Bishops 175th Festival hosts are full of confidence

The Bishops Diocesan College first hockey team will be aiming to continue a spotless start to their season when they host the Bishops 175 Hockey Festival in the southern suburbs of Cape Town.
The festival, which celebrates the school’s 175th anniversary, gets underway on Thursday, with the final matches scheduled for Sunday morning.
From the Western Cape, Bishops will welcome Somerset College and Langa Hockey Club for the three-day event.
Gauteng’s interests are represented by St Benedict’s College and St David’s Marist Inanda.
Meanwhile, Michaelhouse and St Charles College will fly the flag for the KwaZulu-Natal region.
Completing the lineup are St Andrew’s School, from Bloemfontein, and Makhanda’s St Andrew’s College. Both were in action at the Tony Godding Festival in East London over the past weekend, where College put together a record of five wins from five matches, including a 2-1 victory over high-flying Grey College on the last day.
All eyes will, however, be on the home side, with much expected from them after a strong 2023 and a good start to 2024 at the Parel Vallei Boys Hockey Festival last week.
There, coach Ryan Julius’s boys were a cut above the rest, dominating proceedings, and thereby announcing themselves as one of the teams to keep an eye out for in the forthcoming season.
They played three matches, against Somerset College, Outeniqua, and Paarl Boys’ High.
In their opening encounter, they calmy defused Somerset College’s challenge to claim a 2-0 win. That result was followed by an emphatic 5-0 victory over Outeniqua. Then, in their last outing, they netted seven against Paarl Boys’ High to end their weekend on a high.
Reflecting on the festival, coach Julius said he was satisfied with the results and happy to see his side take on some of the province’s best schools.
“The festival was against teams we don’t often play against, because we’re in the southern suburbs, so it was quite an interesting weekend that gave us an idea of what the rest of the teams in the Western Cape can offer,” he told SuperSport Schools in an exclusive interview.
“It also allowed us to practice certain situations that we will probably find ourselves in this season.
“We also enjoyed it because it contributed to the growth of school hockey, and at Bishops, we want to be part of the growth of schoolboys’ hockey in South Africa.”

Coach Julius is no stranger to Bishops, having coached the first team previously.
He was at the school from the beginning of 2017, for two-and-a-half years, before he departed to take up a playing contract in The Netherlands in 2020.
He returned to the set-up last year as an assistant coach and was roped in to take the lead role for 2024.
Julius, who has also represented South Africa at the Olympic Games, is no stranger to pressure and will be urging his side to stay focussed throughout the festival, starting with their first encounter against Michaelhouse on Thursday night.
“We are looking forward to these fixtures. It’s not often we get to play against the rest of South Africa’s schools, so it’s going to be a nice challenge for us and a good indicator of how successful our pre-season has been,” he said.
“That’s something I’m looking forward to from a coaching perspective – to see what my boys have learned in terms of the tactical and technical approach that I’ve tried to bring to the school.
“More than anything, it’s the school’s 175th birthday, so it’s nice to host a festival like this at home.
“I’m sure there’s a bit of pressure on us as a school but, for me, I don’t see it as pressure, I see it as a privilege.
“We will get to showcase what our school has to offer and try and compete with what other schools around South Africa have to offer,” he concluded.
The action kicks off on Thursday with Bishops taking on Michaelhouse in the main match at 19:30.
The hosts, on day two, will face St Charles College and St David’s Marist Inanda. Day three will see Julius’s side face St Andrew’s School and St Andrew’s College, before they finish their campaign against St Benedict’s College on Sunday at 12:40.
Fixtures
Thursday, 21 March 2024
14:00 – Somerset College vs Langa; 15:10 – St Benedict’s College vs St Charles 16:40 – St Andrew’s College vs St David’s Marist Inanda; 17:50 –St Andrew’s School vs Uplands; 19:30 – Bishops vs 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.
- Bishops chasing consistency in 2025 - 2025-02-18
- Top four strongly represented in Vides Team of the Tournament - 2025-02-17
- DAY 3 | VIDES | St David’s outshines St Andrew’s to win title - 2025-02-16