Northwood looks back on 2025 hockey season with pride
Coach Justin Collins and the Northwood hockey first team have reason to look back on their 2025 season with pride. The Knights returned an impressive 63 percent win rate, recording 17 victories, four draws, and only six defeats.
Reflecting on his players’ efforts, Collins told SuperSport Schools Plus: “I was happy with the boys’ performances. I thought we played some good hockey. They showed some good progression and stepped up when needed.”
Northwood, though, began their season on the back foot, when they stumbled in their season-opener. They put up a fight, clawing their way from 2-5 down to lose 4-5 to Michaelhouse, one of the most improved teams of the 2025 season.
The Knights showed their mettle next time out, travelling to Maritzburg College, where they registered a thrilling 4-3 win on Pape’s Astro.
“The boys showed massive fight and character to come back from being 2-0 down in the first 10 minutes and scored four unanswered goals on Pape’s,” Collins said.
That victory was the first positive result in a 14-match unbeaten streak, which included 10 wins, including over Queen’s College, Dale College, Affies, Westville Boys’ High, Waterkloof, Pearson, Helpmekaar, Selborne, and a Queensmead XI. They drew with Rondebosch Boys’ High, Paarl Gimnasium, King Edward VII (KES), and Kearsney College.
Their unbeaten run was halted by coach Siya Sityana‘s Jeppe, who would go on to compile an outstanding undefeated season. That loss came just before a second trip to Michaelhouse.
Visiting Balgowan again, the Knights had only one thing on their mind: they wanted to exact revenge on coach Nick Bérichon’s charges. They were successful, claiming a hard-fought 3-2 victory with a typically gritty, never-say-die performance.
“That win, after trailing for most of the game, was wonderful. To come back in front of their home crowd and win that game in the dying moments was massive,” Collins recalled.
The Knights followed that triumph with their biggest victory of the season when they steamrolled Glenwood 8-1. However, their best performance was still to come. It arrived late in the season when they hosted coach Keegan Hezlett‘s Durban High School (DHS).
In recent seasons, matches between the two Durban schools have been intensely competitive, with little to separate them. On this occasion, Northwood gave their home fans plenty to cheer, scoring a 2-1 victory. Again, it was a reversal of an earlier loss to the same opposition.
“This was the first time the matric boys had beaten a strong DHS team since they joined as Grade 8 boys. This showed the boys’ progression at Northwood over the years,” Collins shared.
Unfortunately for the Knights, that was one of only two wins for them in their last five fixtures of the season. The other was the aforementioned success against Glenwood.
They completed their season with a Western Cape tour and came out on the wrong end against SACS, Wynberg Boys’ High, and Paul Roos – admittedly some of the best teams around.
The Knights had several matrics in their side, and their skills and experience will be missed in 2026. That said, they have maintained a strong core around which to construct next year’s team.
“We have six guys staying behind, but we’ve got an exciting group of coming through in grade 10 to bolster our team for next year,” Collins said.
That’s good reason to hope for, and to expect, another strong season from the Northwood Knights.
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