All four Western Cape sides are potential Hibbert Shield champions
The fifth edition of the annual Hibbert Shield Hockey Tournament, to hosted by Grey High School in Gqeberha, will be flighted on SuperSport Schools‘ screens, with 30 matches scheduled for the four-day event, starting on Wednesday, 1 May, and concluding on Saturday evening.
Catch all the action from the Rectory Astroturf LIVE on SuperSport Schools.
Out of the 12 teams in action, four are from the Western Cape, and those four will stake their claim for the Shield against some of the country’s best in the Windy City.
Each of the four – Paul Roos Gimnasium, Paarl Gimnasium, South African College High School (SACS), and Bishops Diocesan College – will be serious contenders for the prestigious title.
In 2023, the honours went to Paul Roos, who edged out SACS 3-2 to claim the silverware. That was the sole defeat suffered by an uber-talented SACS squad last year.
SuperSport School‘s hockey writer Avuyile Sawula takes a look at the quartet’s recent form and some of the players that will need to make an impact if the Hibbert Shield is to return to the Western Cape.
Paarl Gimnasium
They’re quick, hardworking, and play a smart and attractive brand of hockey, which has made them one of the deadliest sides in front of goal this season.
Coach Jacques Grobler‘s troops will surely cause teams problems in Gqeberha, and hockey enthusiasts will underestimate them at their own peril.
They kicked their season into gear by claiming silverware at the Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Festival, beating Worcester Gimnasium 2-1 in the final.
Since then, the boys from Paarl have scored an impressive 12 goals in four matches, losing only once, against SACS, on the past weekend.
They have beaten Outeniqua 5-1, Affies 3-0, and drew 1-1 with Grey College.
Gim is led by LD Nel, who recently played his 75th match for the Paarl side. He is deadly in front of goal and is often the man Gim turns to at PC time.
Juan Swanepoel is another player to keep an eye on. Swanepoel took home the Player of the Tournament honours at the Belgotex Festival and has been firing in goals with regularity this season.
Johan van der Merwe is another name likely to be on commentator’s lips this week as Gim aims to bounce back from their lone loss of the season.
Paul Roos
Under the guidance of the experienced Michael Baker, Paul Roos Gimnasium is finding its feet this season.
Baker joined the side this year, after a hugely successful spell at Durban High School (DHS), and has introduced his style of play, known as “Baker Ball”, to the Stellenbosch outfit.
After an impressive outing at the Founders Festival, PRG started their season with a surprise setback, when they lost 0-1 at Rondebosch Boys’ High earlier this month.
However, that loss seemed to give Baker’s side a much-needed wake-up call, and they have been in impressive form recently.
Since that defeat at ‘Bosch, they’ve thumped Paarl Boys High 4-0 and, this past weekend, showed immense character and passion to come back from 0-2 down, to beat Grey High 3-2 in Gqeberha. On Sunday, they outplayed Pearson High 5-0 and will head into the Hibbert Shield high in confidence.
One area in which PRG has yet to fire on all cylinders is at penalty corner time. In captain Reuben Sendzul, they possess one of the most dangerous PC drag flickers, but he’s been a bit off key thus far. Beware, though, when he finds his rhythm!
Both Josh Smit and Barend Geldenhuys were impressive against Grey and were among the goal scorers in the morale-boosting 3-2 victory. They’ll be two of the standard-setters for PRG.
Ruben Gouws is another dangerous player and will cause problems if given space and time on the ball. At the back, PRG’s goalkeeper Beor van Reenen has been immense, a difficult-to-beat presence as the last line of defence for his side.
SACS
Sport is unpredictable, but some things can be predicted with reasonable certainty, or called even before they happen. SACS winning the Hibbert Shield would be one of those, but the competition is as tough as it gets and matches are won on the field not in written words on the Internet.
One would think that after ending 2023 as the top-ranked side, and with many players matriculating, the boys from Cape Town would have been due a slight regression. Instead, they’ve hit the gas and look every bit as good as their illustrious predecessors.
Coach Sam Holmes’ side dominated the playing field at the Founders Festival and has been almost untouchable in the local league in Cape Town.
Their toughest test so far this season came last weekend when they were pushed all the way before grinding out a 4-3 win over Paarl Gim in Paarl.
In that clash, SACS showed immense character to fight back after trailing for large parts of the contest. The week before that, they defeated previously unbeaten Grey High 5-2 at home, and Rondebosch Boys High 3-0 to further assert their dominance.
