“Pretoria Boys High is not a team to be taken lightly”
The Pretoria Boys High first-team hockey side gave spectators a glimpse of what’s to come this season when they showcased their skills at the Nomads Hockey Festival in Johannesburg last month.
The event was hosted by Jeppe High School for Boys and brought together some of the country’s top teams for three days of scintillating, high-quality hockey.
The Pretoria outfit, who had played several matches within their region before the festival, had it rough on the opening day. They lost 0-4 to Grey College and, later in the day, lost 1-3 to Wynberg Boys’ High.
On the second day, though, coach Jacques Klopper‘s men came to life with two outstanding performances that will go down as their best of the season thus far.
Firstly, they held a formidable Hilton College to a 2-2 draw, with the KZN side scoring the equaliser deep into the fourth chukka, to snatch a share of the spoils. Boys High, then, defeated St Benedict’s College 3-0.
Against Bennies, Victor Louw, who represented South Africa at the Dato Mirnawan Cup in Malaysia in late 2024, netted a hat-trick to propel his side to victory.
They completed their Nomads campaign with a 1-0 win over Selborne College.
“We started on the back foot, but we bounced back on day two and came together and spoke about what we needed to do,” Boys High captain Takalani Malautzi told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“We devised a game plan and stuck to it against Hilton. Everyone was up. The energy was up, and then the win against Bennies made it all even sweeter.”
Malautzi’s side might have bagged two wins at the festival, but it was their 2-2 draw with Hilton that will live in their memories. He believes it’s a performance that showed hockey enthusiasts that Boys High means business this year.
“We are here to let people know that Pretoria Boys High is not a team to be taken lightly,” he said.
“We also wanted to show the other teams and the rest of the country that we are here for business. It was a good game to set up the rest of the season. We play Hilton three times this year, so it will be a nice series between the two of us.”
After Nomads, PBHS had a break during the school holidays, but they’ll be in derby action on Saturday against King Edward VII (KES), away from home, at 11:10.
It will be an interesting clash against a KES side that showed character and grit at Nomads. Malautzi is well aware of the Red Sticks’ threat and will be eager to lead his side to a victory a week before they participate in the St Stithians College Easter Hockey Festival.
“KES is never easy, but all the schools we are playing are not easy,” he admitted. “We have the Saints Fest after that, and we need to make sure we push and get all the results we need.”
