Last week was an emotional one for former Benoni Northerns Junior Hockey (BNJH) player Jethro Eustice (25), as he was presented with the captain’s armband of the South African men’s national hockey team for the final two test matches in the four-match series against Austria in Queensmead, Durban.
Eustice, leading a vastly inexperienced national team in Durban, has played for the national team for two years and has played at the Commonwealth Games, as well as the 2014 Hockey World Cup.
The defender attributes his experience at these major events to his recent selection as skipper of the national team.
“Playing at those tournaments has given me so much experience and understanding of the game at an international level. However, I am still learning all the time,” the skipper said
“Playing for your country is always a true honour and a real privilege.”
On the Austrian test series, which ended in a 2-1 defeat, he commented, “Things did not always go our way but we managed to find the styles and formations that we were looking for, and we will be using that in our upcoming series and tours.”
“I still fondly remember when I first captained the u-13 Eastern Gauteng provincial hockey team and now, to captain my country in the sport I love has been something special.
“Every second has been unbelievable,” he added.
“While I was singing the national anthem, louder and prouder than ever before, I thought about where I came from and how I got to this position.
“During the game I knew that I couldn’t give up.
“I was fighting not only for my team, but for the entire country.
“We did not manage to win this test series against the Austrian team, but the South African men’s team is an extremely exciting squad at the moment and, leading up the Olympic qualifiers, things are looking incredibly positive for this team.”
