SuperSport Schools News | Collegiate captures maiden Fairtree Super 12 title

Collegiate played exceptionally well to overcome DSG Makhanda in the final of the Fairtree Super 12 Tournament. Photo: Supplied.

Salomé-Rose Oosthuizen was solid between the posts, while Jana Prinsloo and Kerrin Gillies scored to give Collegiate a storybook ending to their season after a 2-1 win over DSG Makhanda in the final of the Fairtree Super 12 Tournament at Oranje on Saturday evening.

Oosthuizen and Gillies also took home individual awards in addition to their gold medals.

Oosthuizen collected the award for the Save of the Tournament for her match-saving heroics against St Mary’s DSG Kloof earlier in the competition, while Gillies was recognised as the Defender of the Tournament.

“We always knew the final would be tightly contested. For us, it was to stick to the game plan, be resilient in defence, and to capitalise on our opportunities when presented,” Michael Abrahams, the Collegiate head coach, told SuperSport Schools News.

Collegiate’s journey to the title began in Group D, where they battled against the two KwaZulu-Natal sides, Our Lady of Fatima and St Mary’s DSG Kloof. They overcame Our Lady of Fatima 1-0 before settling for a 0-0 draw with St Mary’s. Those results earned the Gqeberha school a first-place finish in the pool.

Abrahams’ charges faced a stern test when they took on the hosts, Oranje, in the quarter-finals. The contest ended in a 1-1 draw before Collegiate won the penalty shootout 4-3. After that, Collegiate faced last year’s champion, Paarl Gimnasium, in the semi-finals. They squeezed out a 2-1 win, thanks to goals from Gillies and Olivia Freercks.

“There was no easy game throughout the tournament. We stuck to our processes and ensured we treated every game on its merits. I’m very proud of all the Collegiate ladies,” Abrahams said.

The final was Collegiate and DSG’s third meeting in 2026. Both sides knew what to expect from the other, and Collegiate, who had won the previous two clashes, knew what it took to defeat their provincial neighbours.

“A big talking point for us (coming into the tournament) was team unity and team cohesion, making sure we hold ourselves accountable for a high work rate, and trying to play with confidence. We have set patterns and principles that we challenge the girls to implement to the best of their ability, which has worked for us,” Abrahams reflected.

Collegiate had to pull together as a team to overturn a 0-1 deficit on their way to glory.

DSG drew first blood with a sixth-minute goal off a short corner from Lucy Holderness, who finished the tournament with six goals. That tied her with Oranje’s Daniella Grobbelaar, and they shared the Top Goal-Scorer award.

Holderness also collected the Player of the Tournament, Midfielder of the Tournament, and the Goal of the Tournament accolades. Her brilliance, though, wasn’t quite enough to lead DSG to the title.

Collegiate issued a swift and immediate response to going behind, with Prinsloo levelling two minutes later when she converted a penalty corner.

After some back-and-forth play, Gillies broke the stalemate in the 20th minute. Like Collegiate’s first goal, it also came from a penalty corner.

Collegiate’s march to glory was a just finish to a season in which they had emphatically proved themselves to be one of the best teams in the country, but without having the silverware to prove it. That’s no longer the case.

Individual awards

Player of the tournament: Lucy Holderness (DSG)
Best goalkeeper: Annika Kloppers (Menlopark)
Best midfielder: Lucy Holderness (DSG)
Best forward: Alanda Rademeyer (Paarl Gim)
Best defender: Kerrin Gillies (Collegiate)
Best goal: Lucy Holderness (DSG)
Best save: Salomé-Rose Oosthuizen (Collegiate)
Top goal scorer: Daniella Grobbelaar (Oranje) and Lucy Holderness (DSG)

Results

Final: Collegiate 2-1 DSG Makhanda
3/4: Paarl Gimnasium 1-0 Menlopark
5/6: St Mary’s DSG Kloof 2-0 Rhenish
7/8: Oranje 5-2 Reddam House Constantia

Semi-finals

Collegiate 2-1 Paarl Gim
DSG Makhanda 3-0 Menlopark

Other matches

Our Lady of Fatima 3-2 St Cyprian’s
Herschel 2-2 Waterkloof
St Mary’s DSG Kloof 3-0 Reddam House Constantia
Rhenish 3-1 Oranje
Waterkloof 2-0 St Cyprian’s
Our Lady of Fatima 2-0 Herschel

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CS Chiwanza

CS Chiwanza is a former poet and now a full-time storyteller of Southern African sports. He jokes that those who can't do a thing well enough either teach or write. He knows the right way to hold a cricket bat and the right grip for the wobbleball, but can't do either well enough to be picked for a good team. So he writes. However, he mastered the best dart grip and spends hours stat-padding against his wife and kids.