SDMI NEDBANK CHALLENGE CUP DAY 1 WRAP-UP
The 2025 St David’s Marist Inanda Nedbank Challenge Cup kicked off in a freezing mist in Sandton on Friday, 8 August, but the action was hot and by the end of the day the weather had warmed up and around 800 boys who were there will sleep well tonight, having played two 35 minutes-a-half matches, with the prospect of two more on Saturday and another one on Sunday.
That 800 player tally number is up by 100-odd from last year because the organisers chose to make one of the biggest football events on the calendar even bigger by inviting a further eight under-19 sides - drawn from schools who haven’t had a taste of action at this level before - and six Grade 6 primary school teams, to play in two day festival alongside the tournament. It must have created logistical nightmares, but the Inanda Campus is coping and school football will be the better for it.
The under-19 section is a proper tournament, with pool games and quarter finals, semis and a final. The under-15 section, in line with an agreement that boys this young don’t need the pressure, is festival, with no pecking order determined at the end of it.
There will be a new winner this year after the defending champions, Grey College, made it through to the national finals of another competition, on this weekend, and sent their second team to represent them here.
With one more game to go, the winners of three of the four pools have more or less been decided. Former winners Jeppe have six points from two games in Pool A, as do last year’s runners-up, St Stithians, in Pool B and the hosts, St David’s, in Pool D.
In Pool C KES and St Andrew’s are both on four points and their game on Saturday will decide who goes into the quarters in top spot.
There won’t be quarterfinals in the U15 section, but match points are awarded to help with allocating strength encounters of days two and three. Grey College and Hilton are the only teams to win both their opening games on Friday.
U19 Results
Pool A Grey 1 Clifton 0, Jeppe 2 Hilton 1, Hilton 5 Grey 0, Jeppe 9 Clifton
On Saturday – Jeppe vs Grey, Hilton vs Clifton.
Pool B St Stithians 2 Brebner 9, St Alban’s 2 Marist Linmeyer 0, St Stithians 5 Marist Linmeyer 0, Brebner 4 St Alban’s 0.
On Saturday. – St Stithians vs St Alban’s, Brebner vs Marist Linmeyer.
Pool C St John’s 1 St Andrew’s 1, KES 2 Michaelhouse 0, KES 1 St John’s 1, St Andrew’s 1 Michaelhouse 0.
On Saturday – St John’s vs Michaelhouse, KES vs St Andrew’s.
Pool D St David’s 2 St Benedict’s 1, St David’s 3 St Peter’s 0, Norkem Park 8 St Peter’s 2. St Benedict’s 4 Norkem Park 0.On Saturday – St David’s vs Norkem Park, St Peter’s vs St Benedict’s.
U15 Results
Pool A St Stithians 1 St Peter’s 1, St Peter’s 5 Springs 1, Norkem Park 2 Springs 1, St Stithians 1 Norkem Park 0.
On Saturday – St Stithians v Springs, St Peter’s vs Norkem Park.
Pool B Grey 1 St David’s 0, St David’s 2 Beaulieu 2, Grey 3 St Andrew’s 1 Beaulieu 2 St Andrew’s 0.
On Saturday – Grey vs Beaulieu, St David’s vs St Andrew’s.
Pool C CBC 3 Jeppe 1, St Alban’s 6 Michaelhouse 4, Jeppe 3 St Alban’s 1, Michaelhouse 3 CBC 1
On Saturday – Jeppe vs Michaelhouse, St Alban’s vs CBC.
Pool D St Benedict’s 6 Marist Linmeyer 2, Hilton 2 KES 1, Hilton 6 Marist Linmeyer 0. KES 4 St Benedict’s 1.
On Saturday – KES vs Marist Linmeyer, Hilton vs St Benedict’s
BY THEO GARRUN
