The 2026 SA Hockey IPT closed under the lights at the University of Johannesburg on Saturday, 9 May 2026, with Southern Gauteng crowned women’s national champions for the first time in five years and four individual award winners offering a snapshot of the depth, drama and rising talent that has defined the domestic season heading into a Hockey World Cup year.
Southern Gauteng’s 2-0 victory over Northern Blues in the Gauteng derby final, sealed by goals from Top Goal Scorer Bianca Wood and captain Hayley Kilfoil, ended a wait that stretched back to 2021. For Player of the Tournament Paris-Gail Isaacs, who returned to the squad after a season in the United States, the achievement was still settling in.
“All I can say is I am still a bit overwhelmed. I am still processing the fact that we won the tournament, and that we have got here after five years,” Isaacs said. “Having it at our home turf this year, and playing for our crowd and winning it, was absolutely astonishing. I am just so proud of the girls and how far we have come.”
Isaacs pointed to a culture that was unusually unified for a senior squad assembled in such a short time. “With this team specifically, there was absolutely no drama. There was no moaning. Everybody got along. We were sisters in such a short space of time, which is quite ironic, but it was absolutely amazing.”
With the final still goalless at the break, she said her message to the team during the interval was direct: “If you do not want to be here right now, I suggest we all go back to the hotel and just give this championship to Northern Blues. We have nothing to lose, but everything to gain right now.”
Top Goal Scorer Bianca Wood, whose finish into the roof of the net broke the deadlock in the final, said the squad’s theme for the week was set early by the coaching staff. “The word our coach implemented for the week was ‘Relentless’. That was kind of our theme for the IPT,” Wood said.
“Doing everything you can to the best of your ability, enjoying every single moment.”
SA Hockey 2026 Top Goal Scorer, Bianca Wood
Wood, who plays varsity hockey at UJ and spent the off-season at Sevenoaks in England, said her finish in the final stood above the others in her tally. “I would have to give it to the goal in the final, because it was a moment of brilliance from the team, a good outlet and then one-on-one. I think it was the most important goal I could have scored for my team.”
Wood credited teammate Paris-Gail Isaacs as her on-field partner of the week. “She gave me great confidence knowing that she was behind me, and she backs me all the way. She was a big player for us in the tournament, and for me personally as well.”
Western Province’s Marlise van Tonder, a mechanical engineer by profession, was named Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament after her side claimed bronze in a shootout. Her mental approach in the one-on-ones was clear-cut.
“A big thing is trusting your training, not worrying or thinking about what has happened in the past, but staying present in that moment,” Van Tonder said. “Goalkeeping is more mentally draining than physically draining. Having moments to switch off in between, and then having a routine that helps you get into the zone before the game, is what has helped me a lot at this IPT.”
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Van Tonder, who has been working with new coach Nicole Lafleur, said small technical refinements had carried her game forward. “The quality of your save is what differentiates keepers at the level that we are at. What differentiates keepers is how you make the save, and where the ball goes after you have made it.”
Best Young Player Baylee Engelke, in her third year of varsity hockey, helped propel Northern Blues to the final with a goal in the semi-final. The Northern Blues teenager said the jump in intensity from school to varsity to senior IPT was a step she was still adjusting to. “It is a different ball game. The ball speed, the physicality. It takes some time to get used to, but it is the best thing, and you step up your game so much when you are playing at such a high intensity.”
Engelke said the most valuable lesson she took from her senior teammates was a simple one. “It is to not give up. If they made a mistake, they kept going, and they always reminded the people around us, and set such good examples.” She has set her sights firmly on the senior outdoor squad in 2026. “Making the senior outdoor squad is an aspiration I have had for quite some time.”
For Women’s Manager at SA Hockey, Tarryn Fourie, Engelke’s tournament was a marker of a wider shift. “A teenager scoring in a semi-final of a national championship, in a World Cup year, that is not just talent, that is composure and character,” Fourie said. “That intergenerational conversation within teams is the healthiest sign of a functioning pipeline.”
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Fourie reads the 2026 IPT as less a one-week story and more a marker of where the domestic women’s game now sits. “There were two, maybe three provinces that operated on a different level. That is no longer the case. The gap between the top teams has genuinely closed,” she said. “The standards are rising because the players themselves are raising them.”
With South Africa drawn against world No. 4 China, world No. 6 England and world No. 9 India in Pool D, Fourie sees the IPT as the most honest selection lens available to the national coaching staff.
“The national coaching staff are not watching players in isolation, they are watching them perform under tournament pressure, in front of crowds, in knockout situations,” said Fourie. “When you are preparing to face the physical intensity and the technical excellence of international teams, you need players who have already been tested.”
Looking ahead to Amsterdam in August, Fourie is unambiguous about the brief. “South Africa currently sits 19th in the world rankings, and we are entering a pool that includes three of the top ten teams. Anyone who thinks we go there just to participate does not understand this group. We go to compete.”
Beyond the World Cup itself, Fourie said, the longer task is structural. “The women’s game in South Africa deserves consistent, long-term investment regardless of a single tournament result. The talent is there. The heart is absolutely there. Now we need the structures to match.”
Main Photo Caption: Southern Gauteng were crowned 2026 SA Hockey IPT champions at the University of Johannesburg on Saturday, 9 May 2026, with Bianca Wood finishing as Top Goal Scorer after a 2-0 victory over Northern Blues. All Photos: Belgotex Sport
Photo 2 Caption: Baylee Engelke earned Best Young Player at the 2026 SA Hockey IPT after Northern Blues reached the women’s final.
Photo 3 Caption: Wood’s Southern Gauteng team-mate and goal creator Paris-Gail Isaacs claimed Player of the Tournament honours.
Photo 4 Caption: Marlise van Tonder took Best Goalkeeper at the 2026 SA Hockey IPT after Western Province secured bronze in Johannesburg.
Photo 5 Caption: SA Hockey Women’s Manager Tarryn Fourie sees the 2026 SA Hockey IPT as proof the domestic women’s game is deeper than ever before.
