SA Hockey IPT 2026 | Southern Gauteng and Western Province Crowned Champions of South Africa
The South African Hockey IPT reached its conclusion at the University of Johannesburg on a cold Saturday night, with two outstanding finals bringing the curtain down on a week of elite provincial hockey.
photo credit: Marcel Sigg
In the women’s final, it was a thrilling Gauteng derby as Southern Gauteng and Northerns Blues battled for national supremacy in a tense and fiercely contested encounter. Clear opportunities were few and far between in the opening half, although Southern Gauteng came closest when a dangerous deflection crashed against the crossbar and away.
The game was desperate for a moment of brilliance and Bianca Wood delivered exactly that. The Southern Gauteng star produced a sensational finish, lifting the ball emphatically into the roof of the net to ignite the packed crowd at UJ.
Northerns Blues threw everything forward in search of an equaliser and came agonisingly close when Ntsopa Mokoena missed a golden chance to level matters. Southern Gauteng punished the miss moments later. Hayley Kilfoil reacted quickest to a looping ball inside the circle and hammered home to seal a famous victory.
The result confirmed Southern Gauteng as champions of South Africa for the first time since 2021.
Western Province claimed the bronze medal after edging North West in a shootout following a goalless draw. WP Peninsula secured fifth place with a 3-0 victory over KZN Raiders, while Free State finished seventh after defeating Eastern Province 1-0.
Women’s Individual Awards
The mens final will live long in the memory as one of the great games of hockey in South African Hockey history.
Western Province struck first through Kenton Melville in the opening quarter, but Southern Gauteng responded before the end of the period when Sihle Ngubane produced a brilliant finish to restore parity. The two sides remained locked at 1-1 heading into halftime.
Western Province regained the advantage in the second half after a slick attacking move saw the ball cut back to an unmarked Thabang Jeyi, who calmly fired home to silence the UJ crowd. Reuben Sendzul produced one of the goals of the tournament with a brilliant reverse stick strike to make it 3-1. Southerns pulled a goal back late on through Liam Hermanus to set up a grandstand finish. And a grandstand finish is what we got.
Cameron le Forestier levelled with just 170 seconds left in the game but Niel Raath re-established the lead for Western Province with a brilliant penalty corner flick that looked to seal the title. Sihle Ngubane won a penalty corner for Southern Gauteng and Hermanus fired a leveller in the final seconds.
The game would go to a shootout, which would extend for two sudden death rounds but the defending champions would finally find the killer punch and retain the title in dramatic fashion
The bronze medal was secured by North West, inspired by Jethro Eustice in a dramatic 3-2 victory over KZN Raiders to earn their first medal in five years. Northerns Blues finished fifth after defeating Free State 4-2, while SG Witsies claimed seventh place in a thrilling 4-3 win over Eastern Province.
Men’s Individual Awards
