New SA team for CT Summer Series hockey

The three matches form part of the annual Cape Town Summer Series; this year there are a bumper 20 matches that include 16 Test matches.

The SA men’s and SA women’s teams are taking part and the other countries are national men’s teams The Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland plus the flagship women’s teams from Belgium and Chile. The series runs from January 20 to February 2 with three of the 20 matches – involving The Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland men – not at Hartleyvale but at Stellenbosch.

Striker Natius Malgraff of NMMU and Eastern Province (competing for the ball with New Zealand’s Dean Cousins and Gonzalo Peillat of Argentina in the respective pics) returns to the SA side for the Cape Town Test matches.

The SA men’s team’s three Hartleyvale Test matches are against The Netherlands on Tuesday, January 20 at 5pm; versus Ireland at 4pm on Sunday, January 25; and Ireland on Monday, January 26 at 7pm. National men’s head coach Fabian Gregory will be combining the three matches with a week-long training camp. The SA squad meet in Cape Town on Monday.

Friday, Gregory said chat the composition of the squad is made up of those players who impressed in the exciting 2-1 series loss to Austria in Durban just over a week ago, plus the recall of some of the more seasoned players.

Several experienced SA players such as national captain Austin Smith are again unavailable for this series as they are representing their franchise teams in the Hockey India League during this period, while others are unavailable due to factors such as overseas club commitments. “This is the second phase of our preparation for the World League Round 2 event at Hartleyvale in early March and I expect The Netherlands and Ireland to provide a considerably higher level of competition to that which we experienced in Durban,” said Gregory.

Midfielder Dan Sibbald of Varsity College and KZN Coastal Raiders (with Pando Camacho of Argentina in this pic) retains his place in the SA side for the Cape Town Test matches.

Gates open 1 hour before the first match. Ticket prices are R30 per person.

SA TEAM
Goalkeepers: Gowan Jones (KZN Coastal Raiders); Jacques le Roux (Western Province); Jason Briggs, Sizwe Mthembu (both Southern Gauteng).
Defenders: Gareth Heyns, Lance Louw (both Southerns); Robin Jones (both Raiders); Daniel Bell, Rhett Halkett, Dylan Swanepoel (all WP).
Midfielders: Ross Hetem, Dan Sibbald (both Raiders); Marc Fourie (WP), Jethro Eustice, Clint Panther, Miguel da Graca (all Southerns).
Strikers: Pierre de Voux, Keenan Horne, Shannon Boucher (all WP); Brandon Panther (Southerns); Natius Malgraff, Dalan Phillips (both EP); Damian Kimfley (KZN Inland).