Eastern Province hockey captains will take a lot of confidence in being the hosts for the upcoming U21 interprovincial tournament starting in Gqeberha next week.
The country’s hockey elite will have the chance to pit their skills against the country’s best when they vie for the coveted titles in their respective divisions.
The province will field three teams for their first home tournament in eight years, with a men’s side as well as two women’s sides set to do battle at the Gelvandale AstroTurf and Pearson High.
Eight men’s and nine women’s teams will form part of the action which gets under way on April 24, each with their own ambitions of leaving Nelson Mandela Bay as champions.
However, the home teams want to ensure that the titles remain in the province.
Men’s U21 captain Kamva Dyakala said his side was filled with leaders, which he felt would make his job easier and would allow him to focus on producing some quality hockey in the tournament.
“I feel like we have quite a few leaders in the team — it is an honour to just be the leader of a side in our home IPT, so if I do struggle I will have other guys who I can lean on for assistance.
“The school hockey pool in the province is quite small, so the guys know each other very well, the squad is quite close and we are just keen to get the tournament under way.
“Our focus right now though is not on the other teams, but rather on us and what we need to do as a team to achieve the best results we can,” Dyakala said.
Megan Snyman, who will captain the EP U21 women’s A side, does not believe her task will be too difficult, having played alongside many of her teammates for various sides over the last few years.
“We click quite well as a team, all of the girls know exactly what their role on the side will be, so I don’t think it will be too hard to captain this group.
“I have represented EP for the last seven years, and there has never been a tournament in PE, so I am really honoured that we have gained this opportunity and I am looking forward to showing the other provinces how things are done.
“We didn’t have our best result last year, so this year our first aim is to improve on our performances from last year.
“We have had young sides previously but we have become a lot more confident and mature in our play,” she said.
Meanwhile, Kirsten Barnard, who captains the women’s B side, said her side could be seen as underdogs coming into the competition, but that it only gave them a chance to go quietly about their business and pull off a few potential upsets of their own.
“With everyone coming from various locations, it might be a bit of a challenge to play together at the beginning, but we are ready for it.
“As the B side, I think people underestimate us, so for us, the aim would be to just go out there, give our best and try to play at the same or similar level to our A side,” Barnard said.
The EP U21 squads are:
Men: Kamva Dyakala (capt), Silindele Nobadala, Jade Smith, Joel Sincock, Ricky Vaupotic, Carlo Brink, Zaakir Ensal, Caleb Stokes, Craig Saunders, Seth Faltain, Nick Keevy, Basheer Ensal, Cole Olivier, Fezile Mthombeni, Mathew Lewis, Joshua Voigt, Nick Mitchell, Storm Phillips. Reserves: Lucian Barends, Damien Rudman, Cullen Posthumus, Cameron Dalton, Bukho Pantsi.
Women A: Ahluma Bambisa, Alyssa Filander, Andy Mfunda, Chelsey Cooke, Elizabeth Porter, Gabby Rockman, Hannah Van Wyk, Isabella Bisdee, Jade Singleton, Jamie Alcock, Lily Sharp, Maigon Peterson, Megan Snyman (capt), Moeche Zeelie, Ntsiki Brandon, Rachel Barry, Tayla Gilbert, Tori White.
Women Settlers Invitational: Asti Nama, Caitlin Bell, Cally Still, Clarissa Van Rooyen, Jenna Peltenburg, Jodi Lee October, Karista Erasmus, Kayleigh Gouws, Kerry Kerspey, Kirsten Barnard (captain), Lara Kleinhans, Milla Otto, Nabila Schultz, Niela Van Der Poel, Rosie Eisenberg, Suhaa Ahmed, Brooker Kruger, Litho Tyalantsika. Reserves: Savannah Barron, Kate Comely, Gabriella Bouwer, Indi Vusani.
HeraldLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.