South Africa hold Australia to Hockey World Cup draw thanks to Mustapha Cassiem brace

South Africa's potent attacking weapon Mustapha Cassiem tormenteed the Australian defence in their final FIH World Cup pool match on Thursday, netting both goals as the teams shared the shared the spoils.

South Africa's men signed off their FIH Hockey World Cup pool campaign with a statement performance on Thursday, holding three-time champions Australia to a thrilling 2–2 draw, while the SA women's team suffered a 5–1 defeat to China.

For the men, the result at the Belfius Hockey Arena in Wavre, Belgium, was a significant response after defeats to Spain and Ireland and showed the quality South Africa can produce when their defensive intensity and attacking ambition come together.

At the heart of the performance was Mustapha Cassiem, who scored both goals from penalty corners to earn South Africa their first point of the tournament.

Cassiem, the younger brother of skipper Dayaan Cassiem, opened the scoring in the fourth minute, converting South Africa's first penalty corner to stun the previously unbeaten Kookaburras.

Australia eventually hit back through Joel Rintala from a penalty corner in the 38th minute before Ky Willott put them ahead five minutes later.

South Africa's response was immediate, however, with Cassiem stepping up again to convert another penalty corner in the 44th minute and restore parity. The South Africans then held firm through a tense final quarter to secure a deserved draw, ending Australia's perfect start to the tournament.

Cassiem was delighted with the response from the team, particularly after the disappointment of their opening two matches.

"I think today was all about mentality, making sure that we prepare for the next stage of the tournament," he said. "I just want to say credit to the coaching staff, the boys in the team, just everyone involved for a good performance. I think it was a good nine out of 10. I think Australia got a bit lucky."

Asked about the high number of cards in a physical contest, Cassiem said the intensity reflected the mindset South Africa wanted to take into the remainder of the tournament.

"I think there is a lot of history between Australia and South Africa, especially in rugby, and we tried to bring the mentality of the South African fight, not giving up and just aiming to end as high as possible," he said.

Australia finished the pool phase on seven points, while South Africa move into the 9th–16th classification phase with renewed confidence.

For the women, there was a much tougher conclusion to the pool stage as China ran out 5–1 winners at the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen, Netherlands.

South Africa showed plenty of fight after Zou Meirong had given China an early lead, with Paris-Gail Isaacs converting a penalty corner in the 25th minute to level the scores. China, however, responded immediately through Zhong Jiaqi and then Yu Anhui before half-time to establish a 3–1 lead. Chen Yi added a fourth shortly after the restart before Meirong completed her double late on to seal China's victory.