Jeppe’s Aitken Cup triumph proves that “trusting the process” works
At the beginning of the hockey season, Jeppe High School for Boys suffered losses against Wynberg Boys’ High and Selborne College at the Nomads Hockey Festival in Pretoria.
Both results sent shockwaves through the schoolboy hockey world. Jeppe was unbeaten in 2025, and those defeats raised questions about the side. Would the 2026 side rise to the high standards typical of Jeppe hockey?
The reality was that, in both of their losses, Jeppe dominated possession and territory. They created more goal-scoring opportunities than their opposition, but they failed to put the ball into the back of the net.
Scrutiny from various sectors of the schoolboy hockey scene ensued. South African College High School (SACS), also undefeated last season, faced similar scrutiny after going down 2–4 to Northwood School at the Founders Festival.
Those two setbacks at the Nomads Festival were not the end of the world, however. All Jeppe needed to do was to “trust the process” under the tutelage of their new coach, Gareth Heyns.
In Pretoria, they bounced back with convincing wins against Grey High and Maritzburg College but succumbed to a 0-1 loss against their Johannesburg rivals, King Edward VII (KES), in their first meeting in April.
In that loss, Jeppe let themselves down by not converting multiple opportunities.
Beyond the results, though, it was clear that the Kensington school’s performances were improving each week. Then, in their debut at the Hibbert Shield, they finished in third place, beating a Paul Roos Gimnasium team on a hot streak 2-1 to clinch the bronze medal.
On the weekend, Jeppe showed how far they have come since the start of the season by edging past St Stithians College 2-1 to clinch the prestigious Aitken Cup on Saints‘ home turf.
“We’re obviously super proud,” Jeppe’s head coach, Gareth Heyns, told SuperSport Schools News.
“Aitken is something that means a lot to the Gauteng boys’ schools, and we set a goal to win it at the beginning of the year.”
Reflecting on his charges’ growth, he said: “When there’s a new coach and a new system, the boys need to get used to it, and the fact that they’ve worked hard to get used to it is just amazing.
Turning to the title game on Sunday, Heyns added: “Finals can go either way. Saints played a really good game, but it was our day, and I’m happy the boys got the reward for the work they’ve put in.”
Jeppe’s road to the final was very similar to that of St Stithians.
They were unbeaten in Pool A and B, respectively, before outplaying their opponents in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Jeppe needed a penalty shootout win to get by St John’s College after their clash ended 2-2, while Saints defeated St David’s Marist Inanda 2-1.
“The game against St John’s was tough,” Heyns reckoned. “Both teams arrived on the day and played for 60 minutes, which made it really difficult.
“I do think they had the momentum closer to the end, but my guys stayed in it, and there were some really nail-biting moments.”
The final, as expected, was hotly contested and a repeat of last year’s title decider, which Jeppe won 4-2. This time around, it was a much tighter contest.
The visitors opened the scoring in the second chukka through captain Cole Stanbury. Saints refused to go away, though, and levelled matters early in the third chukka through youngster Christian Bernhardi.
It was end-to-end action in the final chukka, and both teams had their fair share of goalscoring chances.
With seconds remaining, though, Jeppe was awarded a short corner. They turned to their talisman, Kade Lottering, who broke St Stithians’ hearts with a thunderbolt drag flick to seal the win.
“The message throughout the tournament was simple. We just wanted to be as consistent as possible, be very disciplined, play the hockey we know, and do the basics right,” Heyns explained.
“I was also impressed with how the guys conducted themselves this past week. They’ve been really good and behaved well in games.”
With the victory, Jeppe has now won the Aitken Cup title three years in a row, defeating Saints twice and Parktown Boys’ High in the 2024 final.
“Three titles in a row is really special for the team and the hockey fraternity at Jeppe,” Heyns said. “It’s not something that just happens; there’s a lot of support for hockey at Jeppe across the board.
“Hopefully, this win gives us momentum going into the rest of the season. Next week, we have Northwood, who are doing some great things this season, and more tough fixtures later on.”
RESULTS
Final: Jeppe 2-1 St Stithians College
3rd/4th playoff: St John’s College 2-1 St David’s
5th/6th playoff: Parktown (3) 1-1 (1) Trinityhouse Randpark Ridge
7th/8th playoff: St Benedict’s College 4-2 Helpmekaar
9th/10th playoff: Noordheuwel 3-0 Monument
11th/12th playoff: Beaulieu College (4) 1-1 (3) Randpark
13th/14th playoff: Linden 2-0 Northcliff
15th/16th playoff: Redhill (4) 1-1 (3) HeronBridge
