Top guns to clash at Nomads Hockey Festival
The final weekend of March typically signals the start of a vibrant and action-filled festival season.
This year is no exception, with several major boys’ hockey festivals set to get underway in various parts of the country.
The Founders Hockey Festival takes place at Queen’s College in Komani, while the Belgotex Sport Coastal Cup will be hosted at the Riverside Hockey Club in Durban.
Meanwhile, the Nomads Hockey Festival will be hosted by Pretoria Boys High (PBHS) from 28 to 30 March. The festival, which features some of the country’s top sides, also forms part of the school’s 125th anniversary celebrations.
Ahead of the big event at PBHS, SuperSport Schools Plus takes a look at the teams in attendance.
Gauteng teams
Pretoria Boys High (PBHS) and their neighbours and rivals, Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies), will represent the Noordvaal region.
Both have made slow starts to the season. This past weekend, PBHS went down 2-3 against St Stithians College, while Affies showed grit and fight in their 2-4 loss against Paul Roos Gimnasium in Stellenbosch.
The festival will provide the teams’ coaches, Jacques Klopper (PBHS) and Jaydon Lincoln (Affies), with a chance to bounce back while testing out combinations.
Johannesburg will be represented by Jeppe High School for Boys, King Edward VII (KES), and St John’s College.
Jeppe has made a bright start to coach Gareth Heyns’ tenure, winning two of their three matches.
They defeated St Benedict’s College 3-0 in a gripping contest before playing out a nail-biting 2-2 draw with St Stithians. Last Friday, the boys from Kensington beat St David’s Marist Inanda 4-1, but coach Heyns will be the first to admit there is still plenty of work to be done.
KES, similar to Jeppe, has a new face in the dugout in the form of Siya Sityana, who led Jeppe to an unbeaten season in 2025. The Red Sticks beat St John’s College 4-0 last week, with Blaine Candy netting a hat-trick and Andrew Arouca joining him on the scoresheet.
KwaZulu-Natal teams
Teams from KwaZulu-Natal will be out to make a big statement at Nomads. Hilton College, Kearsney College, and Maritzburg College will fly the province’s flag.
Hilton showed character in their season opener, coming back from 0-1 down to beat Westville Boys’ High 2-1.
That’s the type of grit and mentality that coach Damian Kimfley will demand at Nomads. He will look to experienced players like Tadi Hove and captain Robert Burman to lead the way.
To start their season, Kearsney, coached by the highly regarded Keegan Pearce, went down at Clifton College before scoring successive victories over St Charles and Glenwood, so their confidence will be on the up.
On Saturday, they powered to a 7-2 win over Glenwood on the Mason Astro, so their sharpshooters’ eyes appear to be in. Standing in their way at Nomads will be Jeppe, Affies, KES, and St John’s.
Maritzburg College has flown under the radar, but they’ve played some impressive hockey early in the season, moving the ball impressively around the park.
After snatching a 2-2 draw with Clifton, College went 0-1 down at halftime against Westville on the past weekend, but then rallied to score a 3-1 win. They tackle Selborne, KES, Grey College and Jeppe.
This early in the season, it is difficult to ascertain which schools are the frontrunners in KZN but the performances of Kearsney, Hilton, and Maritzburg College at Nomads will provide valuable insight into their strengths in 2026.
Eastern Cape teams
Selborne College and Grey High School will carry Eastern Cape hopes in Pretoria. In 2024, both were unbeaten when Maritzburg College hosted Nomads. They’ll face a tough challenge trying to match those sparkling records.
Grey missed out on Nomads last year because they were on a tour of The Netherlands, while Selborne endured an up-and-down 2025 campaign. They, however, concluded it as a much-improved team, which was playing some very good hockey.
Coaches Andrew Beynon (Grey) and KJ Friend (Selborne) will be pleased with the preparations they’ve had before Nomads.
Both sides shook off the early-season rust at the Tony Godding Festival in East London, where Grey defeated Selborne, Eldoraigne, and St Andrew’s School.
Selborne, meanwhile, picked up wins over Jim Fouché and Sasolburg before sharing a thrilling 3-3 draw with Grey College.
Free State – Grey College
Grey College will feel it’s their time to shine in 2026.
Headmaster Braam van Wyk has taken over as the 1st XI’s head coach after Dalan Phillips returned to Pearson High. Van Wyk will be assisted by Jayden Leech, who played for the side just two seasons ago.
Grey College has a massive opportunity to stake a claim as one of 2026’s top teams, but they face a stiff schedule, which includes taking on Pretoria Boys High, Affies, Maritzburg College, and Hilton College.
The retention of key players, including Raphael Kambanis, Christopher Klopper, and SA Schools’ star Neilyandro van Schalkwyk, will help their cause.
In their last outing, coach Van Wyk’s side drew 2-2 with Hoërskool Waterkloof.
They have been a little loose on defence at times early in the season. Such lapses will cost them dearly at Nomads, so they’ll be focused on tightening up.
Western Cape – Wynberg Boys’ High
Many of the Western Cape top guns will be at either the Belgotex Sport Coastal Cup or at the Founders Festival. Wynberg Boys’ High, though, will be at Nomads.
The Cape Town school, because it travels from so far, will arrive as an “unknown”, and that places them in a position to pull off some upsets.
They’ll be led by coach Devin Stanton, who is also part of the South African Men’s coaching staff, assisted by Ben Wiley.
Wynberg bade farewell to some talented players last year, but they have retained some experienced players in their ranks, who will be required to step up in 2026.
Chad Julius is one of those, alongside Mustapha Kajee and the talented Michail Tarentaal, who is also the captain of the Wynberg cricket 1st XI.
The challenges they face in Pretoria will be a good test for Wynberg and excellent preparation for the tests that lie ahead in the highly competitive Western Cape.
FIXTURES
Saturday, 28 March
08:00 – Wynberg Boys’ High vs Jeppe
09:10 – Hilton College vs Selborne College
10:35 – St John’s College vs Maritzburg College
11:45 – Pretoria Boys High vs Grey College
13:10 – Kearsney College vs Jeppe
14:20 – Affies vs Hilton College
15:45 – Selborne College vs Maritzburg College
16:55 – Pretoria Boys High vs Grey High
18:05 – St John’s College vs Wynberg Boys’ High
@Pretoria High School for Girls
08:00 – Affies vs Kearsney College
09:10 – Grey High vs KES
Sunday, 29 March
08:00 – Affies vs Grey High
09:10 – Hilton vs St John’s College
10:35 – Wynberg Boys’ High vs KES
11:45 – Pretoria Boys High vs Kearsney College
13:10 – Grey College vs Affies
14:20 – Grey High vs Jeppe
15:45 – Maritzburg College vs KES
16:55 – Pretoria Boys High vs Selborne College
18:05 – Kearsney vs St John’s College
@Pretoria High School for Girls
08:00 – Maritzburg College vs Grey College
09:10 – Selborne College vs Jeppe
15:45 – Wynberg Boys’ High vs Hilton College
Monday, 30 March
07:30 – Kearsney College vs KES
08:40 – St John’s College vs Grey High
09:50 – Pretoria Boys High vs Wynberg Boys’ High
11:00 – Selborne vs Affies
12:30 – Grey College vs Hilton College
13:40 – Jeppe vs Maritzburg College
