Aussie Crocs ready to wreak havoc at 50th Water Polo IPT
One of the standout moments from the 2024 Schools’ Water Polo South Africa (SWPSA) Inter-Provincial Tournament (IPT) was the Aussie Crocs’ victory over KwaZulu-Natal on day one.
A thrilling 14-13 win for coach Simon Daley and his troops introduced them to the tournament with style and made everyone sit up and take notice.
The boys from Queensland were playing in South Africa for the first time and, after that win, enjoyed a solid tournament, beating Nelson Mandela Bay and Buffalo City.
The visitors went down against the eventual champions, Central Gauteng and Western Province, but showed fight, spirit, and tenacity in both outings.
After that impressive debut campaign, the Aussie Crocs are back for more and will be in action at the 50th Schools’ Water Polo South Africa IPT, which runs from 6 to 10 December in Johannesburg.
“This will be our second year competing for the Ubuntu Shield, and we are very excited to be back,” head coach Simon Daley, a South African expat, told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“This year, we’re looking forward to playing against Northern Gauteng, which we didn’t get to play last year.”
The squad includes seven players who featured in last year’s campaign, with four new faces introduced to the system.
The side will be captained by Joey Gallagher, who returns to the tournament with James Martin, Will Plowman, Jack Plowman, Gia Hernandez, Harry Colley, and Ben Spall.
Tom Elliott, Riley McPharlin, Hudson Dikes and goalkeeper Rory Nielson are the newcomers to the event.
Daley, who is a former South African international, explained how the initiative between SWPSA and the Aussie Crocs came about.
“I started my polo career playing at the same tournament. I came from Eastern Gauteng and then went on to play for the national team.
“I know how big this tournament is, and I know what exposure SA ‘polo doesn’t get, especially at the school level.
“So, I reached out to Richard Irvine, from SWPSA and asked if they would accommodate us, and the ball got rolling from there.
“It was planting a seed and wanting to see if we could take some aspiring Queensland players to SA and let them experience the country as a whole.”
The squad assembled in KZN for a week to conclude their training camp before the tournament. In 2024, they prepped in the Western Cape.
They’ll kick off their campaign with a meeting against KZN on Saturday at 18:10 at the St David’s Marist Inanda Jubilee Pool. Daley expects a stiff challenge from all the teams.
“I’m expecting tough competition. I know how good the teams are. This is the biggest school water polo event in the world, hands down, so it’s never easy.
“We want to take that Ubuntu Shield. I know Gauteng won it last year. We lost to them in our game. They were an incredible team, and we also went down to Western Province.
“It’s highly competitive, and that’s why we have seven players coming back, eager to get their hands on that shield for the first time,” he concluded.
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