The South African Junior World Cup hockey squad will feature five North West-based players in a strong line-up for the upcoming tournament at the NWU Astroturf in Potch from 5 to 16 December.
These players are Mishka Ellis, Chanté Ferreira, Jacolene McLaren, Christa Ramasimong and Zimkitha Weston. Charmorné Theron was named as one of the travelling reserves. With just two weeks to go, the SA women have gone full steam ahead to make sure they are as prepared as possible for a pool that features Spain, USA and Germany.
“The players, management and I are extremely excited for the upcoming World Cup and looking forward to the challenge,” says SA head coach, Lenise Marais.
“We haven’t played any international competition and only had a series against the Dutch in 2019. In terms of the level of hockey, we’re excited to see where we stand against others, compare ourselves and compete at that very high level – which is, ultimately, our main goal.” In terms of the team chosen, Marais believes they’ve chosen a well-balanced team.
“We’ve got a good defensive unit, some great midfielders and some strikers that can score. We also have talented and exciting goalkeepers in the squad. We have been mindful of making sure that we have a balanced team and we’ve chosen the best players that I feel have been available to us. “We hope to do ourselves proud, South African hockey proud and, of course, our country,” she added.
FIH Junior World Cup 2021 – South African Squad Laylaa Davids – Western Province; Kayla de Waal – Western Province; Jean-Leigh Du Toit – Northern Blues; Mishka Ellis – North West; Chanté Ferreira – North West; Sare Laubscher – Free State; Mikkela Le Roux – Western Province; Hanrie Louw – Northern Blues; Caylin Maree – Western Province; Edith Molikoe – Northern Blues; Jacolene McLaren – North West; Mathapelo Ramasimong – North West; Maboloke Serage – Western Province; Jeanri Thomas – Western Province; Angela Welham – Western Province, Zimkhita Weston – North West; Bianca Wood – Amathole; Onthatile Zulu – Northern Blues.
Travelling Reserves Tamlyn Kock – Southern Gauteng and Charmorné Theron – North West.
SA Fixtures:
- 5 December 2021 – SA vs Spain
- 7 December 2021 – SA vs USA
- 9 December 2021 – SA vs. Germany.
