1 April 2025
The Belgotex Sport Coastal Cup wrapped up at the Riverside Sports Club, the home of Clifton Sport, on Monday in Durban, with three matches putting a bow on a hugely successful third edition of the event.
Calvin Price, Clifton’s Director of Hockey and coach of the 1st XI, said year three had seen a big step up in the quality of hockey played. “It’s been huge,” he said. “I think the Cape schools make a massive difference, Paul Roos, in particular. The standard has been incredible this year.”
“Michaelhouse [which was part of the event for the first time] has brought a different dynamic, which is also really cool. All in all, I think it has been a really successful Coastal Cup.”
The 12- school field, which brought together teams from KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape, was, at least, a match in quality for the long-running Nomads and Founders Festivals, and, arguably, stronger on this occasion.
That’s the goal,” Price said. The event also offered up opportunities for directors of hockey to watch their 1st teams, u16A and u14A teams in action. “Being here at Riverside, it’s awesome to have two turfs together. That makes a big difference,” Price added. Durban High School (DHS) provided a second venue.
The Coastal Cup was founded as a joint venture of Clifton, Westville Boys’ High, and DHS and it continues to be co-hosted and co-organised by the three schools.
“It is always nice to have an incredible tournament likes this. It’s not easy. I know Cam Mackay [Westville Director of Hockey] has done an unbelievable job as our main tournament director. Then, I and Keegan Hezlett [DHS Director of Hockey] have assisted him. All credit to Cam with the success that we have had. It has been unbelievable,” Price said.
“We have all used each other, where we have our assets. Obviously, we have two turfs, and Keegan using DHS. We work well together, the three of us. It has been a great success, I think. Hopefully, there’s more to come in 2026.
“The standard has been sensational, and the crowds have been incredible, full up, especially on Saturday and Sunday night,” Price continued. “We have had good home support, which is what we want.”
While the Coastal Cup was an outstanding success and the quality superb, it impacted the results of the three co-hosts, who found the going tougher than in past years. That, however, is the goal – to test local sides against the best from elsewhere in the country in an effort to raise the standard of the game.
The three Western Cape entrants – Paul Roos Gimnasium, under Michael Baker, one of the co-founders of the event when he was in charge of hockey at DHS, Parel Vallei, and Paarl Boys’ High – lost only one first team match between them, which demonstrated why Western Province has been the dominant province in recent years at the SASHOC National Week.
On Monday, Clifton went down 0-2 against Parel Vallei, a team that includes three players who were included in national squads in 2024. It was all-square at the break, but the Somerset West school struck twice in quick succession in the first minutes of the third chukka to break open a tight contest.
“I think we let ourselves down quite a lot with our decision-making in the final third, chances and opportunities,” Price commented. “We had eight short corners and didn’t score one. We had more goal-scoring opportunities than them, but we didn’t take them. Very frustrating!”
The absence of striker Byron Ward, who missed the event after suffering a concussion, no doubt blunted Clifton’s attacking edge, but he should be back in action when Clifton takes on DHS at The Coliseum on 12 April.
While Clifton went down to a talented side that has lost only once in 2025, Glenwood High, won one for KZN, beating Pearson 1-0. It was the Green Machine‘s second win in succession after a 2-0 victory against Menlopark on Saturday.
Glenwood Head of Hockey, Braydon Naidoo, appears to have his side on the right track. After a couple of challenging years, there has been a noticeable improvement in Glenwood’s hockey and while they’re still ascending the point is that they are, indeed, ascending.
Not only is that good for Glenwood hockey, but it is also good for hockey in KwaZulu-Natal.
Westville Boys’ High wrapped up the Coastal Cup with an evenly contested clash against Paarl Boys’ High. There was little to separate the teams, but Boishaai found the all-important goal to claim a 1-0 win.
It is a rebuilding year for Westville, but the value of the Coastal Cup could be seen in their performances, which were much improved over their early season form. They exhibited good structure and shape, utilising the entire turf well, which is what one tends to see from Cam Mackay’s teams, and working hard off the ball.
The old bug bear for Mackay and Westville is finishing. They’re creating plenty of chances, but they need to become more efficient at finishing them off.
RESULTS
1st XI
Glenwood 1-0 Pearson
Parel Vallei 2-0 Clifton
Paarl Boys 1-0 Westville
U16
Clifton 4-4 Parel Vallei
Westville 0-0 Paarl Boys
Glenwood 5-2 Pearson
U14s
Paarl Boys 2-1 Westville
Glenwood 4-0 Pearson
Paul Roos 13-0 St Alban’s
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