South Africa’s Indoor Hockey women led with a high-scoring victory against New Zealand on Day 1 of the Nkosi Cup 2025 to deliver everything the home crowd could have hoped amid several tightly contested group matches setting the tone for a thrilling third edition of the international tournament at the Wynberg Military Base Stadium in Cape Town, on Friday, 12 December 2025.
South Africa continued their strong record against New Zealand, producing a dominant 7-nil performance in just the third meeting between the two sides.
Player of the Match Cerian Fourie opened the scoring early after finding space out wide and finishing with authority. Malikah Hamza doubled the lead with a composed finish following a superb assist from skipper Jamie Southgate.
Fourie added her second from a cleverly disguised penalty corner to give the hosts a 3–0 halftime advantage.
New Zealand thought they had pulled one back early in the third quarter, but the goal was ruled out for obstruction, and South Africa took full control from there. Tatum Kroutz struck twice to stretch the lead, the second a beautifully constructed team goal finished after good work from Jess Lardant.
A yellow card for New Zealand opened the door further and Daniella de Oliveira made it 6–0, finishing from a Hamza cross. South Africa kept pushing and were rewarded late on as De Oliveira grabbed her second to complete a convincing 7–0 win.
Meanwhile, two-times defending champions Namibia laid down early markers to get their title defence off to the perfect start with an emphatic 7–3 win over tournament debutants Zimbabwe in the opening match of the competition.
Zimbabwe’s inclusion was a welcome one, but they were immediately tested by a ruthless Namibian outfit.
Two-time Player of the Tournament Kiana-che Cormack opened the scoring before Namibia pulled clear in the second quarter. Zimbabwe battled with their discipline and Namibia capitalised, with Leila Grögli and Player of the Match Tamara Grögli both opening their accounts and Jerrica Bartlett also finding the backboard.
By the third quarter Namibia had raced into a 6–0 lead, Tamara Grögli grabbing her second and Ottilie Hinda adding further pressure. To Zimbabwe’s credit they never dropped their heads and struck back with three goals of their own through Alexei Terblanche, who netted twice, and Lylie Wilde.
Any hopes of a dramatic finish were ended late on when Sunelle Ludwig sealed the result at 7–3.
Original Copy: South Africa Hockey, with editing by gsport
Main Photo Caption: South Africa’s Indoor Hockey women led with a high-scoring victory against New Zealand on Day 1 of the Nkosi Cup 2025 to deliver everything the home crowd could have hoped amid several tightly contested group matches setting the tone for a thrilling third edition of the international tournament at the Wynberg Military Base Stadium in Cape Town, on Friday, 12 December 2025. All Photos: NS Pics 7
Photo 2 Caption: Malikah Hamza doubled the lead early on with a composed finish following a superb assist from skipper Jamie Southgate.
