Top sides primed for Saints Water Polo Invitational
Some of the country’s best boys’ water polo-playing teams will assemble in Johannesburg this weekend for the annual St Stithians College Invitational Water Polo Tournament.
The event runs from 15 to 19 October, with the boys’ matches taking place at the school’s main pool, as well as at the Olympic North and South pools.
All matches will be streamed LIVE on SuperSport Schools.
The invitational tournament, better known as the Saints Stayers, will welcome teams from the Gauteng region, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Eastern Cape.
The 20 teams have been drawn in groups of five and will face each other over two days of pool matches.
Pool A features the Cape Town duo of Bishops Diocesan College and Rondebosch Boys’ High, who’ll be up against King Edward VII (KES), Michaelhouse, and Pearson High School.
Bishops was the runner-up last year, losing 14-17 to Kearsney College in the final.
They’ll have their sights set on going one step further this time around and they’ll be aiming to draw inspiration from their performances at the SACS Water Polo Tournament two weeks ago where coach Jabulani Sibiya‘s side clinched the bronze medal after edging out SACS 7-6 in the third/fourth playoff match.
Rondebosch, meanwhile, bowed out in the quarterfinals after losing to the eventual silver medallists, St David’s Marist Inanda.
The two Western Cape sides won’t have it easy, with KES eager to make waves, while Michaelhouse and Pearson are both unpredictable units on the rise.
Pool B will be interesting, and many will fancy St John’s College and SACS to dominate proceedings.
However, Jeppe High School for Boys has shown they can mix it up with the best, and they’ll be banking on wins against St Benedict’s College and Durban High School (DHS), respectively. But those games are far from gimmes.
St John’s will be considered the title favourites by some after they won the SACS Water Polo Tournament.
However, six players – Nicholas Searle, Michael van Heerden, Samuel Gomes, Luke Towell, Rupert Schonborn, and Ethan Bennett – will be missing from the team that won the trophy in Cape Town, and that’s because they are in matric.
Coach Jon-Marc De Carvalho retains the bulk of his team while introducing some youngsters, who will be chomping at the bit to show what they are made of.
Pool C would appear to have two front-runners, St David’s Marist Inanda and Hilton College, but it could be wide open. They’ll be challenged by Reddam House Constantia, Pretoria Boys High, and Woodridge College.
St David’s has enjoyed an impressive 2025 under the tutelage of head coach Dean Whyte.
They won the Vides Water Polo Tournament in February and reached the final of the SACS Water Polo Tournament, narrowly losing out to St John’s, who won a thrilling final 11-10.
Whtye’s charges will be brimming with confidence heading into the tournament, though, because they’ve hardly been impacted, losing only Erik Arwidi, to the stayers’ format.
Hilton, meanwhile, will take some stopping. Led by coach Paul Martin, the KZN side didn’t have the best of runs at SACS but knows how to play tournament polo, having won the Clifton Water Polo Tournament last month.
They’ll head to Saints with a balanced squad, although they’ll be missing four high-impact players in Trent Chubb, Thomas Taylor, Tristan Uys, and Mitchel Garreau.
The defending champion, Kearsney College, has been drawn in Pool D. In coach Nick Rodda‘s bid to lead the side to back-to-back Saints’ titles, they’ll be challenged by St Stithians, Affies, and the Eastern Cape duo of St Andrew’s College and Grey High School.
Kearsney finished in fourth place at the Clifton Water Polo Tournament, but they’re a young, very experienced side, who, if they hit their stride, will be difficult to stop.
Saints, the winners of the St Alban’s Beach Water Polo Tournament in early September, where they comprehensively outplayed St David’s Marist Inanda in the final, are formidable opponents.
Affies could spring a surprise or two. They’re solid, and St Andrew’s and Grey High are no pushovers. Grey won a bronze medal at the Woodridge Stayers last week.
GROUPS
Pool A: Bishops Diocesan College, King Edward VII, Michaelhouse, Pearson High School, Rondebosch Boys’ High.
Pool B: Durban High School, Jeppe High School for Boys, SACS, St Benedict’s College, St John’s College.
Pool C: Hilton College, Pretoria Boys High, Reddam House Constantia, St David’s Marist Inanda, Woodridge College.
Pool D: Affies, Grey High School, Kearsney College, St Andrew’s College, St Stithians College.
FIXTURES
Thursday, 16 October
Pool A
07:00 – Bishops vs Michaelhouse
08:40 – Rondebosch vs KES
11:10 – Michaelhouse vs Pearson High
13:30 – Bishops vs KES
15:20 – Rondebosch vs Pretoria Boys High
Pool B
07:00 – St John’s College vs Jeppe
11:10 – Jeppe vs St Benedict’s College
13:40 – St John’s College vs DHS
16:10 – SACS vs St Benedict’s College
17:50 – SACS vs Affies
Pool C
07:00 – Hilton College vs Pretoria Boys High
09:30 – St David’s vs Reddam House
12:00 – Pretoria Boys High vs Woodridge
13:40 – Hilton College vs Reddam House
16:10 – St David’s vs Woodridge
Pool D
07:50 – Kearsney vs Grey High
09:30 – St Stithians vs St Andrew’s College
12:00 – Grey High vs Affies
14:30 – Kearsney vs St Andrew’s College
16:10 – St Stithians vs Affies
Friday, 17 October
Pool A
07:00 – KES vs Pearson High
08:40 – Rondebosch vs Michaelhouse
11:10 – Pearson High vs Bishops
13:40 – Michaelhouse vs KES
15:20 – Rondebosch vs Bishops
Pool B
07:00 – DHS vs St Benedict’s College
09:30 – SACS vs Jeppe
11:10 – St John’s College vs St Benedict’s College
13:40 – Jeppe vs DHS
16:10 – St John’s College vs SACS
Pool C
07:00 – Reddam House vs Woodridge
09:30 – St David’s vs Pretoria Boys High
12:00 – Woodridge vs Hilton College
13:40 – Pretoria Boys High vs Reddam House
16:10 – Hilton College vs St David’s
Pool D
07:50 – St Andrew’s College vs Affies
09:30 – St Stithians vs Grey High
12:00 – Affies vs Kearsney
14:30 – Grey High vs St Andrew’s College
16:10 – St Stithians vs Kearsney
