GIRLS | St Paul’s aims for Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Tournament history
No international team has ever lifted the Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Tournament title, but St Paul’s College will have an opportunity to rewrite that script on Saturday.
The side, from Windhoek, Namibia, booked themselves a place in the girls’ final on day three when they defeated Rustenburg Girls’ High 1-0.
They’ll face Fairmont High School in the title game at 16:45 at the Hartleyvale AstroTurf in Observatory, Cape Town.
The action will be LIVE on SuperSport Schools.
St Paul’s entered the tournament as one of the underdogs, and that played to their advantage.
Led by coaches Nevil Gora, Fortune Matawu, and Jo-Andri van Heerden, they made their presence felt on the opening day with victories over La Rochelle Girls’ High School and Langenhoven Gimnasium.
Those wins sent St Paul’s into the Cup section. There, they were seeded in Pool A alongside Stellenberg High, Peterhouse, and Pretoria’s Hoërskool Eldoraigne.
The Namibians were on fire and defeated all three teams, including a 7-1 thumping of Eldoraigne. That secured them a semi-final showdown with Rustenburg Girls’ High.
It was a tight affair that went down to the wire, but a solitary goal by Tamara Grogli proved enough to send St Paul’s through to the title decider.
They’ll face a stiff challenge in the final from a tough Fairmont High outfit.
The girls from the northern suburbs of Cape Town have played some top hockey under the guidance of Bryce West, Jody Lang, and manager Liza Duckitt.
They also impressed during the knockout stages and then picked up two wins in three matches in the Cup section.
They made their title ambitions clear in the semi-finals where they brushed aside Hoërskool Dr. E.G. Jansen 5-1.
Camryn Corner picked up a pair and was joined on the score sheet by Jorja Kruger, Sarah Swanepoel, and Madison Ackerman.
Fairmont finished in ninth place last year, so they have already far surpassed their achievement of 2024. Still, they’re aiming to go all the way, which is an opportunity that also lies in front of their boys’ team, which meets Stellenberg High in the boys’ final.
RESULTS
GIRLS
CUP SECTION
Pool A
St Paul’s College 2-1 Peterhouse
Stellenberg 4-0 Hoërskool Eldoraigne
Pool B
Fairmont High 3-1 Durbanville
Monument 0-0 Paarl Gimnasium Invitational
Pool C
DF Malan 1-0 Northcliff
Hoërskool Dr. E.G. Jansen 3-2 Kempton Park
Pool D
Outeniqua 3-1 Nelspruit
Rustenburg Girls’ High 3-0 Wynberg Girls’ High
Semifinals
St Paul’s College 1-0 Rustenburg Girls’ High
Fairmont High 5-1 Hoërskool Dr. E.G. Jansen
Download the Enhanced Sports App for all the results.
