South Africa continued their preparation for the 2026 World Cup with the third match of the series in front of a packed and electric Hartleyvale. It was not an official Test, but it was an important step in the journey as the group continues to build depth and understanding. With the Nkosi Cup starting on Friday, the Indoor Men who featured in the first two Tests were not involved, so the Cassiem brothers and Cullin de Jager watched this one from the stands.
South Africa met Wales in the thirteen to sixteen playoff matches and despite creating enough chances to take something from the game they were left disappointed after a two nil defeat.
South Africa were unable to close out their Junior World Cup campaign with a win as they went down 4 to 2 to Australia in Tamil Nadu in the playoff for eleventh place. It meant the South Africans finished in twelfth position overall. After the disappointment of the previous game the boys dusted themselves off and committed fully to one more effort, but Australia were sharper in the critical moments.
South Africa produced a superb, spirited performance to hold India to a 2-2 draw in Cape Town, ending a run of defeats to the Asian champions that stretched back 13 years and keeping the Test series alive. The build-up carried added significance too — it was the first time South Africa had played a Test match at Hartleyvale since 2017, and the crowd responded with energy that the players fed off all night.
South Africa fell 5-2 to India in the opening Test of the SPAR SA Hockey vs India Series, despite a spirited performance in front of a packed Maties crowd in Stellenbosch. The African Champions, playing their first home game since lifting the African Cup of Nations, introduced four new internationals in Viwe Mbata, Thabang Jeyi, Michael Horan and Tevin Petersen, adding an exciting layer of fresh energy to the occasion.
South Africa faced Uruguay with a golden opportunity to secure a place in the top twelve and immediately improve on their thirteenth-place finish from two years ago. It was a tense and gripping contest that ended one all in regulation time before Uruguay edged the shootout to deny South Africa the step forward they were chasing.
South Africa suffered a frustrating 4–2 defeat to Ireland in their playoff semifinal, a result that sends the Africans into the 11th-place match despite controlling almost every major metric of the contest, including an overwhelming 35 circle entries to Ireland’s 13 and a 7–4 advantage in penalty corners.
South Africa wrapped up their group stage campaign at the Junior World Cup with a demanding encounter against China, knowing that anything less than a win would place them in the bottom half of the tournament. It was always going to be a challenging task and China showed their intent from the very first whistle.
In their second game of the tournament, South Africa faced a slick English outfit eager to ignite their own campaign after drawing their opening match with China. It proved a far tougher assignment for the young South Africans who fought throughout but ultimately fell to a four-one defeat.
