Wrenchville High Schools prepares for the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup Northern Cape Provincial Finals

The players at Wrenchville High School from the Kuruman JTG District in the Northern Cape went through the regional qualifying stage of the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup without conceding a goal, and they are hoping to use that discipline in defence to see them go through to the national finals taking place in KwaZulu-Natal in September.

The school will be playing in the Northern Cape provincial finals in Upington on Saturday, 27 July, and coach, Tello Moses Rabotso says they are all very excited at the prospect. “This is the first time we have reached the provincial finals,” he said. “We were knocked out in the regional final last year, and we are going all out to qualify for the national finals this time.”

Rabotso believes the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Cup is a great competition because it promotes school sport in the rural areas. “It encourages our young stars to develop their talent, and exposes them to scouts from the professional clubs and academies. Then there is the money schools can win which all rural schools need. ”

The team is hard at work preparing for the finals, training five times a week. Rabotso is pleased with their improvement on last year. They have scored 9 goals, without conceding any and won all their games at the regional playoffs. He says that, should the school win the provincial title, they will use the prize money to build their own sports facilities as they now train on the local community sports grounds.

Among the team’s key players, according to Rabotso, is goalkeeper Lorenzo McCarthy – It was largely due to him that the team went through the qualifying stages without conceding a single goal.

McCarthy comes from a family of soccer players.  “My father was a soccer player star for one of our local teams.  He inspired me to take up the game and I would like to follow in his footsteps – but go even further and play for one of the PSL teams.”

He was signed by Kuruman Rovers after being spotted by the team’s coach at last year’s Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup regional finals. “Playing at this level helps me at school as I am taught good soccer habits. I will do my best on Saturday to get us through to the Nationals for the first time.”

But McCarthy cannot do it on his own, and will be assisted by defender, Boipelo Mahlabane.  “This is first Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup experience and I am determined to play my best,” he said. Like his best friend, McCarthy, he sees himself playing soccer professionally soon, “hopefully for Sundowns or Supersport United.”  He especially likes Teko Modise and dreams of playing like him one day.

Teams competing on Saturday are:

Wrenchville High School                - Kuruman

Rietvale High School                        -Ritchie

Orion High School                            - De Aar

Kakamas High School                      -Kakamas

Okiep High School                            -Springbok