CAPE TOWN - Western Province men’s hockey selectors have gone for a good mix of youth and experience, selecting nine players under the age of 22 for the inter-provincial tournament at the end of next month.
The tournament will be played in Randburg, although it had been earmarked for Cape Town, but the city lost out due to the current water shortage. SA hockey required guarantees from the host union with regards to the watering of the astroturf pitches during the tournament, but WP were unable to give this as local government could not give them the go-ahead to sink the boreholes to source the underground water that could have solved the problem.
The WP men’s A echoes the pro-youth trend in the national squads. Current SA squad members who have forced their way in are new caps Andrew Hobson, Dayaan Cassiem, Alex Stewart, Matt de Sousa and Charlie Bowren. The rest of the under-22 players are Bjorn Sorenson, Ryan Crowe, Ryan Julius and Anton van Loggerenberg.
The players represent the future and show the undoubted depth and strength in the province.
Central Hockey Club is well represented in the two men’s squads with 11 players cracking the nod. There has been an influx of players to the Athlone-based team with the likes of Luthando Jonas and Lance de kock returning. Given the players they can now call on, Central should be one of the teams to beat this season.
There are five Bishops old boys and one current pupil - Cassiem - in the squad, showing the continued good work being done by the coaching team at the school under Warren Wallace.
WP is well served on the coaching front, with former top players Steve Evans and Lungile Tsolekile at the helm. Evans has already lifted the IPT crown with the Peninsula team back in 2014.
WP Men’s A team:
Alex Stewart (Maties), Andrew Hobson (Maties), Anton Van Loggerenberg (UCT), Bernard Greybe (Central), Bjorn Sorenson (UCT), Callum Buchanan (WPCC), Charlie Bowren (Maties), Dave Agar (WPCC), Dayaan Cassiem (Central), Jason Mulder (Central), Jean-Pierre de Voux (Central), Jody Erasmus (Central), Keenan Horne (Maties), Matt de Sousa (Maties), Owen Maqhula (Langa), Rob Edwards (Langa), Ryan Crowe (WPCC), Ryan Julius (Central)
WP Women’s A team:
Nicole la Fleur (Maties), Ashleigh Freeman (Fish Hoek), Jackie Scheepers (Somerset West), Bronwyn Kretzman (Conberg), Paige Phillips (Maties), Paige Alcock (Maties), Michelle Dias (WPCC), Anche Nortje (Maties), Jade Mayne (Somerset West), Natasha Rootenberg (Maties), Illse Davids (WPCC), Quanita Bobbs (Central), Line Malan (WPCC), Gina Sole (WPCC), Tarryn Glasby (Maties), Candice Manuel (Conberg), Heather McEwan (Maties), Meg Robertson (Pinelands)