It’s a new year and a fresh opportunity for the South African men’s national hockey team to climb the world rankings.
Former Benoni Northerns Junior Hockey (BNJH) player Jethro Eustice, who represented South Africa at the 2014 Rabobank Hockey World Cup and XX Commonwealth Games, is a member of an experimental national side that is representing the country in a four-test series against Austria at Queensmead in Durban from January 5 to January 9.
The country’s flagship men’s hockey team faces a big year.
The World League Round Two (WLR2) competition will take place in Cape Town from March 7 to March 15, where important world ranking points can be earned with the added goal of qualification for the World League semi-finals in June/July.
The biggest task facing Eustice and his teammates looks set to be the Africa Cup of Nations event in Ismailia, Egypt, from October 17 to October 25, where a spot at next year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is up for grabs.
Eustice will be aiming to secure his spot in a newly selected South African men’s hockey team that will face off against world number two Holland in a one-off test before two test matches against Ireland in Cape Town from January 19 to January 28.
