Eastern Province boys fancy their chances at SASHOC National Week
Western Province, Southern Gauteng A, Boland, and KZN Inland are among the teams expected to make their mark at the SASHOC National Week but don’t rule out Eastern Province (EP).
The Eastern Cape boys will arrive at the tournament, which will be hosted by Maritzburg College from 30 June to 5 July, with absolutely nothing to lose but a point to prove.
They haven’t enjoyed much success in recent year. In fact, EP has failed to finish in the top five for four years running.
In 2024, they had a talent-laden team, but they blew hot and cold during the pool stages, which led to their progress to the last four being taken out of their hands. It’s something they’ve become accustomed to in recent times.
Unfortunately for Eastern Province, other results within their group didn’t go their way, and they missed out. By the end of the tournament, they had finished a disappointing ninth.
In 2023, they placed a lowly 11th. The year before that, they ended sixth, and in 2019, they were ninth. Measured against their historical results, those results have been sub-standard.
For 2025, the province has turned to coach Andrew Beynon to try to turn around EP’s fortunes. He takes over from Lyall Meyer.
Beynon needs no introduction to the EP hockey faithful. In 2024, he led the u16A girls to gold in Bloemfontein, so he’s a man who knows how to win provincial tournaments.
It will, however, be a challenging task for Beynon, his backroom staff, and the 16-player squad.
Ten of those players are from Grey High School, where Beynon coaches the 1st XI. They are Luke Tait, Kaino Broadhurst, Ameer Muller, Matthew Allibone, Liam Poole, Logan Goddard-Ford, Dale Jennings, Athi Voight, Keegan Le Roux, and Jordyn Billie.
Only three players out of the 10 played for Eastern Province last year, namely Tait, Broadhurst, and Poole.
Joining the Grey boys will be the St Andrew’s College duo of Samuel Scheckter and Greg Rodwell, who has previously represented the SA u17 side.
The team is completed by Ethan Moothoo (Woodridge College), Tristan Botha (Alexander Road), Seth Groener (Westering High), and Anthwone April (Pearson High).
EP’s campaign in Pool A starts with a stiff exam from Southern Gauteng A on 30 June. They meet in an early 07:30 clash on Pape’s AstroTurf.
Eastern Province u18A Team
| Kaino Broadhurst | Grey High School |
| Ethan Moothoo | Woodridge College |
| Ameer Muller | Grey High School |
| Tristan Botha | Alexander Road High School |
| Greg Rodwell | St Andrew’s College |
| Matthew Allibone | Grey High School |
| Seth Groener | Westering High School |
| Liam Poole | Grey High School |
| Samuel Schekter | St Andrew’s College |
| Logan Goddard-Ford | Grey High School |
| Dale Jennings | Grey High School |
| Athi Voight | Grey High School |
| Luke Tait | Grey High School |
| Keegan Le Roux | Grey High School |
| Jordyn Billie | Grey High School |
| Anthwone April | Pearson High School |
POOL FIXTURES
Monday, 30 June
07:30 – Eastern Province A vs Southern Gauteng A
16:00 – Eastern Province A vs KZN Inland A
Tuesday, 1 July
13:10 – Eastern Province A vs Western Province A
Wednesday, 2 July
10:20 – Eastern Province A vs KZN Coastal B
Thursday, 3 July
13:10 – Eastern Province A vs Boland B
