Bishops to battle Kearsney for Saints Invitational title
New champions will be crowned at the St Stithians College Invitational Water Polo Tournament after Bishops Diocesan College and Kearsney College booked their spots in the final of the prestigious tournament on Saturday.
Catch all the action LIVE on SuperSport Schools
Bishops came into the event looking to make history, having never won the tournament before. Meanwhile, Kearsney College was brimming with confidence after recently claiming top honours at the KZN Top 10 Water Polo Tournament.
Both teams were dominant leading up to the play-offs. Bishops were drawn in Group B and breezed past their opponents on the opening two days. During the group stages, coach Jabulani Sibiya‘s team scored a mammoth 57 goals in four matches and conceded only 18.
In the quarterfinal, they eliminated last year’s champions, SACS, beating coach Devon Card‘s side 14-10 to progress to a semifinal showdown with Hilton College.
It was filled with drama. After a slow start, the fixture came to life in the second half. Bishops led 3-1 at the halfway mark, but coach Jason Sileno‘s message at the break must’ve inspired his Hilton team.
The KwaZulu-Natal boys staged a strong comeback after conceding goals to Timothy Young, Luke Cartwright, and James Malan. They refused to let Bishops get away and, despite Harry Ford‘s brace, Hilton kept clawing their way back into the contest.
They levelled at 6-6 with time winding down and a penalty shootout beckoning. Bishops, however, avoided the shootout, scoring with only seconds left through Cartwright to snatch a hard-fought win.
In the second semifinal, Kearsney College tackled St John’s College. Kearsney, like Bishops, had won all four of their group stage matches in a very tough pool, which included Hilton and SACS, while St John’s finished second in group B.
Coach Nick Rodda‘s side, on their way to the last four, beat SACS 10-8, their provincial rivals, Hilton College, 7-5, and Jeppe High School for Boys 11-8. In the quarterfinals, they scored an 11-9 win over St Andrew’s College.
They were pushed hard by St John’s in their semifinal but showed off their mettle to again emerge the victors after a tremendous tussle, this time by an 8-7 margin.
Thomas Francke led the charge for Kearsney early in the first chukka when he scored two goals for his team. In the second chukka, James Pohl added another for the Botha’s Hill boys, but they found themselves 3-4 down at the break.
The KwaZulu-Natal outfit came out firing in the second half, scoring three times through Luca Sandri, Levi Thom, and Pohl, who bagged a brace.
Despite being pushed to their limits by a resilient St John’s outfit, Kearsney clinched the win in the final chukka, with Francke notching a hattrick before Robert Smith scored in the dying seconds to win it.
Kearsney will face Bishops in the final at 12:40, while St John’s and Hilton will play in the bronze medal match at 09:20.
Boys | Day 3 Results
St Andrew’s College 8-5 King Edward VII
St John’s College 10-7 Durban High School
Hilton College 12-11 Reddam House Constantia
SACS 5-4 St Stithians College
Michaelhouse 9-4 Affies
Grey High School 9-4 Pearson High School
Pretoria Boys High 10-9 Grey College
Jeppe High School for Boys 12-2 St Alban’s College
Affies 13-3 Grey College
Pearson High School 4-3 St Alban’s College
King Edward VII 12-6 Reddam House Constantia
St Stithians College 4-3 Durban High School
SACS 6-3 Rondebosch Boys’ High
St Andrew’s College 6-9 St David’s Marist Inanda
Quarterfinals
Hilton College 10-7 Rondebosch Boy’s High
Bishops 14-10 SACS
Kearsney College 11-9 St Andrew’s College
St John’s College 6-2 St David’s Marist Inanda
Semifinals
Bishops 7-6 Hilton College
Kearsney College 8-7 St John’s College
Day 4 | Fixtures
Saints Olympic North
06:00 – Grey College vs St Alban’s College
07:40- Reddam House Constantia vs Durban High School
09:20- SACS vs St David’s Marist Inanda
Saints Olympic South
06:00- Affies vs Pearson High
07:40- Michaelhouse vs Jeppe High School for Boys
09:20- Rondebosch Boys’ High vs St Andrew’s College
Saints Pool
06:00- Pretoria Boys High vs Grey High School
07:40-King Edward VII vs St Stithians College
09:20- St John’s College vs Hilton College – 3rd/4th
12:40 Bishops Diocesan vs Kearsney College – Final
