Western Cape top guns clash as hockey season gathers pace
The pre-season has come and gone, Easter festivals have wrapped up, and it’s time for some traditional schoolboy hockey clashes.
The Western Cape, a hotbed of the sport, known for its fabulous fun at Friday Night Lights clashes, features six of them.
There’s a juicy selection of interesting matches, and the action is LIVE on SuperSport Schools.
Three of the southern suburbs’ sides – Wynberg Boys’ High, Rondebosch Boys High, and South African College High School (SACS) – will be in action on Friday.
Wynberg hosts Rondebosch at the Astro of Dreams, with both sides eager to continue their impressive starts to the season.
Wynberg, under the leadership of coach Devin Stanton, was one of the top teams at the Nomads Hockey Festival in Pretoria, where they beat Jeppe High School for Boys 1-0, Hilton College 3-0, and Pretoria Boys High 4-2, but lost 1-3 against King Edward VII (KES).
They’re up against a Rondebosch side that’s full of confidence. While many schools were busy at various Easter festivals, Rondebosch participated in the European Hockey Club Organisation (EHCO) Trophy Tournament in The Netherlands.
There, coach Waseem Domingo’s side, the first team from South Africa to be invited to the prestigious event, which features club teams, finished third, grabbing the bronze medal by thumping RC Polo, from Spain, 7-2.
SACS returns to action against Durbanville. It will be the Newlands school’s first match since the Founders Hockey Festival, which took place at Queen’s College.
SACS was rampant in Komani, overwhelming Parktown Boys’ High 9-1, St Stithians College 10-2, Kingswood College 8-1, and Helpmekaar 7-0, before, in a big shock, losing 2-4 to Northwood in their last game.
Another clash to watch closely will be that between Parel Vallei (PV) and Paarl Boys’ High. The clash takes place in Somerset West at 19:40.
Both sides were in action at the Belgotex Sport Coastal Cup in Durban late last month, where they produced some entertaining hockey.
PV outplayed Glenwood High 7-0 and edged out Clifton College 4-3. They also played to a goalless draw with Garsfontein and lost 3-6 to the unbeaten Durban High School (DHS).
Boishaai, meanwhile, went down 2-5 against Clifton, lost 1-3 against DHS, and 1-2 against Michaelhouse before beating Garsfontein 2-1.
Fairmont High School is at home against the Langa Hockey Club while DF Malan tackles Curro Durbanville.
Fairmont defended their title at the Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Festival, so they’ll be confident against the boys from Langa.
Worcester Gimnasium, who were also impressive at the Belgotex event, where they finished fifth, will host Swartland.
On Saturday, SACS welcomes the Eastern Cape’s Grey High to the Brewery AstroTurf for a tasty showdown. The next day, Grey tackles Reddam House Constantia.
FIXTURES
Friday, 10 April
18:15 – Fairmont High vs Langa Hockey Club
18:45 – Wynberg vs Rondebosch
19:15 – SACS vs Durbanville
19:30 – DF Akademie v Curro Durbanville
19:40 – Parel Vallei vs Paarl Boys’ High
19:40 – Worcester Gim vs Swartland
Saturday, 11 April
11:25 – SACS vs Grey High
Sunday, 12 April
10:45 – Reddam House Constantia vs Grey High
