Saints vs Reddam Bedfordview for girls’ Reef Cup, St David’s vs Affies in boys’ final
The Reef Cup Water Polo tournament hosts, St Stithians College, secured a place in the final for the ninth consecutive time on Saturday in their home pools.
Coach Megan Sileno’s side was in scintillating form in their playoff matches, starting an easy 13-2 win over the visitors from Zimbabwe, Falcon College, in the quarterfinals.
They faced St Dominic’s Catholic School for Girls in the semi-finals and it was again a comprehensive victory for Saints, who secured a place in the title decider against Reddam House Bedfordview with a 10-2 win.
Reddam Bedfordview was every bit as dominant as St Stithians in their playoff games, outplaying Reddam House Umhlanga 12-1 in the quarterfinals before matching Saints with a 10-2 win in their semi-final against Beaulieu College.
That leaves St Dominic’s to face Beaulieu College in the playoff for third and fourth, while another Zimbabwean school, Hellenic Academy, will tackle Kingsmead College in the fifth and sixth playoff.
Hellenic beat their fellow Zimbabweans, Falcon College 4-2, and Kingsmead College edged out Reddam House Umhlanga 4-3 to secure their places in the fifth-place playoff.
Kingsmead coach, Masibonge Namba, reflected on her side’s win over Reddam Umhlanga: “We did not play too badly. I think our first chukka was incredible. The girls stuck to the game plan. The game plan worked, and we scored when we needed to score.
“In the second chukka, we could have taken way more opportunities than we did but, other than that, for us to make the top eight in this tournament is great for our school,” she added.
Kingsmead was unbeaten on the first day, beating Durban Girls’ College (DGC) 5-2 before being held to a 3-3 draw with Woodridge College. On day two, they romped to an 11-1 win over Rand Park High School and blanked Pretoria High School for Girls 12-0.
Then, in the quarterfinals, they suffered their first loss, going down 5-9 to Beaulieu College. They returned to winnings ways against Reddam House Umhlanga.
“I think we have been growing every day,” coach Namba said. “We had fewer games than other teams before the tournament. However, I think we have done incredibly well. We have grown in every game. My girls are getting stronger and more confident. They are listening better, so, I think, day by day we are playing better, and the tournament is getting better.
“The weather has its ideas but otherwise, overall, the vibe of the tournament has been very good. My team’s morale has been great, as well. I coach a very positive team. It is very nice, my girls tend to not shout at each other, and are very good at uplifting one another, so those are some of the most important and critical things in our team – positive affirmation at all times,” she concluded.
In the boys’ competition, St David’s Marist Inanda beat St Benedict’s College 11-4 in the quarterfinals before withstanding Michaelhouse’s challenge and winning their semi-final clash 9-6..
St David’s, the Vides Water Polo Tournament champions, will meet the ITEC Grey College champions, Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) for the title. After the final whistle sounds, one of those teams will be a two-time champion in 2025.
Affies posted a 9-2 win over Hellenic Academy in the quarterfinals and then handed Durban High School (DHS) an 8-4 loss in a hard-fought semi-final showdown.
That result means that the battle for third place will be an all-KwaZulu-Natal affair between DHS and Michaelhouse.
The fifth-and sixth-place playoff will be between Woodridge and Bennies. Woodridge beat Hellenic Academy 8-5 in their playoff game to book their spot, while St Benedict’s beat St Alban’s 7-4.
