Women’s hockey team in quest for Olympic glory
● Coach Giles Bonnet believes his national women’s hockey team can fight for silverware at the 2028 Olympics — as long as they can play 200 games between now and then.
His side, which features three schoolgirls he is tipping as future superstars, take on Nigeria in the final of the African Olympic qualifying tournament in Pretoria this afternoon for a spot at the Paris Games next year.
The men face Egypt in the evening. Bloemfontein-based matric pupil Taheera Augousti wrote her matric maths exam on Friday morning — at the nearby Tuks high school — and then played for South Africa in the semifinal against Ghana late that afternoon.
“She’s a world-class player,” said Bonnet, recounting a moment on a trip to Korea earlier this year when he was approached by Australian hockey guru Ric Charlesworth, winner of three Olympic medals as a coach and player.
“He came up to me and said: ‘Who’s that? What age is she?’ She had just turned 18 and he said: ‘She’s a prodigy.’ And she is. That girl is going to be one of the best hockey players in South Africa ever.”
Bonnet was also impressed by the two Grade 11 players in his team, Ntsopa Mokoena and Paris-Gail Isaacs. “Paris-Gail is going to be great. She’s got a hockey brain on her that I also haven’t seen on a young girl, it’s amazing. Her vision, and what she can do … she’s going to be a superstar.”
There’s also Kayla Swarts, the younger sister of Wayde van Niekerk and cousin of Springbok star Cheslin Kolbe. “She’s a phenomenal athlete. We’re building a group that can be in Los Angeles 2028. That’s really my plan, and trying to find the best players actually in this country.”
South African hockey has been in nowhereland since readmission, but Bonnet — in his second tenure as coach — has brought fresh enthusiasm and a new methodology.
Previously coaches were heavily dependent on university students who were available for selection and could raise money for self-funded trips with the help of their institutions. “I say ‘no, we will raise the money’.”
About half the squad has changed since Bonnet took over after the Tokyo Olympics.
Veterans like captain Erin Christie and mother-of-one Celia Seerane are in the system, chasing their final Olympic dream in Paris. Christie gave up her teaching job in Johannesburg and moved with her husband to the Mother City to be closer to Bonnet. Her new job allows her to work remotely, even during this tournament.
Seerane quit field hockey after Tokyo, but Bonnet convinced her to return. That requires her to juggle motherhood, a husband and playing the best hockey she can. “I was at Tokyo and we couldn’t get over the halfway line. We were terrible. I think some games we had three circle entries. If I make that team I want to prepare the team that they can go forward and attack and play [in Paris].”
The 2028 target is more ambitious. “[After] 200 games we can go to Los Angeles for a medal ... if you have a centralised programme with this talent, with these prodigies,” said Bonnet.