A dominant season sees Rhenish finish on top but the focus has already shifted to 2025

The Rhenish Girls’ High School‘s first hockey side had a season to savour in 2024 after finishing the year in the best way possible by laying claim to the number-one status in schoolgirls’ hockey in South Africa.

Their season’s biggest highlight and achievement was claiming top honours at the annual Fairtree Super 12 tournament, hosted by Oranje Meisieskool, in Bloemfontein, in August.

Heading into that tournament, coach Chris Gerber‘s side was high in confidence after a strong season in the Western Cape, and they were hunting their first Super 12 title. Previously, their best finishes had been fourth in 2019 and 2023.

In Bloemfontein, they played some of their best hockey, dominating during the pool stages and managing the knockout games well before winning the final 3-1 in a penalty shootout after ending regulation time against St Mary’s DSG (Kloof) at 1-1.

“We’ve had some amazing moments during the year,” Gerber told SuperSport Schools Plus while reflecting on his team’s season.

“For the first time, we managed to beat Oranje this year and that was a big stepping stone we took, to know we can be the best team in the country. We had so many highlights but winning the Super 12 was the biggest.”

Rhenish was undeniably one of the top teams of 2024. They played 50 matches, lost only twice, and scored 37 wins, with 11 matches finishing in draws.

Their attack was on fire, scoring a whopping 160 goals, while their defence was not just rock-solid, it was miserly. They conceded only 16 goals.

Gerber credited the first team’s success to the growing hockey programme at Rhenish. “We had a lot of goals for this young team, and the first was to make sure they establish themselves as good players and understand the structures and values we have as a team,” he said.

“We believed from the outset we could be one of the best teams in the country, and we just had to make sure that the girls truly believe that and work hard to be consistent in every match they play.

“We have an amazing hockey culture at Rhenish,” he continued, “and we started this journey a few years ago.  and everyone bought into that and the girls are taking it into their stride and making a difference on all fronts. The girls are extremely motivated and determined I really believe that sets us apart from the rest.”

On their way to the impeccable season, the Stellenbosch outfit was captained by the influential Leah du Plessis, alongside her deputy Puck Bakker.

The two led the team to some memorable wins, a second-place finish at the All Girls Festival, Derby victories against the likes of Fairmont High 10-0, Parel Vallei 2-0, HMS Bloemhof 3-0, and Rustenburg Girls’ High 4-1 in their final match of the year.

“It’s always difficult to single out players as we had a team of 15 superstar players that all stepped up.”

“Our Captain Leah du Plessis has been a standout player, and to lead a young team to win the Super 12 is no easy fate. What impressed me the most about her is that she steps up in the big moments, she is one to watch for the future.”

“Her deputy Puck Bakker has been a rock in our team. She has had so many disappointments over the year where she was overlooked for a provincial team but she showed she is as good as anyone in every tournament we played in and she was a kingpin in our team.”

Rhenish will keep a bulk of their team heading into 2025, with Kaitlyn van Binsbergen being the only player who’s in Grade 12 and is leaving the school at the end of the year.

Gerber paid credit to the youngster and believes she has a bright future in whichever direction she opts to go in.

“Kaitlyn has been such a wonderful player to have in the team. Not only is she an incredible goal scorer but she has also had such an impact in the side over the years.”

“We will definitely miss her, however, we know she will be successful no matter what as she has the character, determination, and willpower to be successful in anything she takes on.”

Rhenish will enter the 2025 season with a target on their back, however, with a strong team that knows each other, they could well again cause problems for many schools in the country. Until then, we wait and see.

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Avuyile Sawula

Avuyile Sawula is a multimedia sports journalist, broadcaster, and writer. He possesses a journalism degree from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. During his time in the media industry, he has worked for various online media publications covering a variety of sporting codes. He also has a broadcasting background, having worked as a news journalist at one of Cape Town’s commercial radio stations. His reporting beats include hockey, rugby, water polo, and cricket. Apart from writing, he has a knack for creating sports content, video editing and running.

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