Coach Giles Bonnet has ambitious plans, one of which is to make the South African women’s hockey team competitive at the Paris Olympics next year.
It involves playing 25 matches between now and then, though he’s the first to admit that he won’t reach that target.
The national outfit dominated as they booked their tickets to the Games at the African qualifying tournament that ended in Pretoria on Sunday, but now they need to step up to new levels.
“We want to get away from just going there and just being a participant,” Bonnet said after the tournament.
“We want to compete.”
The women’s team have never finished higher than third from the bottom at an Olympics.
At their debut at Sydney 2000 they won one match, against China, and drew with the Netherlands, the eventual bronze medallists, but still ended last out of 10 nations.
In 2004 South Africa demolished Germany 3-0 in their only group victory and beat Spain 4-3 in a playoff to finish ninth. In 2008 their only win came against New Zealand in the classification clash to finish 11th out of 12 teams.
In 2012, under the helm of Bonnet, they beat the US for their only pool win and ended 10th out 12, their best finish to date.
At Tokyo 2020 they ended 12th without a win.
This has been the lot of an amateur outfit, but Bonnet is looking for funding as he tries to build a centralised squad.
The road to Paris begins with two tests against Germany in Cape Town later this month.
“They were coming out anyway and they wanted to just do training games. So then we asked for the Test matches so that we could build up the Test experience ... That’s part of what we need to do.”
Dirkie Chamberlain, the 37-year-old veteran with 225 caps, could feature in those.
Bonnet is blending experience with youth. Three of his squad in Pretoria were schoolgirls, and he’s tipping them to become superstars down the line.
Taheera Augousti, busy with her matric finals, grade 11 pupils Ntsopa Mokoena and Paris-Gail Isaacs and Kayla Swarts, the younger sister of Wayde van Niekerk, are also in the team that will compete at the Junior World Cup in Chile from November 29 to December 10.
Then there are the other seniors. Captain Erin Christie moved to Cape Town to be closer to Bonnet and Celia Seerane was persuaded by the coach to return after quitting in the wake of Tokyo.
They understand the reality of playing for South Africa, but they also believe in Bonnet’s vision.
“We know that it’s not paid,” said Seerane. “I feel all South Africans complain there’s no funding, but you know coming into the system it’s like that.
“We know it’s going to be a struggle. We know that it’s going to be sporadic trainings and not always as structured as we want, but that’s how it is.
“You don’t have to be here. You’ve got to want to be here and you’ve got to fight to be here.”
Bonnet wants the team to play 25 matches between now and the Olympics, that kick off in the French capital in July.
“I won’t get it, but I want it.”
Next year’s schedule is already being worked out. There’s a possibility that France will come out in January and South Korea in February. The US may visit in April and after that the South African squad could go to Korea.
Bonnet is also confident the team will crack an invitation to the Nations Cup in June because of the anticipated improvement in world ranking to about 15 after their weekend triumph. They were 20th going in.
“Three weeks before the Olympics we go to Victory Hockey Club, just outside Antwerp. It’s a great spot. There’s a hotel, a gym and 10 minutes away is where Belgium train, and they are, in my opinion, next to Holland the best team in the world at the moment.
“We will play games against them. It’s a one-hour drive for Germany games.”
Bonnet believes South African hockey has far more talented players than top sides like Belgium, a side his team beat when he was in his first tenure as South African coach a decade ago.
But Belgium invested and created a full programme that has helped their women’s team climb to fourth in the rankings.
“Talent-wise, we’re better. But if you have a programme ... suddenly you become better.”
Bonnet believes that Holland are in their own league at the moment. “But that’s the only team we can’t beat. Every other team at some point, we will be able to beat.
“I think in Los Angeles 2028, I think there will be a moment — if we get funding, it’s about a funded programme.”
Bonnet wants the team to play 227 matches between now and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“All those mistakes we made [in the final], those are just training mistakes. That’ll come if we can train.”
The South African women are a dream and a lot of money away from unprecedented glory.
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