top talents, which have included Thabang Monare, who plays in the midfield for Orlando Pirates, and Mduduzi “Mdu” Mdantsane, of Kaizer Chiefs.

Another team that bears watching is UP Tuks, who have strong youth development structures through all sports. They’re consistently among the top achievers in Varsity sports, school competitions and national leagues, and with top-notch facilities, UP Tuks has set a high standard for sports investment.

Their return to the second season of GWDL comes with a promise of tough competition, but they’ll be sternly tested by JVW in their opener.

Fixtures

Field 1, 09:00: Highlands Park vs West Youth Academy
Field 2, 09:00: JVW vs Tuks
Field 1, 10:30: Kenneth FC vs Tornado Ladies
Field 2, 10:30: Kempton Park FC vs RESA
Field 1, 11:45: Mamelodi Sundowns vs Refilwe FC
Field 2. 11;45: Origin FC vs Panorama FC
Field 1, 12:45: West Youth Academy vs Edenvale FC
Field 2, 12:45: Tornado Ladies vs Highlands Park
Field 1, 13:45: RESA vs JVW
Field 2, 13:45: Refilwe FC vs Kenneth FC
Field 1, 15:00: Panorama FC vs Kempton Park FC
Field 2, 15:00 Origin FC vs Mamelodi Sundowns

Spectators who made their way to Maritzburg College to witness the first day of the annual Nomads Hockey Festival with the hope of catching exciting action on Pape’s Astro were not disappointed. There were close contests, a couple of blowouts, and some upsets.

The biggest margin of victory was 4-0, while most of the rest of the matches were closely contested, with a couple of come-from-behind wins that kept those present on the edge of their seats.

The event features 10 of the country’s top hockey-playing schools and runs through to Saturday, 23 March. Of the 10 participants, only four – Selborne College, Grey High, Hilton College and Grey College – remain undefeated after the first day.

Coach Andrew Beynon‘s Grey High arrived in the KZN Midlands on a high. They had dismissed all opposition at the Tony Godding Festival the previous week, going five for five, to emerge as one of the three undefeated teams at the festival.

The Gqeberha-based side went into their first encounter brimming with confidence but were soon deflated after they found themselves 0-2 down at halftime, despite dominating large parts of the first half.

Maritzburg College caught them on the counterattack and finished well when opportunities came their way.

At halftime, Beynon spoke to his charges about the team’s principles and the need to stick to their processes. “We just said, look, we let ourselves down defensively. We let the opposition into the contest and it’s our own fault. Let’s not make more work for ourselves than we need to,” he explained.

Grey High was a side transformed in the second half. They played with purpose and fired three goals past the hosts without reply to win 3-2. “They showed real character to come from 0-2 down. I am really proud of the boys,” said Beynon.

Having learned from their mistakes earlier in the day, Beynon’s team did not repeat them when they took to Pape’s Astro to play the last fixture of the day. Grey High met a St John’s College outfit that was seeking redemption after being well beaten by Wynberg in their morning match. However, Grey High executed their instructions well and did not give coach Gilbert de Villiers’ boys an inch as they subjected them to a 4-1 defeat.

Selborne College, also unbeaten at the Tony Godding Festival, carried that momentum into the Nomads Festival. They looked well organised and played with good structure in their first two matches.

Like Grey High, the team from the Amathole region dominated possession, forcing their opposition onto the defensive. A testament to that was their 5-2 win over King Edward VII School (KES). Waeden Plaaitjies led the charge with a brace and the other goals came from captain Tre’ Gilbert, Cade Kock and Thomas Caswell.

While his team played well, coach KJ Friend admitted that KES had not been as crisp as they could have been and allowed his side a little more space to manoeuvre in than most other teams would allow.

“What we need to work on is our closing down on the opposition better, managing the game and playing to our structure, not falling into the trap of the opposition,” he said.

When they faced Pretoria Boys High School (PBHS) in their second match of the day, Friend’s charges executed the coach’s plan better. Boys High gave Selborne a good run for their money but couldn’t found a way through the East London’s school’s stout defence.

In the end, it was Selborne who found a way past PBHS, with a penalty corner goal from Gilbert, who was their top scorer last week, winning it 1-0.

Hilton College came out of the gates well. Last year, they kicked off their campaign with a win over KES and a draw against Pretoria Boys High on the opening day. Day two brought them a win over St John’s and a draw with Wynberg. In their last outing, however, they were beaten 2-0 by a very good Jeppe team.

On Thursday, coach Damian Kimfley‘s charges got off to a winning start, defeating Jeppe, with a 2-0 margin going in their favour this time around.

Jeppe, who drew one and won four at Nomads last year, seemed to have lost their mojo as they suffered a second loss later in the day to Grey College, coached by Wayne Coetzee. The Bloemfontein boys quietly bagged two victories to join the two Eastern Cape sides and Hilton in the ranks of the unbeatens.

