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Northwood waterpolo players have recently achieved exceptionally well in their sport. Justin Snyman played KZN U18 Currie Cup (silver medal) and Mark Fouche played KZN U18 B Currie Cup. Both Mark Fouche and Matthew Bedderson were invited to SA U16 Waterpolo trials and Matthew made the U16B National side and will be touring to Italy and Malta in July.  Our waterpolo MIC and 1st Team coach, Hadyn Skinner coached the KZN U18A ladies Currie Cup team.

Dayne Jagga (u14 coach) played in the KZN men’s A team (Silver medal) at Currie Cup after returning from EU Cup in Odense, Denmark , in which South African won their 1st international gold. Dayne leaves us in August as he goes to play in the USA on a scholarship. Steve woods will take over u14A polo.

The Northwood 1^st hockey team put in their most polished performance of the season so far, when they dispatched Michaelhouse 4 – 0 on Saturday.

Northwood dominated the encounter from start to finish with every player in the team producing massive performances to give them an outstanding team victory away from home.

Northwood opened the scoring through exciting midfielder Cody van Breemen when he eliminated three defenders at high speed and smashed a reverse stick shot past the advancing Michaelhouse keeper. The visitors doubled their lead when some enterprising play down the right hand side resulted in a simple far post tip in from midfielder Scott Bowman.

The second half saw Northwood continue to control the tempo of the match and they kept the Michaelhouse defenders under pressure with some swift counter attacking hockey.

Michaelhouse had a fantastic opportunity to pull one back when their striker had a free shot at goal but couldn’t beat the advancing Garick Goldman. The rebound fell to the striker again but his shot was saved brilliantly on the line by defender Ighsaan Manuel.

Northwood scored their third of the match when a brilliant diving reverse stick strike from midfielder Sacha de Marigny flashed past the Michaelhouse keeper.

Michaelhouse looked to have scored again when their striker dispossessed a Northwood defender and entered the circle but his shot flashed wide of the target.

Northwood capped off the victory with a brilliant penalty corner variation that saw Joshua Cowell fire a rocket into the bottom corner.

The Northwood team showed passion and discipline in what was a fantastic 4 – 0 victory.

Report by Darryn Gallagher, MIC of Hockey, 1st Team Coach

Photo Credit to Grant Motley, Northwood Press Club

The Northwood 1^st hockey team continued their winning momentum when they beat Hilton College 2 – 0 on Saturday.

Northwood dominated the majority of the first half and created some good scoring chances but struggled to break down the solid Hilton defence. Some enterprising play from young striker Kyle Rawling resulted in him smashing a reverse stick shot at goal but the Hilton keeper was up to the task. Northwood continued to pile on the pressure but couldn’t find the breakthrough.

Northwood eventually made the breakthrough when Ighsaan Manuel fired a rocket drag flick into the bottom corner of the Hilton goal at their first penalty corner.

Hilton’s best chance of the half came when they were awarded a penalty corner after the ball hit a Northwood foot in the circle. Hilton College looked to have drawn level when the first shot beat the Northwood keeper but was saved brilliantly on the line by Bradley McNally.

The second half saw Hilton College come out firing and Northwood showed some defensive jitters early on. Hilton created a good scoring chance but the striker missed the target. Hilton created another opportunity when they forced a penalty corner but Northwood keeper Garick Goldman pulled off an outstanding save from the resulting drag flick.

Hilton threw everything into attack in the last five minutes to try get a result and Northwood caught them on the counter when a brilliant overhead from Cody van Breemen found speedy striker Ntobeko Sibisi who went around the Hilton keeper and calmly slotted the ball into an open goal to give the visitors the 2 – 0 victory.

Photo Credit to Grant Motley, Northwood Press Club

The match was a scrappy affair and neither side looked to be getting anywhere. Parktown kicked every bit of possession in the second quarter of the game, thus finally allowing the dangerous outside backs from Northwood to get going on the counter, something coach Grant Bashford focuses on intensely.

Northwood can be pleased with their scrums, however the lineout was just not working for them on the day.

Northwood’s highlights came at end of first quarter where Phiko Sobahle found a gap in the far left corner and sliced through. Luanda Mngadi, the flying right winger, finally got his hand on the ball after a quiet first half to the season and proved himself by being a vital part of both Phiko Sobahles tries. He deservedly got one of his own with a break down the right touch line and a great kick through and gather to dot down under the poles.

Northwood fullback Jadon Stevens and left wing Jason Daniels also did very well with ball in hand.

Northwood lead 19-3 at the break and the second half was a lot quieter with the only score coming from Parktowns Derron Solomon who crashed over the line with Ethan Frasca adding the conversion to his first half penalty.

Northwood can be pleased with their performance as well as claiming the sculpt of the formidable Parktown team of 2015 who have run many big names close this season so far.

Final score 19-10 to Northwood.

Picture Credit to:  Luan Costa Varela (Northwood Press Club) and Mr Brian Gow

The Northwood 1^st hockey team showed determination and composure to come out on top against a much improved Parktown team on Saturday.

