Matt shines for SA indoor hockey team
South Africa whitewash Namibia in indoor test series.
IT speaks volumes about a person when they prefer to focus on the teams character rather than their own performances.
This is especially true for Durban North resident Matt Fairweather who recently represented South Africa at the SPAR International Indoor Hockey Test Series. Having already qualified for the Indoor World Cup next year, the national men’s and women’s team took on Namibia in a series of five test matches across the country.
The SA teams won the series completing a comprehensive whitewash. Fairweather was one of the standouts for the green and gold scoring six goals in the series. He was the second highest goal scorer behind fellow team mate Gavin Jelley who scored 10 goals.
“It was a fantastic series in that it provided a morale boost for the team ahead of our next major competition and it allowed us time to get to play together as a unit. It has been eight years since South Africa hosted an indoor tournament and the fact that we were able to play in front of our home crowd was just awesome.
“As a team we’d spent very little time together and before the five match series kicked off, we all had a two day training camp which was hugely beneficial,” the Northwood School border master said.
The men’s team now face a tough quadrangular series against Argentina, Canada and Russia later this year but Fairweather is confident the team can win against some of their more fancied opponents.
“There’s no doubt that the series is going to be tough but we’ve had a chance to work our strengths and weaknesses and tweak a few things so come October, I think we will be even more focused and ready for the challenges ahead. Like any sport, the more you play together, the better you get and I’m confident this will show out on the court,” he said.