A player who has been on everyone’s lips is Litha Kraai. Prodigiously talented and a regular goal scorer, with one of the sweetest reverse stick shots to be found anywhere, he will need to live up to the hype if SACS is to go a step further this year than they did in 2023.
While Kraai has been influential for SACS, many other players have put their hands up, including Reece Theunis, skipper Stéphan Meyer, Josh le Roux and Nicholas Paxton.
Shot-stopper Noah Venter has also been solid. He and the SACS defence will need to be on song against the toughest field put together for a schoolboys’ hockey tournament this year.
Bishops
Something special has been brewing at the Woodlands Astroturf this season, and that’s evident from how much support the Bishops first side has enjoyed from their schoolmates.
After a topsy-turvy 2023 season, this new-look Bishops outfit has responded well to the leadership of coach and 2020 Olympian Ryan Julius.
The Bishops boys have brought intensity to the games and they appear to be men on a mission.
The southern suburbs’ side remains unbeaten in 2024 and they are definite contenders at the Hibbert Shield.
Last Friday, they defeated Wynberg Boys’ High 3-0 but will face arguably their toughest opposition in Gqeberha, where they take on Durban High School (DHS) and Selborne College in pool play.
DHS is unbeaten this season, winning all of their games, except for a draw against Northwood, while Selborne won 15 in succession before sharing a draw with Queen’s College, and then going down to Grey College last time out.
They both present Bishops with formidable obstacles, and any of the three top sides could easily find themselves third in the pool and out of contention if they’re ever so slightly off their game.
Bishops has been playing an attractive brand of hockey, which has seen them plenty of goals, and Joshua Mettler has been a top performer for the side, contributing both on attack and defence. His dangerous runs and ability to beat defenders will be one of the keys to Bishops’ success in Gqeberha.
Their skipper Robert Veldtman has been equally impressive, setting the bar for his team with his excellence. Others to look out for in the Bishops’ ranks include vice-captain Andrew Raubenheimer, Bryn Parry, and the dangerous James Grieve.
Bishops will be the first Western Cape side in action on Wednesday when they open their campaign against East London’s Selborne College at 15:45.
Pools
Pool 1: Paul Roos Gimnasium, St Stithians College, Westville Boys High|
Pool 2: Grey High, Paarl Gimnasium, Clifton College
Pool 3: Selborne College, Durban High School, Bishops
Pool 4: SACS, Pearson High, Garsfontein
Fixtures
Wednesday, 1 May
14:30 -St Stithians College vs Westville Boys’ High
15:45 – Bishops vs Selborne College
17:15 – Pearson High vs Garsfontein
Thursday, 2 May
07:30 – Paul Roos vs St Stithians College
08:45 – Grey High vs Clifton
10:15 – DHS vs Selborne College
11:30 – Pearson vs SACS
13:00 – Clifton College vs Paarl Gimnasium
14:15 – Paul Roos vs Westville Boys’ High
15:45 – Bishops vs DHS
17:00 – Grey High vs Paarl Gimnasium
18:30 – SACS vs Garsfontein
Friday, 3 May
07:30- Bottom Pool 1 vs Bottom Pool 4
08:45- Bottom Pool 2 vs Bottom Pool 3
10:15- 1st Pool 1 vs 2nd Pool 2 (Quarterfinal 1)
11:30- 1st Pool 2 vs 2nd Pool 1 (Quarterfinal 2)
13:00- 1st Pool 3 vs 2nd Pool 3 (Quarterfinal 3)
14:15- 1st Pool 4 vs 2nd Pool 4 (Quarterfinal 4)
15:45- 3rd Pool 1 vs 3rd Pool 3
17:00- 3rd Pool 2 vs 3rd Pool 4
18:30- Loser QF 1 vs Loser QF 3
19:45- Loser QF 2 vs Loser QF 4
Saturday, 4 May 2024:
07:00- 3rd Pool 1 vs 3rd Pool 2
08:15- Semi-final 1
09:45- Semi-final 2
11:00- 3rd Pool 3 vs 3rd Pool 4
12:30- Loser of Match 21 vs Loser of Match 22
13:45- Winner of Match 21 vs Winner of Match 22
15:15- u14 Final
16:30- u16 Final
18:00- 3rd/4th Place play-off
19:30- Final
