Hibbert Shield action intensifies as teams book quarterfinal places
The 2024 edition of the Hibbert Shield, hosted by Grey High School in Gqeberha, heads towards the business end of matters after eight out of the 12 teams secured their spots in the quarterfinals of the tournament on Thursday at the Rectory Astroturf.
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Of the eight quarterfinalists, four are from the Western Cape, namely Paul Roos Gimnasium, Paarl Gimnasium, SACS and Bishops Diocesan College.
KwaZulu-Natal’s Durban High School and Westville Boys’ High, as well as the hosts, Grey High School, and Garsfontein, will also contest the quarters.
After a quiet start on day one, when only three fixtures were played, Thursday’s schedule dialled up the action and produced a whopping 54 goals during the nine matches played.
The day began with a Pool 1 encounter between Paul Roos (PRG) and St Stithians College.
PRG entered the clash having scored three wins in the past week, defeating Paarl Boys’ High 4-0, Grey High 3-2, and Pearson 5-0.
They continued their fine form, playing their best hockey and punishing a disjointed Saints’ side. Captain Reuben Senzul and Barend Geldenhuys both netted hattricks as the Stellenbosch boys blasted their way to an 8-1 win.
In their second match of the day, PRG thumped Westville Boys’ High 5-1 to finish atop Pool 1, with Westville taking second spot after they beat Saints 2-1 on Wednesday.
Pool 2 was always going to be interesting, with Grey High, Paarl Gim, and the young and unpredictable Clifton College making up the trio of teams.
Grey and Gim, however, proved to be too strong for the KZN side, outplaying coach Calvin Price’s boys 8-1 and 6-2 respectively.
Later, they met to determine top spot in the pool. Neither was satisfied that they had secured a quarterfinal place. They wanted to have the bragging rights as the winners of the pool.
There was nothing to separate the sides through the first three chukkas, with both defences standing firm, opportunities to score were scarce.
However, with three minutes to go in the third chukka, coach Andrew Beynon‘s side broke the deadlock, with Liam Poole scoring to give the hosts the lead.
After some scrappy play inside the circle, Poole was able to create a little space for himself before squeezing the ball into the right-hand bottom corner.
Try as they might to get one back, coach Jacques Grobler‘s Gim’s side couldn’t conjure up a reply and they forced to settle for second-place finish in Pool 2.
In Pool 3, Bishops maintained their unbeaten record after they scraped a hard-fought 1-0 win over Durban High School (DHS).
Earlier in the day, DHS put themselves in perfect position to qualify for quarters after edging Selborne College 5-4. They were cruising at 5-1 before the East London crew staged a late fightback.
Bishops had beaten Selborne 3-2 on Wednesday, which meant the Bishops versus DHS showdown was for top spot in the pool.
Unlike the DHS vs Selborne goal-fest, it was a tight affair, with very few clear-cut opportunities being created.
It was goalless after three chukkas, but Harry Morgan found a win for Bishops in the fourth to hand DHS their first loss of 2024.
However, by virtue of defeating Selborne, coach Keegan Hezlett’s side also progressed to the last eight.
Many expected Pool 4 to be a cakewalk for SACS, and they did nothing to temper those expectations when they hammered Pearson 8-0 in their opener.
Matthew Lassen, Litha Kraai, and Reece Theunis all scored two goals apiece, while Cohen Williams and Regan Wille added another two to complete a one-sided drubbing.
In their second match of the day, SACS took on coach Steve Paulo‘s Garsfontein team.
On Wednesday, the side from Pretoria was held to a goalless draw by Pearson High. To reach the quarterfinals, anything better than an eight-goal loss to SACS would do. With a disciplined press and a hard-working defence, Garsfontein ensured they would join the Cape Town school in the last eight by conceding only three times.
Results: Day 2
Paul Roos 8-1 St Stithians College
Grey High 8-1 Clifton
DHS 5-4 Selborne College
SACS 8-0 Pearson High
Paarl Gimnasium 6-2 Clifton College
Paul Roos 5-1 Westville Boys’ High
Bishops 1-0 DHS
Grey High 1-0 Paarl Gimnasium
SACS 3-0 Garsfontein
Fixtures
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
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