With the ghosts of yesteryear banished and a loss avenged, Hilton College thumped KES 4-1 in their second match. That victory has set them up for a mouthwatering contest against Grey High on the morning of day two.

Maritzburg College, edged out by Grey High in the morning, bounced back with a narrow 1-0 win over Wynberg, who had cruised to victory over St John’s College earlier in the day.

Results

Jeppe 0-2 Hilton, Grey College 2-1 PBHS, Selborne 5-2 KES, Wynberg 4-0 St John’s, Grey High 3-2 Maritzburg College, Jeppe 0-1 Grey College, PBHS 0-1 Selborne, KES 1-4 Hilton, Maritzburg College 1-0 Wynberg, Grey High 4-1 St John’s.

Fixtures

Friday

08:00 – KES vs Grey College, 09:10 – Grey High vs Hilton College, 10:25 – Wynberg vs PBHS, 11:35 – Maritzburg College vs St John’s College, 12:50 – Jeppe vs Selborne, 14:00 – Grey High vs KES, 15:15 – Hilton College vs PBHS, 16:25 – Grey College vs St John’s, 17:40 – Jeppe vs Wynberg, 18:50 – Maritzburg College vs Selborne.

Saturday

07:30 – Grey High vs PBHS, 08:40 – KES vs Wynberg, 09:55 – Selborne vs St John’s, 11:05 – Hilton College vs Grey College, 12:15 – Maritzburg College vs Jeppe.

It has been 30 years since Grey College and King Edward VII’s first teams met each other on the rugby field.

This game has probably been long overdue as the two sides will lock horns in the main match on the opening day of the annual NMI Toyota Noord/Suid tournament hosted by Affies in Pretoria.

Catch all the action live on SuperSport Schools (www.supersportschools.com) via the app or on DStv Channel 207 (SuperSport Variety 2).

The last time these two sides met was back in 1993. The match that most however remember was the main match of the final day of the St Stithians College Easter Festival of 1986.

Grey College won a closely contested match by 22-18. This was only the third Saints Festival – and at that stage, it was the only schoolboy rugby festival in the country.

Grey College’s midfield pairing of Pieter de Haas and Buks Steenkamp was on song that day. Both completed a brace of tries. For KES on the wing was a certain Gavin Lawless, who later represented the Lions, Sharks, and Western Province at senior level.

De Haas’s second try was scored just before the final whistle and converted by flyhalf, Callie Human. KES took the lead shortly before that at 18-17.

The Red Army won’t be under any illusion that it will be a tougher encounter for them than 38 years ago. They do however have two players within their midst that will be serious contenders to represent the South African Schools’ side later this year.

They are Simphiwe Moyo (flyhalf) and Siphosethu Mnebelele (hooker). The latter already made the SA Schools’ side from the Lions’ bench due to some solid performances during the Craven Week in George.

Mnebelele is also captaining the Red Army. KES’ eighthman, Kebotile Maake, is also known to get his side over the advantage line.

This will be Grey College’s third outing of the season. They have eased past both Hoërskool Trio (40-3) and Welkom Gimnasium (52-5). They did however get some extra match practice in chukkas against Grey High School in Somerset East.

KES has played only once this far against Noordheuwel of Krugersdorp. Beating the side from the West Rand by 31-27.

Grey College’s inside centre, Pieter van der Merwe, was already one of the outstanding schoolboy players of the season. If he could build on his performances from last year he will also be a strong contender for the national schools side. Have a lookout for tighthead prop, Danie Kruger‘s work in the scrums as well.

Hooker, Liam van Wyk‘s, contest with Mnebelele will be one of the highlights of the clash.

Another school from the City of Gold Jeppe High School for Boys will face a tough encounter on the first day. They will come up against Paarl Boys’ High.

Boishaai has been devastating in their only match thus far in 2024. They smashed Hoërskool Durbanville by 73-7 during the Porterville Festival. Jeppe has suffered a 31-37 defeat against Garsfontein and also defeated Pretoria Boys’ High by 36-20.

Jeppe’s outside centre and captain, Kuthadzo Rasivhenga, is their danger man. He has the ability to take any defence apart with a moment of brilliance.

Garsfontein and Oakdale Landbou will meet for only the fourth time in history. Last year Garsfontein reached the Bulle from Riversdale a rugby lesson by 59-7. This match was also played during the Noord/Suid tournament. Since their first match in 2017, the rubber between the two schools is tied.

Garsfontein won twice in 2023 (59-7) and 2019 (31-14). Oakdale Landbou came out on top in 2017 (40-19) and 2021 (41-12).

In the clash between EG Jansen of Boksburg and Welkom Gimnasium, there is an exciting clash between Matthew Bergman (Jansies) and Renaldo Kiewiet (Welkom Gimnasium). Bergman has been a vital cog in EG’s backline this year with outside centre, Juandré Jacobs.

Bergman and Jacobs have been in sublime form so far this season as the Jansies have already shown that they are one of the top teams north of the Vaalriver. Both also represented the Valke at last year’s Craven Week.

