27 April 2026
Northwood became the first winner of the Michaelhouse Hockey Tournament, claiming the title in the inaugural event in emphatic style with a 4-1 win over Kearsney College in the final on the Punchbowl Astro on Sunday.
The Knights were held to a 3-3 draw by St Andrew’s College in their opener. After that, they conceded a goal in each of their four remaining games. That didn’t matter much, though. They netted 21 times in those contests, with 4-1 wins over Michaelhouse and Kearsney the closest that any other teams came to them.
Earlier in the season, at the Founders Hockey Festival, Northwood captured the spotlight with a 4-2 win over SACS, the best team in South Africa over the past two seasons. The Cape Town school had looked unstoppable up to that point, running roughshod over their opponents, but the Knights, behind a Luc Boyall hat-trick, claimed their scalp.
After that notable triumph, Northwood continued to exude class, but they also fell to some defeats, although never by more than a goal. Still, that left them with something to prove at the Michaelhouse Hockey Tournament. The new event, which also featured an u16 division, comprised 10 1st XIs, who were divided into two groups.
In Pool A, Northwood faced Michaelhouse, Affies, St Charles, and St Andrew’s College. Pool B’s line-up included Kearsney, Maritzburg College, Hilton College, Paarl Boys’ High, and Reddam House Constantia.
The Knights’ domination of Pool A was revealed in the statistics. While they boasted a positive goal difference of 14, no other team had a positive goal difference. Affies, who placed second in the group, recorded two wins, a draw, and a loss to Northwood, leaving them on seven points, three shy of the Durban school.
In Pool B, Hilton College had a slightly better goal difference than Kearsney, +9 to +8, but Kearsney won their four games, including, crucially, beating Hilton 4-3 in the match for both sides. That was pivotal.
Those results gave the Botha’s Hill boys the maximum of 12 points, while Hilton placed second with nine after winning their other three matches.
There were no cross-pool playoffs; the teams that finished in the same position in Pool A and Pool B faced off for the final placings.
In the final, Kearsney gave a good account of themselves, and went into halftime level with the Knights. Northwood, though, struck three times in the third chukka to blow the contest open. Caleb Phipson, with a hat-trick, led their charge.
Hilton College and Affies delivered an entertaining third-place playoff, with Hilton winning a nine-goal thriller by the odd goal, 5-4. Fifth went to Michaelhouse, with a 2-1 win over Maritzburg College.
St Charles College, in seventh, boosted their morale by finishing the tournament strongly. Winless until their last game in Pool A, Saints then upset St Andrew’s College 3-1. Building on that good result, they held off Paarl Boys’ High in their final outing. .
St Andrew’s College has enjoyed a good season thus far, but they had to settle for ninth place after a 5-3 victory over Reddam House Constantia.
RESULTS
Pool A
Michaelhouse 2-2 Affies
Northwood 3-3 St Andrew’s College
Northwood 4-1 Michaelhouse
Affies 1-0 St Charles
Northwood 8-1 St Charles
Michaelhouse 2-2 St Andrew’s College
Affies 3-2 St Andrew’s College
Michaelhouse 3-1 St Charles
Northwood 5-1 Affies
St Charles 3-1 St Andrew’s College
Pool B
Hilton College 3-2 Maritzburg College
Kearsney 3-0 Paarl Boys’ High
Maritzburg College 3-0 Reddam House Constantia
Kearsney 4-3 Maritzburg College
Hilton College 2-1 Paarl Boys’ High
Maritzburg College 2-1 Paarl Boys’ High
Hilton College 8-0 Reddam House Constantia
Kearsney 3-1 Maritzburg College
Paarl Boys’ High 1-0 Reddam House Constantia
Final Placings
9th/10th – St Andrew’s College 5-3 Reddam House Constantia
7th/8th – St Charles College 1-0 Paarl Boys’ High
5th/6th – Michaelhouse 2-1 Maritzburg College
3rd/4th – Hilton College 5-4 Affies
1st/2nd – Northwood 4-1 Kearsney
Under-16s
The u16 event featured 12 teams, who were divided into four pools of three. In Pool A were Michaelhouse, Rondebosch Boys’ High, and Somerset College. Pool B featured Maritzburg College, St Andrew’s College, and Clifton College. Kearsney College, Paarl Boys’ High, and Hilton College contested Pool C, and Northwood, Affies, and St Charles College were in Pool D.
In round-robin action, Rondebosch edged out Michaelhouse 2-1 in a Pool A clash. Later in the tournament, they met in the final. Again, there was only one goal in it, but ‘Bosch won again, taking it 3-2.
Maritzburg College placed third, comfortably dispatching Kearsney 4-1. They were beaten 1-0 by Michaelhouse in the semi-finals, which would have been a disappointment to the Red, Black, and White, who were dominant in their other matches.
Northwood, the winners of the 1st team competition, ended fifth in the u16 event after a 2-0 win over Affies.
RESULTS
Pool A
Michaelhouse 4-0 Somerset College
Rondebosch 2-1 Michaelhouse
Rondebosch 5-0 Somerset College
Pool B
Maritzburg College 7-1 Clifton
Maritzburg College 7-0 St Andrew’s College
St Andrew’s College 2-0 Clifton
Pool C
Kearsney 1-0 Hilton
Kearsney 3-0 Paarl Boys’ High
Paarl Boys’ High 4-3 Hilton
Pool D
Northwood 7-0 St Charles
Northwood 3-0 Affies
Affies 7-0 St Charles
Bottom Four Playoffs
Somerset College 2-1 St Charles
Hilton 3-0 Clifton
Quarterfinals
Rondebosch 2-1 Affies
Michaelhouse 2-1 Northwood
Maritzburg College 5-0 Paarl Boys’ High
Kearsney 6-5 St Andrew’s College
Bottom Four Playoffs
Clifton 2-0 St Charles
Hilton 4-2 Somerset College
5-8 Playoffs
Affies 4-1 St Andrew’s College
Northwood 3-1 Paarl Boys’ High
Semifinals
Rondebosch 2-0 Kearsney
Michaelhouse 1-0 Maritzburg College
Bottom Four
Clifton 4-3 Somerset College
Hilton 7-1 St Charles
Final Placings
1st/2nd
Rondebosch 3-2 Michaelhouse
3rd/4th
Maritzburg College 4-1 Kearsney
5th/6th
Northwood 2-0 Affies
7th/8th
Paarl Boys’ High 4-1 St Andrew’s College
9th/10th
Hilton 4-2 Somerset College
11th/12th
Clifton 2-0 St Charles
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