Sam wins Nations Cup with SA

KNYSNA NEWS - Local hockey star Sam Mvimbi was a key part of the history-making SA men's hockey side that won the inaugural FIH Hockey Nations Cup last week. He played in all five games and scored a goal in the first match.

In early November Mvimbi was named as one of 18 players in the squad for the tournament, marking his return to the SA men's squad for the first time since the Commonwealth Games in August last year.

He missed out on a spot on the team for the Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia in early November, but was welcomed back to the squad for the Nations Cup that was hosted at North West University in Potchefstroom from 28 November to 4 December.

The competition

It was the first-ever FIH Hockey Nations Cup, established this year as a top-level competition between the eight best-ranked teams not participating in the FIH Hockey Pro League. It gives the winning team the option to be promoted to the FIH Hockey Pro League the following season, marking the start of the promotion-relegation principle for the FIH Hockey Pro League.

This means that the winner of the inaugural tournament will earn a spot in the 2023/24 FIH Hockey Pro League that starts later next year.

Heading into the competition, SA were one of the favourites to take the trophy and earn a spot in the Pro League, but they faced stiff competition.

The other seven competing nations were Ireland, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, France, Canada and Japan. Competition was split into two groups with the top two in each group qualifying for the semi-final stages.

Group stages and semis

South Africa got their tournament off to a great start, with a roaring 6-2 victory against Pakistan in the first match. Mvimbi scored one of the goals in the game, his fourth for his country.

In the second match SA overcame France 2-1 before succumbing 1-0 to Ireland in the final group stage game.

As runners-up in the group they were to face Korea in the semi-finals, and it proved a stern test.

The teams could not be separated in regular time, with the scoreline finishing at 1-1, meaning an eight-second penalty shootout was required. SA won the shootout 3-2 to secure a replay against Ireland, who had beaten Malaysia 3-0 in the other semi-final.

The final

The final was a thrilling encounter, to say the least. SA took the lead in the first quarter and held onto a 2-1 lead by half-time. But, a strong Irish fightback in the third quarter meant scores were level at 3-3 going into the final 15 minutes.

A mammoth defensive effort from SA followed, and a solitary goal in the fourth quarter was enough to secure an incredible and historic 4-3 victory to crown SA the first-ever winners of the FIH Nations Hockey Cup.

It will also mark our much-anticipated return to the FIH Hockey Pro League.

Mvimbi was overjoyed at the result for the team, despite matters being tough. "For us as a team this was a tournament we were aiming to perform well at for many reasons... It wasn't easy at all, but I'm glad we have come out as champions and can now play more hockey at Pro League," he said.

"I'll always be happy with the performance if I can walk away with a gold medal, but the high performance athlete in me can't help but believe I can always improve and get better at my game and that's what I'll be doing for the rest of the festive season, fine-tuning my skills for the next event."

Sam Mvimbi (green) gets his stick tangled in Irishman Benjamin Walker's feet.

Off-field struggles

Sadly for the players in the SA men's hockey side, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows in the build-up to the tournament. While there was funding from sponsors, it didn't cover all of the costs and players had to fork out nearly R10 000 from their own pockets simply to take part in the FIH Hockey Nations Cup.

"The funding situation continues to be a burden we face every time we come together as a national team," Mvimbi said.

"This time I had to get out and ask for donations and where better to start than your home hockey community?" After reaching out to local members of the Knysna hockey community, he received incredible support and it was no more than a day before he had secured the funding he needed.

The triumphant SA men's team celebrate their victory. Photos: Barco Greeff