The South African men’s hockey team preparations for the Commonwealth Games to be held in July in Manchester got off to a great start when the boys beat Spain 3-1 last Sunday in Randburg.

Bafana Bafana should now start rebuilding after their tantalising World Cup performance, despite an early exit. The core of the national team that went to the World Cup –the likes of Jabu Pule, Delron Buckley, Benedict McCarthy and others –must be retained, while the likes of ageing defender Lucas Radebe, goalkeeper Andre Arendse and midfielder Thabo Mngomeni should call it a day.

Two teams stand in Bafana Bafana’s way in their bid to earn a berth in the last 16 in the World Cup. Those are Slovenia and Spain — and the latter poses the bigger problem as they beat the East Europeans 3-1 in their first game and look set to win the group.

Bafana Bafana striker Benedict McCarthy showed why he is one of the most wanted strikers in Europe when he scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Turkey in the Reunification Cup in Hong Kong on Thursday.

Winning the premiership is every coach’s dream but winning it three times must make a coach feel unique.

The goalless draw between Cosmos and Amazulu on Wednesday afternoon saw Jomo Sono’s dream of clinching the league title evaporate ? and bedtime brought the Amazulu players nightmares as they became the second team after Classic to be relegated from the premiership.