Two of the best performing girls’ hockey teams in the Western Cape this year, Paarl Gimnasium, and Rhenish Girls’ High School, will battle it out for provincial supremacy and bragging rights when they lock horns in Paarl on Friday evening.
The match kicks off at 19:15 on Paarl Gim’s main AstroTurf.
Ahead of that big showdown, Rhenish will also face Paarl Girls’ High on Thursday at 16:30.
Catch the action LIVE on SuperSport Schools
This season, Rhenish and Gim have been a cut above the rest in the Western Cape, with both playing an exciting brand of hockey that’s seen them boss many of their opponents while scoring freely.
At the beginning of the season, coach Chris Gerber’s Rhenish side was dominant at the Belgotex Greg Beling Festival in East London, beating, among others, Eunice 5-1, DSG Makhanda 3-0, and Affies 4-0, to announce themselves as one of 2024’s top teams.
In April, both sides contested the prestigious St Mary’s Waverley Festival in Johannesburg.
After starting brightly and performing strongly over the first two days, Rhenish’s form dipped, and they went down 0-1 to coach Ian Naudé’s Paarl Gim. In the end, Rhenish placed 11th in the 32-team field.
Gim impressed, but narrowly missed out on the bronze medal, going down 0-1 to St Stithians Girls College in the playoff for third and fourth.
Since then, both sides have been hard to beat. Rhenish has been in red hot form, with their results including a runners-up finish at the All Girls Festival in Potchefstroom, where they lost out to Affies in the final in a penalty shootout.
In their past six matches, Gerber’s charges have scored 28 goals without conceding, beating Parel Vallei 2-0, Fairmont 10-0, Herschel Girls School 2-0, Pearson High 4-0, Collegiate 4-0, and Woodridge College 6-0.
Speaking to SuperSport Schools Plus ahead of the clash, Gerber said his side is eager to take on Gim.
“The vibe in the team is incredible. The girls have been together for a few weeks to freshen up and be ready for the next few weeks,” he said.
“They are all excited and raring to get back onto the Astro.
“We’ve applied ourselves well during the season and we would like to keep that momentum going. The team has learned a lot, and the growth the players have shown is remarkable for such a young team.”
The Stellenbosch side had four players represent the school in the u18 section of the SASHOC National Week in Bloemfontein during the June holidays.
Martanique Petersen and Leah du Plessis were in action for the Boland u18A team. The Boland u18B team featured Shené du Plessis and Kaitlyn van Binsbergen, who distinguished herself by finishing as the B Section’s top goal scorer.
At the conclusion of the inter-provincial tournament, Du Plessis was included in SA Schools u17 side. She’ll be one of the key players for Rhenish against Gimmies.
Gerber said the result will be determined by which team finishes better. “Playing against Paarl Gim will be a nice challenge for the girls, and they are very excited about the game. We need to take our chances and put them under pressure.
“They are a strong, fit team, and we need to make sure we move the ball and play in the right areas to create opportunities and then take them.”
Paarl Gim will enter the clash high in confidence after putting some brilliant hockey on show at the Cape Town International Hockey Tournament.
There, Gimmies, captained by Tanya Pieterse, reminded everyone just how dangerous they could be when firing on all cylinders.
Playing like a well-oiled machine, they scored a whopping 63 goals in the three days of competition and conceded only once, in the final against Somerset College, whom they thumped 10-1.
Naudé and his players will feel there’s no better time to face Rhenish than the present and they will be keen to keep riding the momentum they built up during their sensational run to the Cape Town International Hockey Tournament title.
Gim is blessed with goal scoring threats; Marika Neethling, Tanya Pieterse, Anya Swanepoel, Annie le Roux, and Isabella Nel combined to fire in 45 of the 63 goals Naudé‘s girls scored on their way to annexing the title. The fact that another 18 goals were also scored shows the potential of the team to strike from anywhere.
In other matches around the province, Herschel Girls School hosts Springfield Convent School in another massive Cape Town derby.
Paarl Girls’ High will be expected to get the job done against Durbanville, while Rustenburg School for Girls welcomes a dangerous Parel Vallei side to their home turf.
HMS Bloemhof will renew their rivalry with La Rochelle, while Stellenberg takes on Outeniqua, and Fairmont faces The Settlers on Saturday.
FIXTURES
Friday, 19 June 2024
18:00 – La Rochelle vs HMS Bloemhof
18:35 – Rustenburg School for Girls vs Parel Vallei
18:40 – Herschel Girls School vs Springfield
19:15 – Paarl Gimnasium vs Rhenish
19:15 – Stellenberg vs Outeniqua
Saturday, 20 July 2024
10:00 – Fairmont High vs The Settlers
11:15 – Paarl Girls High vs Durbanville
Avuyile Sawula is a multimedia sports journalist, broadcaster, and writer. He possesses a journalism qualification from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. During his time in the media industry, he has worked for various online media publications covering a variety of sporting codes. He also has a broadcasting background having worked as a news journalist at one of Cape Town’s commercial radio stations. His reporting beats include hockey, rugby, water polo, and cricket. Apart from writing, he has a knack for creating sports content, and video editing.
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