Oranje adds All Girls’ Festival silverware to their trophy cabinet
Dominating the schoolgirls’ hockey scene and winning trophies is again becoming a habit for Oranje Meisieskool.
On Thursday, in Stellenbosch, they won their second major title of 2026, lifting the All Girls’ Festival trophy after a tight tussle with Rhenish Girls’ High in the final.
As had been the case in their three previous meetings this season, the teams couldn’t be separated in regulation time.
With the sides level at 1-1, a penalty shootout was needed to decide the contest, and Oranje held their nerve, converting three of their penalties while Rhenish scored just one.
The finalists took very different routes to the title-decider.
Oranje finished second in Pool A, where they suffered a defeat against Collegiate Girls’ High. In the semi-finals, however, they got the better of the Gqeberha girls, winning 3-1 after being a goal down at halftime. Rhenish looked comfortable, composed, and in control in a 2-0 win over Eunice High School.
The final was expected to be anything but comfortable for either side, based on their three previous clashes this season. They drew at the Greg Beling Festival and in an interschools match in Stellenbosch, while Oranje edged out Rhenish on penalties in the semifinals of the St Mary’s Waverley Hockey Festival a month ago.
In a frantic opening first half, both sides moved the ball with conviction and threatened early on.
The goalkeepers, Oranje’s Danè Janse van Vuuren and Peyton Finlay, of Rhenish, were called into action, and each had to make crucial saves to keep the score deadlocked.
Eventually, the visitors made the breakthrough early in the second half when their playmaker, Marichelle Crous, who has been in the form of her life, exhibited great stick work to dribble her way past three defenders and bury the ball into the back of the net.
That goal served as a wake-up call for Rhenish, and they responded well, taking a more direct approach on attack.
They stretched Oranje by playing down both flanks, which left gaps in the midfield, where they penetrated the Bloemfontein side’s defences.
A strong run into the circle by Zoe Jenkin drew a foul out of Oranje, and the umpire pointed to the penalty spot. Nicola van der Merwe stepped up and converted the opportunity to set up a tense finish.
Both outfits pushed hard for a late winner, but their defensive lines held firm, and, once again, eight-second penalties were needed to separate them.
Only Grace Hobbs converted for Rhenish, while attempts by Pippa Viljoen, Chelsey Woolf, and Sarah-Ellen Groenewald were saved.
Oranje also had two of their penalties rejected, but Crous, vice-captain, Kirstin Booysen, and Carmen van Wyk got the job done for coach Morne Odendaal‘s team.
With two big titles landed in 2026 already, Oranje will be laser-focused on adding the Super 12 Tournament title on their home turf in Bloemfontein towards the end of the season.
Other matches
While the Oranje and Rhenish battled it out for the title, Collegiate, with wins over both of the finalists this year already, was favoured to handle Eunice in the bronze medal match.
Coach Michael van Rensburg‘s side got the job done, with goals from Kerrin Gillies, Lauren Duckworth, and Casey Grobler steering them to a comfortable 3-0 victory.
There were also wins for Rustenburg Girls, HMS Bloemhof, and Danville.
Coach Nadet Rautenbach‘s young La Rochelle side ended their campaign with a confidence-boosting 4-1 win over Parktown Girls’ High.
RESULTS
Rhenish (1) 1-1 (3) Oranje (1st/2nd)
Collegiate 3-0 Eunice (3rd/4th)
Rustenburg 2-0 Affies Meisies (5th/6th)
HMS Bloemhof 3-1 Paarl Girls’ High (7th/8th)
Danville 2-1 Clarendon (9th/10th)
Wynberg 2-1 Pretoria Girls (11th/12th)
La Rochelle 4-1 Parktown Girls (13th/14th)
