WP women put their hands up for Proteas selection

WOMEN’S inter- provincial hockey has been brought forward to this weekend due to the the World Cup being scheduled to take place in London from July 21 – less than three months away.

South Africa have qualified for the World Cup by being African champions, as well as their excellent campaign at the Hockey World League last July.

The WP women’s side won their two opening encounters on Thursday and yesterday – two 5-1 victories against WP Peninsula and Eastern Province.

WP have four current SA players in their squad and the three infield players – Jayde Mayne, Candice Manuel and Quanita Bobbs – all got their names on the scoresheet in the first two games.

The team has a good blend of youth and experience and will be expected to each the semi-finals with their toughest opposition in the pool stages being Southern Gauteng, who they are due to face on Monday afternoon.

They will potentially play either Northerns or North West in the semis. Both those squads are extremely well balanced and will be a tough obstacle for WP.

In local action Fish Hoek host the unbeaten Maties men’s team at 3pm at the Wynberg astro today. The rest of the league will not be an action due to the long weekend.

Fish Hoek lost their opening two matches and will be looking to get back on track. Maties have registered four wins and remain unbeaten. The have pre-played a few of their games due to the Varsity Cup which takes place in May.

Maties have been in imperious form and have scored 15 goals while conceding only four.

They have added Wade Dollman ,William Eveleigh, Nick Price and Clayton Saker to their squad this year. Ashlin Freddy, the Maties coach, is a superb tactician, and Maties will be a tough outfit in the Varsity Cup as well is the WP league.