Kiewiet was the leading point scorer during last year’s Craven Week. The contest with Kiewiet would give Bergman a good idea of where he still needs to lift his performances

The Fixtures: 

A-FIELD 

18:30 – Grey College vs King Edward VII
17:00 – Paarl Boys’ High vs Jeppe High School for Boys
15:30 – Garsfontein vs Oakdale Landbou
14:00 – Helpmekaar vs Voortrekker (Bethlehem)
12:30 – EG Jansen vs Welkom Gimnasium
11:00 – Hoërskool Nelspruit vs HTS Drostdy

Bishops Diocesan College, St Benedict’s College and St Andrew’s College got their Bishops 175 Hockey Festival campaigns off to winning starts at the Woodlands Astroturf in the southern suburbs on Thursday.

The festival, which is a celebration of Bishops’ 175th anniversary, continues deep into the weekend, culminating with the final matches on Sunday.

The hosts, who came into the festival high in confidence after picking up a string of positive results at the Parel Vallei Boys Hockey Festival a week ago, took on on KwaZulu-Natal’s Michaelhouse in their opener, a team that has also welcomed a new coach in Nick Bérichon.

Bishops, just as they did a week ago at Parel Vallei, asserted themselves early in the match. With the added advantage of the buzzing atmosphere and home crowd behind them, coach Ryan Julius‘s side dominated ball possession and looked dangerous from the outset.

They kept their momentum going for the full four chukkas, recording a 3-1 win, with two of the goals coming via drag flicks from the stick of Albert Steyn, while James Grieve scored with a sweetly struck reverse stick shot.

Another team that continued an impressive start to the season was coach Owen Mvimbi’s St Benedict’s side, which registered a 2-0 win over St Charles College.

Mvimbi’s troops have hit the ground running early in the new season and recorded a number of impressive victories leading up to the festival.

Before landing in Cape Town, they defeated Hoërskool Jeugland 11-0, before thumping Hoërskool Kempton Park 7-0.

They also played to a 1-1 draw against Jeppe High School for Boys, before suffering a 2-3 defeat at the hands of the defending Aitken Trophy champions, St Stithians College.  Those matches meant they were not short of game time before heading to Cape Town.

They started the brighter of the two teams in the first two chukkas and dominated possession.

They won 2-0, courtesy of a Byron Comley double. They also created enough opportunities to have increased their winning margin.

That’s an aspect of their play that Bennies will seek to improve when they tackle Somerset College on day two, with that match starting at 10:40.

In other fixtures on the opening day, Langa Hockey Club shared a hard-fought 1-1 draw with the aforementioned Somerset College.

Meanwhile, St Andrew’s College, fresh off an unbeaten run at the Tony Godding Festival last weekend, scraped a 1-0 victory over Johannesburg’s St David’s Marist Inanda. The Makhanda boys left it late, scoring through a penalty in the third chukka.

The scheduled clash between St Andrew’s School and Mpumalanga’s Uplands College was called off after St Andrew’s ran into transport problems and didn’t make it on time for the fixture.

Day two of the festival sees each of the teams playing two matches.

Langa Hockey Club and St Andrew’s School get the ball rolling at 08:20, before Uplands College plays their first match against St Andrew’s College at 09:30.

Bishops takes on St Charles at 11:50. The final game of the day features Michaelhouse against Somerset College at 19:30.

Results: Day 1

Langa Hockey Club 1-1 Somerset College
St Benedict’s College 2-0 St Charles College
St Andrew’s College 1-0 St David’s Marist Inanda
Bishops 3-1 Michaelhouse

Friday, 22 March 2024

08:20 – Langa vs St Andrew’s School; 09:30 – Uplands vs St Andrew’s College; 10:40 – Somerset College vs St Benedict’s College; 11:50 – Bishops vs St Charles; 13:20 – St David’s Marist Inanda vs Michaelhouse; 14:30 – Langa vs Uplands; 15:40 – St Benedict’s College vs St Andrew’s School; 17:10 – St Charles vs St Andrew’s College; 18:20 – Bishops vs St David’s Marist Inanda; 19:30 – Somerset College vs Michaelhouse.

Saturday, 23 March 2024 

08:20 – St David’s Marist Inanda vs St Charles; 09:30 – Somerset College vs Uplands; 10:40 – St Benedict’s College vs Michaelhouse; 11:50 – Bishops vs St Andrew’s School; 13:20 – Langa vs St Andrew’s College; 14:30 – Somerset College vs St David’s Marist Inanda; 15:40 – St Benedict’s College vs Uplands; 17:10 – St Charles vs St Andrew’s School; 18:20– Langa vs Michaelhouse; 19:30 – Bishops vs St Andrew’s College.

Sunday, 24 March 2024

08:00 – St David’s Marist Inanda vs Uplands; 09:10 – Michaelhouse vs St Andrew’s College; 10:20 – Langa vs St Charles; 11:30 – Somerset College vs St Andrew’s School; 12:40 – Bishops vs St Benedict’s College.