KZN names boys’ IPT water polo teams
KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has announced their boys’ teams to contest the Schools Water Polo South Africa (SWPSA) Inter-Provincial Tournament in December, in Johannesburg. The diverse selections reflect the rising standard of the game throughout the province.
Only two years ago, the u19A team featured only players from Clifton College, Hilton College, and Westville Boys’ High. Interestingly, Westville, who have been in strong early season form, don’t have a player in the squad, but six schools are represented.
A number of top performers were not available for selection, with Hilton’s Tristan Uys, the Attacker of the Tournament at the 2024 SWPSA event, perhaps the most notable absentee. Still, there is plenty of quality in the 14-player group.
Durban High School (DHS) contributes Adrian Truter and Kirk Wilson, their Head Boy, who made the SA Schools’ side last year. Hilton’s representatives are Sebastian Laudenberg and Andrew Schnell, who was an impressive performer at lock in the school’s 1st XV this past rugby season.
From Michaelhouse, Elliot Springate and Oliver Guy cracked the nod, while Clifton’s Caleb Malumbete, Jamie Nicolau, and Nathan Burger earned selection, too.
Northwood is represented by John Watkins and Matt Lortan, another SA Schools’ selection from 2024, while Kearsney, with three players – Oliver Ludwig, Thomas Aylward, and Thomas Francke – matches Clifton for the most players selected.
In 2024, it was a three-way battle for the SWPSA title. In the group stage, KZN beat Central Gauteng, but lost to Western Province. Central Gauteng, in turn, beat Province. Then, in the semi-finals, KZN accounted for Province, but they came up short against Central Gauteng in the final.
The margins were slim, and KZN will be eager to go one step further this year. They will feel they have the quality to do it.
Announcing their teams early will give KZN plenty of time to prepare for the IPT, which runs from 6-10 December, and the players will have a good opportunity to sharpen their skills in a number of big tournaments that are coming up, starting with the Clifton Water Polo Tournament, which takes place from 24-28 September in Durban.
Clifton College topped the number of selections through the four teams named, just ahead of Hilton College and Kearsney College, with Michaelhouse following closely behind in fourth spot. See below for the breakdown.
TEAMS
u19A
Adrian Truter (DHS), Andrew Schnell (Hilton), Caleb Malumbete (Clifton), Elliot Springate (Michaelhouse), Jamie Nicolau (Clifton), John Watkins (Northwood), Kirk Wilson (DHS), Matthew Lortan (Northwood), Nathan Burger (Clifton), Oliver Guy (Michaelhouse), Oliver Ludwig (Kearsney), Sebastian Laudenberg (Hilton), Thomas Aylward (Kearsney), Thomas Franke (Kearsney)
u16A
Ben Watson (Clifton), Bradley van Loggerenberg (Hilton), Daniel Nothard (Clifton), Henry Harker (Westville), Izah Roux (Clifton), Jake Frederic (Clifton), Jake Jones (Northwood), James Whatmore (Kearsney), Jed Reilly (Michaelhouse), Liam Casey (Hilton College), Lwango Ntantala (Hilton), Max Mills (Kearsney), Nabil Bejia (Clifton).
u15A
Benji Keeton (Hilton), Blake de Bruin (Northwood), Carter Seiler (Clifton), Casey Marks (Hilton), Christiano Sandri (Kearsney), Cruz Chapman (Clifton), Dru Mills (Kearsney), Everraud Raynard (Westville), Finn Mallet (Northwood),
Josh Watson (Clifton), Lincoln Burger (Hilton), Maxwell Fowlds (Clifton), Mitchell Rodgers (Michaelhouse), Oliver Hunter (Hilton).
u14A
Andrew van Oenselen (Michaelhouse), Blake Gaines (Kearsney), Cai Terblanche (Kearsney), Cooper Morrison (Michaelhouse), Cruz Marks (Hilton), Jonty Mun-Gavin (Clifton), Luke Barendse (Hilton), Malachi Mogale (Hilton),
Mason Allan (Kearsney), Matthew Warner (Hilton), Noah Brown (Clifton), Isaac Mvulana (Michaelhouse), Thomas Ludwig (Kearsney), Zach Loerens (Clifton).
Totals by School
-
Clifton – 15
(Caleb Malumbete, Jamie Nicolau, Nathan Burger, Ben Watson, Daniel Nothard, Izah Roux, Jake Frederic, Nabil Bejia, Carter Seiler, Cruz Chapman, Josh Watson, Maxwell Fowlds, Jonty Mun-Gavin, Noah Brown, Zach Loerens) -
Hilton College – 13
(Andrew Schnell, Sebastian Laudenberg, Bradley van Loggerenberg, Liam Casey, Lwango Ntantala, Benji Keeton, Casey Marks, Lincoln Burger, Oliver Hunter, Cruz Marks, Luke Barendse, Malachi Mogale, Matthew Warner) -
Kearsney – 11
(Oliver Ludwig, Thomas Aylward, Thomas Franke, James Whatmore, Max Mills, Christiano Sandri, Dru Mills, Blake Gaines, Cai Terblanche, Mason Allan, Thomas Ludwig) -
Michaelhouse – 7
(Elliot Springate, Oliver Guy, Jed Reilly, Mitchell Rodgers, Andrew van Oenselen, Cooper Morrison, Isaac Mvulana) -
Northwood – 5
(John Watkins, Matthew Lortan, Jake Jones, Blake de Bruin, Finn Mallet) -
DHS – 2
(Adrian Truter, Kirk Wilson) -
Westville – 2
(Henry Harker, Everraud Raynard)
