Three days of pool hockey are complete in Gqeberha and the race for the 2026 South African Hockey U21 IPT titles has been reduced to eight teams.
Lenique Vogel – SA U18 – Photo – Nathier Sulaiman / NS_Pics7
Western Province and Northerns Blues remain among the traditional contenders across the two tournaments, but one of the biggest stories of the week has come from the invited national age-group sides. Both the SA U18 Girls and SA U18 Boys have booked places in the semi-finals, earning the opportunity to test themselves against the country’s leading U21 provincial teams with a place in Friday’s final at stake.
Women: U18 Girls Complete Perfect Pool Stage
The SA U18 Girls continued one of the standout runs of the tournament, completing an unbeaten Pool A campaign with a convincing 5-1 victory over WP Peninsula.
After wins over Southern Gauteng and Northerns Blues on the opening two days, a third consecutive victory secured top spot and a place in the semi-finals.
Their reward is a meeting with North West, who finished second in Pool B after their perfect start was ended by Western Province.
Northerns Blues made sure they would join the U18s in the final four with an emphatic 4-0 victory over Southern Gauteng. Having suffered defeat against the SA U18 Girls on Day Two, the Blues responded strongly when qualification was on the line and secured second position in Pool A.
Western Province and North West entered Wednesday’s meeting having both produced dominant performances across the opening two days, but their head-to-head clash was a completely different examination.
Province edged the contest 1-0 to complete the pool stage with three wins from three and, remarkably, without conceding a goal. After scoring freely against Eastern Province and Free State, WP showed they could win the tight ones too.
They will meet Northerns Blues in the second women’s semi-final, while North West take on the unbeaten SA U18 Girls.
The final Pool B encounter saw Free State and Eastern Province share the points in a goalless draw as both sides moved into the classification phase.
Men: Western Province Finish Perfect as U18 Boys Advance
Western Province have set the standard in the men’s competition through the pool phase.
After three convincing victories across the opening two days, the defending champions completed a perfect Pool A campaign with a 2-0 victory over North West on Wednesday. Four games, four wins and a goal difference of +22 sees Province head into the knockout stage as the number one side from Pool A.
But the other semi-final qualification from the group provides another significant storyline for the South African pathway.
The SA U18 Boys finished second in Pool A with three victories from their four matches.Having already beaten North West and Eastern Province earlier in the week, another victory in their final pool encounter against WP Peninsula was enough to secure nine points and a semi-final place.
Just like their female counterparts, the U18 Boys have shown that their presence at the tournament is about far more than simply gaining experience. They have earned their place amongst the final four.
WP Peninsula had earlier kept themselves in the qualification conversation with a 3-2 victory over hosts Eastern Province, but ultimately finished third in the group and outside the title semi-finals.
Northerns Blues completed a perfect Pool B campaign with a 2-0 victory over Southern Gauteng.
Three wins from three saw the Blues secure top spot and arrive in the semi-finals with considerable momentum. Their final pool victory followed wins against KZN Raiders and Free State earlier in the tournament.
KZN Raiders secured the other qualification place after holding off Free State 3-2 in their final pool encounter. After their opening-day defeat to Northerns Blues, the Raiders responded with victories over Southern Gauteng and Free State to finish second.
That sets up a meeting with Western Province, while Northerns Blues will have to get past an SA U18 Boys side that has already shown it is comfortable upsetting the established order.
The pool stages have produced big scorelines, impressive responses and plenty of emerging names, but Thursday brings a completely different challenge.
Eight teams remain in contention across the two competitions.
Western Province carry unbeaten records into both semi-finals. Northerns Blues have a team in each final four. North West and KZN Raiders remain firmly in the hunt.
And then there are the two SA U18 teams.
They arrived in Gqeberha to test themselves against older opposition and gain valuable exposure within the national pathway. Three days later, both are two wins away from lifting an U21 IPT title.
The pool stages are done.Now, it’s knockout hockey.
SA Hockey Under 21 IPT 2026 – Fixtures – 13 August 2026
Mens 5-9th Playoffs (Grey High)
09:00 – North West vs Free State
10:45 – Eastern Province vs Southern Gauteng
Womens 5-8 Playoffs (Gelvandale)
09:00 – Southern Gauteng vs Eastern Province
10:45 – WP Peninsula vs Free State
Mens Semi-Finals (Gelvandale)
14:15 – Western Province vs KZN Raiders
17:45 – Northerns Blues vs SA Under 18
Womens Semi-Finals (Gelvandale)
12:30 – SA Under 18 vs North West
16:00 – Western Province vs Northerns Blues
All matches played at Gelvandale are streamed live on Supersport Schools
