SA’s best in action at the SACS Water Polo tournament
South Africa’s top 20 water polo-playing schools have assembled in the Western Cape for the highly anticipated SACS Water Polo Tournament.
The annual tournament, hosted at the SACS Aquatic Centre in the southern suburbs of Cape Town, kicks off on Saturday, 21 September, and ends on Monday, with the final scheduled for 14:30.
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The tournament promises to deliver fireworks. Almost all of the teams will feel they have a shot at top honours, while many of the coaches and players will use it to help prepare themselves for the forthcoming Inter-Provincial Tournament in East London at the end of the year.
Last year’s champions, SACS, will be aiming to win back-to-back titles for the first time in 35 years. The last time they pulled off the feat, they shared the 1989 title with Westville Boys’ High.
In last year’s tournament, coach Devon Card‘s side defeated Paul Roos Gimnasium 6-3 in the final behind four goals from the reliable Nicholas Fall, while Conor Melling-Williams and Zack Cicero also got their names onto the scoresheet.
This year, SACS has been drawn in a tough Pool A, and they will need to bring their A-game consistently if they are to claim the title again.
They’ll have to get past Northwood School, and the Gauteng quartet of St Alban’s College, St Benedict’s College, Parktown Boys’ High, and a dangerous St John’s College team.
St John’s, led by Jon-Marc de Carvalho and the experienced Vlado Trninic, will likely pose the stiffest challenge to the home side. They won the SACS Tournament in 2022.
Pool A also features last year’s beaten finalist, Paul Roos, coached by Vaughn Marlow. Also in the Pool A lineup are the Eastern Cape’s St Andrew’s College and Selborne College.
Selborne College, under coach Storm Siebert, missed out on the quarterfinals last year. In their final match of the tournament, they defeated St Benedict’s College 7-2.
Makhanda’s St Andrew’s College won the tournament in 2014. They’re returning after a two-year absence in place of Kearsney College.
The group is completed by Wynberg Boys’ High, who will be aiming to stake their claim just a few kilometres away from their home waters.
Pool B is arguably the tougher group, and the room for error will be minimal.
The clear favourites to progress are coach Jabulani Sibiya‘s Bishops Diocesan College, Grey High, Rondebosch Boys’ High, and the KwaZulu-Natal duo of Clifton College and Hilton College, who finished third and fourth respectively in 2023.
Bishops, in last year’s event, were eliminated in the quarterfinals after losing 1-3 against coach Jason Sileno‘s Hilton College side. They will be out for redemption, and aiming to start their season on a high before the Clifton Water Polo Tournament later this month.
Clifton College and Gqeberha’s Grey High School are two interesting teams not to be taken lightly. Earlier this year, Clifton won the Vides Water Polo Tournament in East London. Coach Paul Martin will hope his side hits its stride before their home tournament in KZN next weekend.
Rondebosch Boys’ High will also enter the tournament with high hopes. They proved themselves against many of the teams they will face in the SACS tournament earlier this year when they won the Standard Bank King Edward VII Water Polo Tournament in Johannesburg, defeating St John’s College 11-7 in the final.
It could be a tough weekend for the likes of Jeppe High School for Boys, Pretoria Boys High, and St David’s Marist Inanda, while St Stithians College is an underdog that could spring some surprises.
The tournament’s opening clash will see St Andrew’s College take on Northwood School at 07:10.
Click HERE for all the fixtures.
GROUPS
Pool A: Northwood School, Parktown Boys’ High, Paul Roos Gimnasium, SACS, Selborne College, St Alban’s College, St Andrew’s College, St Benedict’s College, St John’s College, Wynberg Boys’ High.
Pool B: Bishops Diocesan College, Clifton College, Grey High School, Grey College, Hilton College, Jeppe High School for Boys, Pretoria Boys High, Rondebosch Boys’ High, St David’s Marist Inanda, St Stithians College.
