Hibbert Shield on the line as top sides head to Gqeberha
As the schoolboy hockey season intensifies, all eyes will turn to Gqeberha this week, where Grey High School is preparing to host the fifth edition of the Hibbert Shield Hockey Tournament.
The action starts on Wednesday and runs through until Saturday evening.
It’s an opportunity to see many of South Africa’s top teams and players in action ahead of the SASHOC u18 Inter-Provincial Tournament, which takes place in Bloemfontein in June.
Catch all the action LIVE from the Rectory Astroturf on SuperSport Schools.
In last year’s Hibbert Shield, Paul Roos (PRG) reigned supreme after defeating South African College High School (SACS) 3-2 in the final. That was the only loss suffered by SACS in the 38 games they played in 2023. They won 34 of them, which included three wins over PRG.
This time, the side from Stellenbosch is drawn in Pool 1 alongside St Stithians College and KwaZulu-Natal’s Westville Boys’ High.
If recent form is anything to go on, PRG should have the upper hand against their opponents, based on their wins over Grey High (3-2), and Pearson High (5-0) on the weekend.
Saints, on the other hand, will enter the festival a bit rusty. Their last outing was on 6 April against Jeppe, and they lost that match 0-1.
Westville also went down to Jeppe this month, losing 1-3 in Johannesburg, but they will take confidence from their performance against Maritzburg College on Saturday, which saw the sides share a 3-3 draw.
Pool 2 is equally exciting, and includes the hosts, Paarl Gimnasium, and Clifton College.
Both Gim and Grey High went down on the weekend and will be eager to swiftly reverse those setbacks. Gim fell 3-4 to SACS in Paarl, having led 3-0 early in the game, while Grey let slip a 2-0 lead against PRG at home, going on to suffer a 2-3 defeat.
Selborne College, Durban High School, and Cape Town’s Bishops Diocesan College make up an electrifying Pool 3.
All three sides are playing some of their best hockey this season. DHS and Bishops are unbeaten, and over the past weekend recorded wins against St Charles College (8-0) and Wynberg Boys’ High (3-0) respectively.
Meanwhile, Selborne suffered their first defeat of the season, going down 2-5 against Grey College in East London after winning 15 and drawing one before that.
The final pool sees SACS, Garsfontein, and Pearson High battle it out for top spot.
SACS are the favourites to make it out of the pool untouched, considering the calibre of players they have, and the hockey they’ve put on show so far this season.
They haven’t lost a single match, although they experienced their toughest test on the weekend when they had to dig deep to secure a 4-3 win over Paarl Gimnasium.
Coach Steve Paulo’s Garsfontein team could consider themselves the dark horses of the tournament. They don’t often play against many of the schools that will be participating in the event, so they could spring a surprise or two.
Pearson High, who are regularly considered among the top teams in the Eastern Cape, have made a slowish start to their season. They do, however, have a younger team that’s still trying to find its feet, and there’s no better opportunity to come alive than at an event like the Hibbert Shield.
They will open their challenge against Garsfontein on day one at 17:15. Another match to keep an eye out for on the opening day will be the clash between Selborne College and Bishops in Pool 2, It’s the toughest pool of them all to call.
Day two’s action will include Grey against Clifton at 08:45, Bishops tackling DHS in a late afternoon clash, and SACS ending the day against Garsfontein.
Pools
Pool 1: Paul Roos Gimnasium, St Stithians College, Westville Boys High
Pool 2: Grey High, Paarl Gimnasium, Clifton College
Pool 3: Selborne College, Durban High School, Bishops
Pool 4: SACS, Pearson High, Garsfontein
Fixtures
Wednesday, 1 May
14:30 -St Stithians College vs Westville Boys’ High
15:45 – Bishops vs Selborne College
17:15 – Pearson High vs Garsfontein
Thursday, 2 May
07:30 – Paul Roos vs St Stithians College
08:45 – Grey High vs Clifton College
10:15 -DHS vs Selborne College
11:30 – Pearson vs SACS
13:00 – Clifton College vs Paarl Gimnasium
14:15 – Paul Roos vs Westville Boys’ High
15:45 – Bishops vs DHS
17:00 – Grey High vs Paarl Gimnasium
18:30 – SACS vs Garsfontein
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
The image used in this article is credited to Ray Chaplin (https://www.raychaplin.photography/)
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