Cape Town - Fresh from their Africa Cup of Nations conquest, the South African men's hockey team will go up against the world's leading countries in the FIH (International Hockey Federation) Hockey Pro League, which starts in early February, in Potchefstroom.
Following the withdrawal of Australia (No 1 world-ranked) and New Zealand (No 8), South Africa (10) and France (13) have joined the Pro League. The first set of matches in Potchefstroom will pit South Africa against The Netherlands (4), India (3), Canada and Germany (5).
The Potchefstroom schedule will see South Africa play each of these four countries twice.
The Pro League will offer South Africa a remarkable opportunity to experience top-level competition ahead of next year's World Cup. The coaching staff will have a chance to see close-up the world's leading teams' style of play.
Later, the South African will be playing in other countries, and regular exposure to the top-level competition will be vital for the national team's development.
Garreth Ewing, the head coach of the SA Men's Hockey team, says the team will be looking to build on the Africa Cup of Nations momentum.
"We are in a good space mentally, and we will see how we are doing physically and technically when we get together at the end of next week," said Ewing.
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"It has been tough for some guys. Getting leave has been a problem. Hockey preparation, due to the time of year, has also posed a challenge. Some players have also faced the disappointment of the indoor world cup cancellation.
"Nevertheless, we have some good momentum coming out of the Africa Cup."
Ewing says the SA team will be the debutants and the second-lowest ranked team in the competition. The plan is to be competitive. We also want to offer greenhorns an opportunity to play against the world's best.
"The tournament will be hard for us, in terms of a consistently high level of competition," said Ewing.
"We are the second lowest-ranked team in the tournament. Playing against the top eight sides in the world will offer some tough matches.
"We are looking forward to competing and striking a balance between being competitive and offering learning opportunities to the squad. We will compete and indeed win games, but we also have some hard days."
In the absence of Australia, the world No 1-ranked team, the smart money will be on Belgium and India, the next highest-ranked teams.
The Pro League runs until June, and by that time, Ewing feels that Belgium will emerge as overall victors.
"You can’t look too far past Belgium as the favourites," said Ewing. "They’re Olympic champions with thousands of caps experience in their playing group.
"I also expect India and the Netherlands to be right up there."
South Africa's opening match on 8 February will be against The Netherlands, and the next day they are up against India.
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