Hockey | SA Hockey IPT 2025 – Day 1 Wrap-Up

The first day of the SA Hockey Interprovincial Tournament delivered all the promise of elite hockey, goals, upsets, and teams laying down markers for the week ahead. With the newly resurfaced Belgotex Sport pitches gleaming under the Cape Town skies, both the Men's and Women's tournaments got underway with purpose.

Hartleyvale Stadium, Cape Town | 28 July 2025

Men’s A Section

SA U21 3–0 Free State
The defending champions, SA Under 21, opened their account with a professional 3-0 win over Free State. It wasn’t their most fluid performance, but a clean sheet and three goals will settle the nerves. Litha Kraai found the net early with a composed field goal, Reuben Sendzul showed his finishing class, and Dudley Horn added late insurance to round off a solid start.

Northern Blues 0–4 WP Peninsula
In what many would label an early shock, WP Peninsula (Western Province B) stunned the Northern Blues with a commanding display. Caleb Oliphant pounced on a loose ball for the opener, Kenton Melville added a second before halftime, and Josh Koff extended the lead. Nicholas Giger slotted a penalty stroke to complete a dominant 4-0 performance.

Southern Gauteng 5–0 Eastern Province
Last year’s runners-up Southern Gauteng looked razor-sharp from the whistle. Liam Hermanus scored twice in the opening 20 minutes to take control. Michael Newland-Nel added a third, Marvin Simons got in on the action, and the legendary Julian Hykes, now player-coach, put the exclamation mark on a powerful 5-0 win.

Western Province 6–1 KZN Raiders
After conceding early to Darryl Lotter and facing a potential upset, WP roared back with a vengeance. Luthando Jonas equalised before halftime and added another after the break. Viwe Mbata and Jacques van Tonder piled on, before Mustapha Cassiem scored twice to wrap up an emphatic 6-1 comeback win for the hosts.

Women’s A Section

SA U21 1–3 North West
North West got off to a dream start with Emily Wilson striking early, and her twin sister Charne de Wet doubling the advantage. Although Teshawn de le Rey pulled one back for the juniors, the result was sealed late on by Lize Claassens as North West started strong.

Northern Blues 4–0 WP Peninsula
The defending champs had to be patient. After Hanrie Louw opened the scoring, WP Peninsula made them work hard for the rest. It wasn’t until the second half that they pulled away through Olivia Dillion, Maikimisetso Marokoane, and another from Louw to secure a confident 4-0 win.

Southern Gauteng 6–1 KZN Raiders
Southern Gauteng wasted no time hitting their stride. Sylvia van Jaarsveldt scored twice in the opening half, joined by goals from Gabriella Terblanche and Unathi Magudulela for a 4-0 lead at the break. Amber Fairon and Bianca Wood added further polish, with Jessica Fletcher grabbing a consolation for the Raiders.

Western Province 9–0 Free State
In the most one-sided game of the day, WP flexed their muscles with a nine-goal blitz. Kaps, De Waal, Maddocks, Wiseman, Botha, Bobbs—everyone got in on the action. With a relentless attack, WP made a clear statement of intent as tournament favourites.

Women’s B Section

Eastern Province 7–0 Mpumalanga
EP wasted no time in staking their claim for promotion. Bianca de Klerk and Toni Marks both struck twice, with further goals from Elan van Vugt, Tasmyn Preller, and Tristan Howard rounding out a commanding win.

Eastern Province 2–1 WP Disa
In the second match of their double-header, EP had to dig deeper. Disa took the lead through Trusten Barnard, but Marks equalised before Tasmyn Preller blasted home the winner to cap off a perfect Day 1 for the Eastern Cape side.

With Day 1 complete, the tone has been set in Cape Town. From Southern Gauteng’s attacking flair to WP’s ruthless precision, and EP’s dominant double in the B Section—the next few days are shaping up to be something special at Hartleyvale.

Fixtures – 29 July 2025

Hartleyvale A – Broadcast on Supersport Channel 199
08:45 – Mens A Section – SA Under 21 vs. Northern Blues
10:30 – Womens A Section – Northern Blues vs. SA Under 21
12:15 – Mens A Section – Free State vs. WP Peninsula
14:00 – Womens A Section – Free State vs. KZN Raiders
15:45 – Womens A Section – WP Peninsula vs. North West
17:30 – Mens A Section – Western Province vs. Southern Gauteng
19:15 – Womens A Section – Western Province vs. Southern Gauteng

Hartleyvale B – Not Broadcast

09:00 – Womens B Section – Mpumalanga vs. WP Disa
14:45 – Mens A Section – KZN Raiders vs. Eastern Province
16:30 – Womens B Section – Eastern Province vs. Mpumalanga

Photos - Credit - Jan van Zyl