Down but not out: Bishops aims to come back stronger in 2026
When the hockey season kicked off in March, one thing was certain, and that was that Bishops Diocesan College was going to have teething problems.
Led by coach Ryan “Juju” Julius, the southern suburbs outfit had put together a stellar season in 2024 and produced SA Schools stars Joshua Mettler, James Grieve, and Rob Veldtman. However, at the end of the season, they bade farewell to 14 players and began a new project with a young and inexperienced squad.
That inexperience and lack of game time at the first-team level were evident during the season in the highly competitive environment of Western Cape schoolboy hockey.
Bishops was inconsistent but, at times, they played some brilliant hockey under the leadership of senior players Adam Diggle and James Robb-Quinlan.
However, some results went against Bishops. They underperformed at the Hibbert Shield, and an unexpected 1-2 loss against Stellenberg High School in May stung.
The reality is that coach Julius and his players were in a rebuilding phase and had to embrace the challenges and sometimes the scrutiny that came with that process.
Rebuilds are a common thing in sports, especially at the school level, and every team, at some stage, will have to go through that challenging process.
Before the Springboks went back-to-back as World Cup winners, they had to endure several years of mediocrity, but things changed when the players started to buy into Rassie Erasmus’s systems and long-term plans.
If Bishops had a choice, they wouldn’t have fielded a young side this year, but the coaching staff simply had to play the cards they were dealt.
Coach Julius has a long-term plan, however, and they’ll have positives to take out of the 2025 season, including a 2-1 win over their rivals Rondebosch Boys’ High on Friday night.
“We wanted to ensure that we ended the season off in the best way possible,” coach Julius told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“A key focus for us was ensuring that we have a good platform for next year. We are losing only three players – Adam Diggle, James Robb-Quinlan, and our goalkeeper, Noah Macnab.
“So, we have a young, dynamic, and vibrant bunch. Hence, we needed to create a solid platform for 2026.”
Bishops was made to work hard for their win after going down 0-1, following a Daniel Fisher goal in the second chukka.
After the halftime break, they came out firing in the third quarter and equalised with 25 seconds remaining in the chukka when Robb-Quinlan converted a penalty stroke.
Troy Stockdale scored the winner in the fourth chukka after picking up a ball that Callum Anderson played into the circle.
“The game had a lot of emotions. It came down to tactical details, as well as being clinical on set pieces, and general field play,” Julius said.
“The boys showed good perseverance and grit and applied the tactics really well, and I was pleased with that.
“There was massive support, and that adds a lot of pressure and distraction for the boys, but I’m happy with how they handled it.
“At the beginning of the season, they weren’t as mature, but as the season concluded, they demonstrated good traits of maturity, and that came through against Rondebosch.”
Looking ahead to 2026, Bishops will take the many lessons learnt in 2025 and the experience gained by a young unit and use those as the building blocks for their forthcoming challenge.
