Raising the bar at the Clifton Water Polo Tournament
Clifton College‘s Director of Water Polo, Pierre le Roux, is one of the most experienced South African internationals in history and he wants to infuse his experience of international competition into the Clifton Water Polo Tournament, which takes place from 24-28 September.
The underlying goal is to ensure the prestigious event is a player-focused tournament that elevates the experience to the next level.
“I have put in player recovery areas,” he told SuperSport Schools Plus. “I’ve cornered off the whole pool area, so that when you arrive, as an athlete, you have a designated athletes’ seat. You have your own private change rooms.
“We’ve got Prime (Human Performance Institute). They’ve got physios on the pool deck. They’ve got ice baths available for the guys.
“There will be a full-on recovery room with chocolate milks and protein shakes, bananas, and crunchies, so, as an athlete, you’re going to be treated as being at the top of your game, the best of the best. This is how we treat our athletes.
“We want to fill up the stands, with the parents and spectators separated from the athletes. If you go to World Champs, and you’re playing in Europe, that’s how you’re treated. You’re not with the general public. You’re ushered into your change room. You have your own warm-up. It’s all about the sport. That’s what I want. I want to give the guys a taste of what sport should be about when you leave school.”
Parents and supporters have not been left out, he added. “I’m trying to create an atmosphere for the parents, where they want to be on site for the duration of the day.
“We’ve got 17 vendors already confirmed. They’re all local people, Durban businesses, people who have relationships with the school, and people who have worked on small school projects that we have around Durban.
“For those who are coming into the province, come watch a water polo game, come down, have a lekker chow, have a drink – we’ll have the bar open – but spend time here, enjoying Durban, enjoying the heat, enjoying the polo.
“At the parent function, which we’re doing on Friday night, I’ve asked my parents to reach out to the other parents and invite them to attend. Let’s be hospitable and good hosts.
“The message to people is that we can be competitors on the pool deck, but we must remember these kids are going to be playing in provincial sides together. They’re going to be playing in national sides together. They might be contracted together.
“This builds up friendships after the games and not just between the boys but also between the parents. We can be fierce rivals, but afterwards we can share a meal or have a beer and talk about the game.
“On Friday night, we’re trying to get every single person that has come to Durban to visit. They must come.”
“We went to be good hosts and help those people to enjoy what we have to offer here. Let’s enjoy the polo, but let’s also leave with some new friends.”
The Clifton Water Polo tournament title has in recent year gone the way of teams from outside the province, but Le Roux feels that a local team could win it for KwaZulu-Natal in 2025.
“I think you’re going to have tight competition. We have some really strong competitors here this year. It would be nice to keep the trophy here [in KZN],” he said.
“SACS are coming back as the two-time defending champions. Paul Roos will be up there. Hilton College is very strong.
“Your top KZN contenders will probably be Hilton, Clifton, and Kearsney, but Selborne, with 12 strong matrics – good players, and two SA Schools players, as well – could do very well.
“St John’s came second at the St Andrew’s Shield and then struggled at KES.
“I think it is going to be a very tight year.”
Another team that Le Roux rates highly is Westville Boys’ High, who didn’t have a player selected for the KZN u19 side this year. Their form in the KZN winter league, though, suggests they’re a dark horse of which to be wary.
“Westville lost to Kearsney by one in the winter league, and, I think, they won the rest of their games,” he said.
Another team he mentioned that could make some waves is Reddam House Constantia. They showed their potential in the SACS Nite Series earlier in the year when they thumped SACS 15-7.
“I think it’s going to be a good competition, especially on Thursday night, with all the big matches. I’ve gone with all the local derbies first to start the tournament. Then, all the travelling teams play. The next day, you play your first travelling team.”
Next year, the event is going to be even bigger, he explained: “The intention was to include a Prep section this year – eight Prep teams to play between the high school games. The school has agreed that in 2026 we will do that. We are even looking at upping the event to 20 [high school] teams.
“We’ll keep it over five days in the holidays and make it a massive tournament.”
The second last day of the Clifton Water Polo Tournament, Saturday, is the same day that the Springboks and Pumas meet in The Rugby Championship at Hollywoodbets Kings Park. Clifton has catered for rugby fans, too, with the game set to be broadcast on five Jumbo screens from 15:00.
With 17 confirmed vendors already, it’s shaping up to be a festive event – rewarding for the athletes and rewarding for the supporters.
But what about the hopes of the hosts? Le Roux returned from New Zealand in late 2024 to take over the water polo programme at Clifton. That meant he wasn’t able to enjoy a full pre-season with his team. Now, though, he has had time to prepare.
“It has been gold,” he enthused. “We started late at the beginning of the year. I was just moving in. When we went to St Andrew’s, we weren’t as fit as we could have been. By KES, we sort of got to a level where it was acceptable. But the level that we were at KES was probably where we wanted to be at the beginning of the year.
“With a proper pre-season, I’ve got athletes now. The guys are fit. The guys are strong. You can see it in the water. You can see it in their assessments and their conditioning tests.
“The big thing is getting the mental aspect right. That’s probably my biggest challenge with the squad. We don’t have matrics, and that extra year of competition does make a difference.”
“We need to trust the process. I definitely think we’re a different team to what we were in term one. We’re looking forward to the competition.”