RESULTS – GIRLS
Saturday, 1 March
Playoffs
G41: 5-12 (A2/B3): St Dominic’s 4-3 Durban Girls
G42: 5-12 (B2/A3): Woodridge 2-3 Falcon College
G43: 5-12 (C2/D3): St Peter’s 6-7 Reddam Umhlanga
G44: 5-12 (D2/C3): Beaulieu College 7-3 Crawford Lonehill
G45: 13-20 (A5/B4): Maris Stella 10-0 Rand Park
G46: 13-20 (A4/B5): Tournament Inv. 10-1 Pretoria HSG
G47: 13-20 (C5/D4): AHMP 8-12 Steyn City
G48: 13-20 (C4/D5): Parktown 9-5 Reddam Helderfontein
G53: 17-20 (L45/L47): Rand Park 7-4 AHMP
G54: 17-20 (L46/L48): Pretoria HSG 3-4 Reddam Helderfontein
G55: 9-12 (L43/L41): St Peter’s 6-9 Durban Girls
G56: 9-12 (L44/L42): Crawford Lonehill 1-2 Woodridge
G57: 13-16 (W47/W45): Steyn City 7-11 Maris Stella
G58: 13-16 (W46/W48): Tournament Inv. 8-6 Parktown
G60: 5-8 (L50/L49): Kingsmead 4-3 Reddam Umhlanga
G61: 5-8 (L52/L51): Falcon College 2-4 Hellenic Academy
Quarterfinals
G49: QF1 (A1/W43): Reddam Bedfordview 12-1 Reddam Umhlanga
G50: QF2 (W44/B1): Beaulieu College 9-5 Kingsmead
G51: QF3 (W41/C1): St Dominic’s 7-5 Hellenic Academy
G52: QF4 (D1/W42): St Stithians 13-2 Falcon College
Semifinals
G59: SF1 (W50/W49): Beaulieu College 2-10 Reddam Bedfordview
G62: SF2 (W52/W51): St Stithians 10-2 St Dominic’s
BOYS
Playoffs
G41: 5-12 (A2/B3): St Alban’s 10-9 Maritzburg College
G42: 5-12 (B2/A3): St Benedict’s 14-8 Grey College
G43: 5-12 (C2/D3): Woodridge 15-5 St Peter’s
G44: 5-12 (D2/C3): Hellenic Academy 7-6 Steyn City
G45: 12-20 (A5/B4): Beaulieu College 5-8 Falcon College
G46: 12-20 (A4/B5): Reddam Bedfordview 8-3 Parktown Boys’
G47: 12-20 (C5/D4): Rand Park 6-11 Reddam Helderfontein
G48: 12-20 (C4/D5): Glenwood 6-2 Reddam Umhlanga
G53: 17-20 (L45/L47): Beaulieu College 20-12 Rand Park
G54: 17-20 (L46/L48): Parktown Boys’ 9-7 Reddam Umhlanga
G55: 9-12 (L43/L41): St Peter’s 8-10 Maritzburg College
G56: 9-12 (L44/L42): Steyn City 5-6 Grey College
G57: 13-16 (W47/W45) Reddam Helderfontein 3-10 Falcon College
G59 13-16 (W46/W48): Reddam Bedfordview 9-5 Glenwood
G61: 5-8 (L50/L49): Hellenic Academy 5-8 Woodridge
G62: 5-8 (L52/L51): St Benedict’s 7-4th Alban’s
Quarterfinals
G49: QF1 (A1/W43): DHS 10-4 Woodridge
G50: QF2 (W44/B1): Hellenic Academy 2-9 Affies
G51: QF3 (W41/C1): St Alban’s 3-9 Michaelhouse
G52: QF4 (D1/W42) St David’s Marist 11-4 St Benedict’s
Semifinals
G58: SF1 (W50/W49): Affies 8-4 DHS
G60: SF2 (W52/W51): St David’s Marist 9-6 Michaelhouse
FIXTURES
Sunday, 2 March
GIRLS
07:50 G63: 19th/20th (L53/L54): AHMP vs Pretoria HSG
07:50 G64: 17th/18th (W53/W54): Rand Park vs Reddam Helderfontein
07:50 G65: 15th/16th (L57/L58): Steyn City vs Parktown
09:30 G66: 13th/14th (W57/W58): Maris Stella vs Tournament Inv.
09:30 G67: 11th/12th (L55/L56): St Peter’s vs Crawford Lonehill
09:30 G68: 9th/10th (W55/W56): Durban Girls vs Woodridge
11:10 G69: 7th/8th (L61/L60): Falcon College vs Reddam Umhlanga
11:10 G70: 5th/6th (W61/W60): Hellenic Academy vs Kingsmead
11:10 G71: 3rd/4th (L62/L59): St Dominic’s vs Beaulieu College
13:10 G72: 1st/2nd (W62/W59): St Stithians vs Reddam Bedfordview
BOYS
07:00 G63: 19th/20th (L53/L54): Rand Park vs Reddam Umhlanga
07:00 G64: 17th/18th (W53/W54): Beaulieu College vs Parktown Boys’
07:00 G65: 15th/16th (L57/L59): Reddam Helderfontein vs Glenwood
08:40 G66: 13th/14th (W57/W59): Falcon College vs Reddam Bedfordview
08:40 G67: 11th/12th (L55/L56): St Peter’s vs Steyn City
08:40 G68: 9th/10th (W55/W56): Maritzburg College vs Grey College
10:20 G69: 7th/8th (L62/L61): St Alban’s vs Hellenic Academy
10:20 G70: 5th/6th (W62/W61): St Benedict’s vs Woodridge
10:20 G71: 3rd/4th (L60/L58): Michaelhouse vs DHS
12:10 G72: 1st/2nd (W60/W58): St David’s Marist vs Affies
