South African Hockey has confirmed the 20-player Women’s squad for the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands, and buried inside a squad sheet built on experience are two names making the leap that every young hockey player dreams about.
Ané Janse van Vuuren and Caylin Maree were tearing it up at Junior World Cup level not long ago. Now they’re on the plane with the seniors, thrown in alongside a group that has done this before, at Olympic Games and World Cups both.
That jump is not a small one. Junior hockey rewards flair and instinct. Senior World Cup hockey rewards composure under pressure that junior tournaments simply cannot replicate, and both players will find that out fast in Pool D against England, China and India.
The squad was finalised on the back of South Africa’s four-match Test series against Namibia in Cape Town, a series that doubled as the last audition before the World Cup cut. Janse van Vuuren and Maree used it well enough to book their tickets.
They are not walking into an unfamiliar environment. This is a squad carrying 10 Olympians, nine of whom were on duty in Paris in 2024, with captain Edith Molikoe at the head of that experienced core.
Ongeziwe Mali and Ntsopa Mokoena both reached the 50-cap milestone during the Namibia series, a marker of just how much international hockey sits inside this group.
“Two years ago they were battling it out at Junior World Cup level, now they’re on the plane to Belgium and Netherlands with the seniors, that’s how fast talent moves when a programme’s structures are right!” – 🎙️Jay
THE RSA SQUAD IN FULL:
Ané Janse van Vuuren – 1 caps
Baylee Engelke – 2 caps
Bianca Wood – 50 caps
Cailynn Den Bakker – 30 caps
Caylin Maree – 8 caps
Edith Molikoe (c) – 60 caps NtsopaPearce 67 caps
Jean-Leigh Du Toit – 50 caps
Kayla De Waal – 45 caps
Laiken Brisset – 9 caps
Lerato Mahole – 28 caps
Marlise Van Tonder – 52 caps
Morgan DMendonca – 16 caps
Ntsopa Mokoena – 51 caps
Ongeziwe Mali – 51 caps
Onthatile Zulu – 83 caps
Paris-Gail Isaacs – 22 caps
Shanna Mendonca – 12 caps
Stephanie Botha – 56 caps
Taheera Augousti – 46 caps
Hannah Pearce, Taheera Augousti and Onthatile Zulu round out the experienced spine of the squad, players who know exactly what a World Cup asks of a team and a body. That is precisely the environment a young player wants to step into for a first senior World Cup rather than a rebuilding squad short on know-how.
SA Hockey President Deon Morgan framed the selection as a reflection of the work behind every name on the sheet.
“Representing South Africa at a World Cup is one of the greatest honours available to a hockey player,” said Morgan.
“We congratulate every player selected and recognise the years of commitment, sacrifice and hard work that have brought them to this moment. We also acknowledge the coaches, families, schools, clubs and provinces who have played an important role in their journeys.”
For Janse van Vuuren and Maree, that journey has moved quickly. Neither arrives short of international minutes, but a Senior World Cup squad announcement is still a different tier of confirmation.
It says the coaching staff trust them not just to make up numbers, but to contribute against three top-ten nations on one of the sport’s biggest stages.
South Africa’s Women continue their preparations with a training and match programme in Scotland before heading to the Netherlands for the tournament, which runs from 15 to 30 August across Wavre in Belgium and Amstelveen in the Netherlands.
By the time the whistle goes on South Africa’s opener, Janse van Vuuren and Maree will have had every chance to close the gap between junior promise and senior readiness. The squad sheet already says the coaches believe they’re close enough to try.
South Africa’s Women continue their preparations with a training and match programme in Scotland before heading to the Netherlands for the tournament, which runs from 15 to 30 August across Wavre in Belgium and Amstelveen in the Netherlands.
By the time the whistle goes on South Africa’s opener, Janse van Vuuren and Maree will have had every chance to close the gap between junior promise and senior readiness. The squad sheet already says the coaches believe they’re close enough to try.
📸 Images via SA Hockey
