SA hockey women complete Namibia whitewash as World Cup preparations gather pace

The SA women’s hockey team ended their series against Namibia on a high, with a 4-0 win at Hartleyvale Stadium in Cape Town. The South African women’shockeyteam head into the final phase of theirFIH Hockey World Cuppreparations with momentum firmly on their side after completing a comprehensive 4-0 Test series sweep over Namibia in Cape Town. South Africa wrapped up the series with a 4-0 victory in Friday’s final Test at Hartleyvale Stadium, extending their unbeaten international record against their southern African neighbours and giving the coaching staff another encouraging performance ahead of next month’s global showpiece.

The four-match series was designed to help South Africa fine-tune combinations and settle on their final World Cup squad before travelling to Scotland for their last warm-up fixtures. While the hosts won every Test, Namibia proved stubborn opposition throughout the series, regularly frustrating South Africa despite the Proteas dominating possession for long spells. That was again the case in the final encounter as Caylin Maree’s strike late in the opening quarter remained the only goal until the closing 12 minutes.

South Africa eventually turned territorial dominance into goals, with Ongeziwe Mali doubling the advantage before Hannah Pearce continued her outstanding series from penalty corners. Jean-Leigh du Toit then capped her 50th international appearance by converting another penalty corner to complete the scoring, while fellow defender Bianca Wood also celebrated her 50th cap. Pearce emerged as one of the biggest positives from the series, finishing with six goals across the four Tests to underline her importance from set-pieces ahead of the World Cup.

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The series also saw several players celebrate personal milestones, with Ntsopa Mokoena, Ongeziwe Mali, Marlise van Tonder, Du Toit and Wood all reaching the 50-cap mark, while Baylee Engelke earned her senior international debut. South Africa’s performances were not without areas for improvement. Despite creating a host of circle entries and scoring opportunities across the four matches, the hosts were guilty at times of wasteful finishing, something they will look to sharpen before facing elite opposition at the World Cup.

Those challenges become significantly greater next month when South Africa take on England, China and India in a formidable pool at the tournament in Belgium and the Netherlands. Before leaving for Europe, South Africa will announce their final World Cup squad and complete another block of preparation matches in Scotland, hoping the confidence gained from a clean sweep over Namibia can provide the ideal springboard for hockey’s biggest stage.

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