Rhenish and Oranje resume battle for supremacy on a busy weekend of hockey
The St Mary’s Waverley Hockey Festival, which took place in Johannesburg last month, rubberstamped a point: school girls’ hockey in South Africa is thriving.
The festival brought together some of the country’s top sides, and it ended with Sekondêre Meisieskool Oranje claiming top honours after beating Die Hoërskool Menlopark 2-0 in the final.
While Oranje got past Rhenish Girls’ High in the semi-finals, there was little to separate the sides. Their clash ended in a goalless draw, but went Oranje’s way after an eight-second penalty shootout.
It was the second time the sides had met in as many weeks. They had also shared a pulsating 2-2 draw at the Greg Beling Festival in East London.
When Oranje and Rhenish face off again, one thing is certain: it will be a showdown of the best versus the best, and that’s something not often seen in the boys’ game.
Their third meeting of 2026 takes place in Stellenbosch on Thursday night. It will kick-start a bumper hockey weekend for both sides.
“I think playing Oranje for the third time in less than a month is really exciting,” Rhenish head coach Chris Gerber told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“We pride ourselves on playing against the best as much as possible, and this will be another big test.
“They will come out firing, and we need to make sure we stay composed and structured as much as possible.”
After going down in their showdown semifinal with Oranje at St Mary’s Waverley, Gerber’s side drew with St Mary’s DSG, Kloof, the 2025 winners, and finished joint third.
“After St Mary’s, we had a good review of where we are and where we are going as a side,” Gerber said.
“Our key takeaways were that we still played good, structured hockey and didn’t let the [25-minute] format stop us from doing so.”
After facing Oranje on Thursday, Rhenish will head to Gqeberha to take on Collegiate Girls’ High in a derby that’s grown into one of the country’s premier clashes over the past couple of seasons.
Last year, the sides drew 1-1 in Stellenbosch, and coach Gerber expects a tough outing against coach Michael Abrahams’ charges.
“This clash will again be a very nice, strong fixture for us. They are a quality side, and we will have to be in top form.
“The girls are mentally strong and very determined, so they know what we are working towards and what our objectives are.
“When it comes to these big fixtures, the girls are excited and ready to go.”
Other matches
On their Western Cape tour, Oranje will also face Paarl Girls’ High on Friday night.
Elsewhere, HMS Bloemhof hosts Parel Vallei on Friday, while Rustenburg Girls’ High tackles Fairmont High on Thursday.
FIXTURES
Thursday, 16 April
17:00 – Fairmont vs Rustenburg Girls’ High
18:45 – Rhenish vs Oranje
Friday, 17 April
18:15 – Herschel vs DF Akademie
18:30 – Paarl Girls’ High vs Oranje
18:30 – Bloemhof vs Parel Vallei
19:00 – Paarl Gimnasium vs La Rochelle
Saturday, 18 April
10:30 – Collegiate vs Rhenish
