Upsets at the top of the table were the theme of the weekend in the men’s Rabo Hoofdklasse, with Oranje Zwart’s upset 5-2 loss to Klein Zwitzerland dropping the previous competition leaders below Bloemendaal to second position. 

Klein Zwitzerland got the jump on Oranje Zwart to lead 2-0 at half time and went further ahead in the 39th minute when Laurence Docherty scored his second goal. Despite an attempted second half resurgence by Oranje Zwart, Klein Zwitzerland held their nerve with a pair of goals to Martijn van Meirlo securing an important win. 

The win shot Klein Zwitzerland into fourth position ahead of Tilburg and Amsterdam, who dropped points to Bloemendaal and Den Bosch respectively. 

Australian striker Jamie Dwyer and midfielder Teun de Nooijer netted three goals each to help their side to a high-scoring 8-5 win over Tilburg. After scored were locked at 2-2 midway through the first half, Dwyer scored his hat trick in a 17-minute purple patch to leave Tilburg reeling. 

Dwyer’s treble took him to the top of the men’s goal scoring list with 18, one ahead of fellow Australia and Oranje Zwart midfielder Troy Elder. Both players will return for the final week of the Australia Hockey League starting in Brisbane on 28 March before resuming their duties in the league.

The surprises continued with Breda’s 2-1 away win at SCHC. Dennis van den Boogaard and Remco van Wijk’s second half goals enough for the visitors to gain valuable maximum points and move above Lauren on the points table. 

In other results, Den Bosch scrambled a 2-2 draw in their mid-table tussle with Amsterdam after Roger Hofman’s last minute equaliser, while two goals in each half have HGC a rare win over fellow struggler Laren. 

In the women’s competition, Amsterdam maintained their perfect record with Sylvia Karres’s double helping to record a 4-1 win at home to Klein Zwitserland. They sit five points clear of second-placed Den Bosch, who crushed HGC 5-1 thanks to four goals from striker Mijntje Donners. Donners leads the goal scoring tally with 23 from 13 matches, with Karres in second placed on 17. 

Nijmegen upset fourth-placed Kampong with two goals in each half en route to a 4-1 win, while SCHC also defeated a team above it on the table as two late goals secured a 3-2 victory over Victoria. 

Rabo Hoofdklasse Results
Men
Klein Zwitserland 5 defeated Oranje Zwart 2
Amsterdam 2 drew Den Bosch 2

Bloemendaal 8 defeated Tilburg 5

Breda 2 defeated SCHC 1

Kampong 1 drew Pinoké 1

HGC 2 defeated Laren 0
Women
Oranje Zwart 3 defeated Rotterdam 2
SCHC 3 defeated Victoria 2
Nijmegen 4 defeated Kampong 1
Laren 2 defeated Push 1
Amsterdam 4 defeated Klein Zwitserland  1
Den Bosch 5 defeated HGC 1 

Rabo Hoofdklasse Points Table

Men

Bloemendaal 35 points
Oranje Zwart 33
SCHC 22
Klein Zwitserland 20
Tilburg 19
Amsterdam 19
Pinoke 16
Den Bosch 15
Breda 14
HGC 13
Laren 13
Kampong 10 

Women
Amsterdam 39 points
Den Bosch 34
Laren 24
Kampong 22
Klein Zwitserland 19
Victoria 16
Nijmegen 16
Push 14
SCHC 14
Oranje Zwart 13
Rotterdam 12
HGC 5