Selborne College and Grey High School are preparing for their highly anticipated derby in August, but before that, this weekend, they have other business to handle.
Both sides are on the road and will be eager to bolster their impressive records.
Selborne makes a short trip to Komani to face Queen’s College, while Grey High visits Grey College in Bloemfontein.
Both matches will be broadcast live on SuperSport Schools, with the action in Komani kicking off at 17:45 on the Chris Harker AstroTurf.
Selborne heads to Queen’s full of confidence after dismantling Hudson Park High 9-0 last Friday.
It was a high-quality performance from coach KJ Friend’s side, who dominated from the first whistle and prevented Hudson from firing a single shot on target.
While they weren’t pressed hard at the back, Selborne was ruthless in front of goal, and their talisman, Reid Drake, delivered another top performance in front of his schoolmates, scoring a hat-trick. He was joined on the scoresheet by Saneze Kweba (2), Daelin Hendricks, Kungawo Vazi, Inathi Gxobole, and William Schaefer.
They take on a fiery Queen’s side that also won last weekend. Playing at Cambridge High in KuGompo City, the Michael Baiden-coached team won 3-1.
Past meetings between the schools have been entertaining, with Selborne enjoying the better of their rivals in recent times, including in May, when they scored a 3-2 victory.
Queen’s, however, will back themselves to make good use of their home ground advantage.
In Bloemfontein, Grey High plays for the first time since the mid-year school holidays. Last weekend, their players played in an internal event, their annual Hockey Slam Tournament.
Coach Andrew Beynon’s charges are favoured heading into the clash, but that will mean very little to a desperate Grey College side.
The hosts haven’t enjoyed the best of seasons, blowing hot and cold in big tournaments.
However, the Grey vs Grey derby presents a different dynamic, and Jayden Leach‘s side as well as Ryno Rautenbach will believe that anything can happen on the night, and they could potentially cause an upset. They’ll remember, too, the last time that Grey High visited Bloemfontein, in 2024, when Grey College claimed a 1-0 win.
Grey High will be confident after several of their players impressed at the SASHOC National Week at Hilton College last month.
Dale Jennings was named in the SA Schools u18A side, while Keegan Le Roux, Logan Goddard-Ford, Ben Atkinson, and Ameer Muller made the u18B side. Dante Elkington and James Chree were included in the SA U17 squad, and Le Roux was also drafted into the SA Fives team.
Grey College will need to be at their best to hold off the Gqeberha school.
Dale College does double duty, taking on Cambridge High on Thursday and Graeme College on Friday.
Hudson Park, meanwhile, will aim to get back to winning ways when they host Stirling High at the Buco AstroTurf.
Fixtures
Thursday, 30 July
16:00 – Dale College vs Cambridge
Friday, 31 July
14:00 – Graeme College vs Dale College
16:00 – Hudson Park vs Stirling High
17:45 – Queen’s College vs Selborne College
18:30 – Grey College vs Grey High
Saturday, 1 August
11:00 – Cambridge High vs Merrifield College