Northwood, having beaten Parktown 2 – 0 at the K.E.S. festival earlier in the season were favourites for the fixture but didn’t have it all their own way against an improved, gutsy and fast Parktown team.

Parktown brought intensity to the game and Northwood had a scare early in the first half when a forward’s reverse stick shot from a tight angle flashed past the post.

This attempt ignited the Northwood team who started to match the intensity of the visitors and some free flowing play resulted in some good scoring chances. Northwood eventually broke down the hard working visitors when Joshua Cowell fired a penalty corner drag flick into the bottom corner to give the home team a 1 – 0 lead going into the break.

The second half was an even contest with both teams playing good hockey from circle to circle but neither team created enough to threaten the opposition’s goals.

The game ignited in the last ten minutes and the home team captain had a great opportunity to bury the visitors when he broke from the half way line, entered the circle and sent a rocket of a shot which smashed the keeper on the shoulder and rebounded to a Northwood striker who flashed the second shot wide.

Northwood looked to have missed their moment when a fast Parktown striker won the ball on the side line and used his speed to break free of all the defenders and calmly slot the ball past the advancing Northwood goal keeper to take the score to 1 – 1.

In the last five minutes Northwood piled on the pressure in search of the winner and were rewarded with three minutes left on the clock. A well worked penalty corner variation saw Captain Shane Bradbury snatch a 2 – 1 victory for his team with a powerful flick into the bottom corner of the goals.

Picture Credit to:  Grant Motley and Mr Brian Gow

This year’s fashion show will take place on Wednesday 20 May and is sure to be a crowd pleaser with hot new fashions being modelled by our Northwood seniors, with the lovely ladies from surrounding schools adding to the glamour! Bookings are open and tickets can be bought from the school’s Back Office, R60 per person, or R50 if you are wearing your school uniform to the event.

The Northwood 1^st Hockey Team came out 4 – 2 victors in what was an extremely tough fixture against Jeppe on Saturday.

An inspirational first half performance saw Northwood take a dominant lead which was always going to be tough for the home team to pull back.

The opening exchanges saw Jeppe dominate the first ten minutes and Northwood goal keeper Garick Goldman was in inspirational form keeping the home team at bay. The highlight was when he saved a penalty corner drag flick and the two resulting rebounds with unbelievable mobility and commitment.

Northwood managed to work through the first ten minutes of dominance from the home team and the next fifteen minutes saw the visitors take the game away from Jeppe. The first goal came from a swift counter attack from the Northwood forwards which was finished when Blayde Capell smashed a reverse stick shot into the bottom corner.

Northwood continued to pile on the pressure and were rewarded with a goal by debutant Kyle Rawling when he calmly slotted the ball passed the advancing Jeppe goal keeper.

Shortly afterward an outstanding ball from right centre back Ighsaan Manuel found left forward Ntobeko Sibisi unmarked in acres of space in the circle. Sibisi showed a turn speed and composure when he went around the keeper and finished to give the visitors a 3 – 0 lead.

Northwood capped off an outstanding half of hockey when a well worked penalty corner variation was deflected home by Cody van Breeman.

Jeppe created a number of scoring chances through field play and penalty corners but the Northwood defense and keeper were up to the challenge.

The visitors took the 4 – 0 lead into the break.

The second half saw Jeppe increase their tempo in an attempt to rein in the visitors and played long periods of outstanding, dominant hockey. They managed to pull one back five minutes into the second half when an individual piece of brilliance resulted in a forward scoring a simple tap in goal.

Jeppe continued to apply pressure as Northwood went into defensive mode. The visitors defended with passion and commitment making it hard for Jeppe to get back into the game. Jeppe found a bit of hope when they managed to score their second after a goal mouth scramble. The home team threw everything into attack but were racing against the clock and the visitors eventually triumphed 4 – 2 in what was a tough encounter.

It was a great team victory against a well coached, high quality Jeppe team.

This year’s 1st XV fixture vs Kearsney will be aired live on SuperSport as part of the FNB Classic Clash series.  The day promises to be the highlight of our school calendar and is a wonderful opportunity to catch up with friends, old and new.    There will be food vendors, tea gardens, music and entertainment for the kids as a full day of hockey, rugby, tennis and chess take place.  We look forward to welcoming our community to support their local boys high school.

Northwood’s Ananta Reddy of grade 8BN recently became the SA U14 National Chess Champion.  He was the outright winner of the U14 South African Junior Closed Chess Championships which was held in Tswane from the 3rd to 11th of April 2015. Ananta was undefeated in this 11 round tournament which featured SA’s top U14 chess players.  Ananta  also previously won the SA U12 National  championship  and once  again receives his SA colours for Chess.  He will represent SA in various international  tournaments this year, including the World Youth that takes place in Greece .  Congratulations on your outstanding achievement!

Northwood’s James Benskin recently swam in the SA Level 1 Championship Gala at Kings Park Pool . He swam in 5 events and made the final for all five events. He won gold for 100m breast stroke, silver for 50m backstroke, bronze for 50m breast stroke and 50m butterfly. Well done James on your excellent achievement!