Cape sides grab gold at Saints Water Polo Invitational
South African College High School (SACS), and Herschel Girls School put on impressive showings to win their respective finals at the St Stithians Water Polo Invitational in Johannesburg on Sunday.
SACS defeated St John’s College (7-6) in the boys’ final, while Herschel edged out Roedean School (5-4) to claim the girls’ honours.
The Saints title, the third won in the past month, confirmed SACS’ status as the number one side in South Africa, following on from the Clifton Water Polo Tournament, where they beat Paul Roos 7-6 in the title-decider, and the Hussar Grill SACS Water Polo Tournament, in which they handed Paul Roos a 7-6 loss to claim the honours.
The 29th edition of the tournament saw 40 schools and over 500 learners assemble to lock horns in pursuit of the prestigious silverware.
The opening two days of the tournament, which featured group stage competition, left SACS, St John’s College and St Andrew’s College unbeaten in the boys’ section, while Rondebosch won three of four but topped Pool B, ahead of Hilton College and Affies, who also lost only once, with Hilton beating Rondebosch, Rondebosch beating Affies, and Affies defeating Hilton.
There were some notable victories on day one, including Michaelhouse‘s tight 8-6 win over King Edward VII, while SACS outplayed their rivals Bishops 11-6, and the hosts, St Stithians, cruised to an emphatic 12-4 victory against Bloemfontein’s Grey College.
On day two, SACS, who had also beaten Pretoria Boys High on the opening day, kept their foot on the pedal, maintaining their momentum with a convincing 13-5 win over a Michaelhouse side who had won both of their opening day contests. They followed that up with a closer-than-expected 12-10 victory against King Edward VII.
The girls’ action got off to a cracking start with Durban Girls College and Pearson High producing 14 goals and sharing a 7-7 stalemate.
Herschel, meanwhile, asserted their dominance from the start. They opened their campaign with a 25-7 thumping of Crawford Lonehill, before seeing off Makhanda’s Kingswood College 9-4 in their second match of the opening day.
The other finalists, Roedean, also signalled their intent on day one, putting 22 goals past Rand Park High after handing a more-than-useful Kingswood College team an 8-3 defeat in their opener.
Day two brought Herschel and Roedean together late in the day for top spot in Pool C, and it was the Johannesburg school who comfortably handled their Cape Town opponents, pulling off a 9-4 win, despite Herschel having netted 65 times in their previous three outings.
Meanwhile, St Stithians and Reddam Constantia, went four for four in their pools, while St Dominic’s Catholic topped a very competitive Pool A.
In the boys’ playoffs, SACS saw off Clifton 7-3 in the quarterfinal and then withstood a stiff challenge from St Andrew’s College, winning 8-6, to book their place in the final.
St John’s, meanwhile, had a narrow 8-7 quarterfinals win over Bishops before handing St Stithians a 7-5 defeat to move on to the title-decider.
Having processed their defeat against Roedean overnight, Herschel came roaring back to dismantle Collegiate 15-3, which secured them a spot in the quarterfinals. There, they cruised to an 11-4 triumph over St Dominic’s to set up a semi-final against Reddam Constantia. The all-Cape clash went the way of Herschel 8-4.
Meanwhile, Roedean continued their winnings ways in the quarterfinals, doubling up Reddam House Bedfordview 8-4 before squeaking past Clarendon 8-7 to reach the final.
With the title on the line, Herschel reversed their earlier loss to Roedean, with a 5-4 win securing them the St Stithians Invitational crown for a first time.
The boys’ final had barely begun before play was stopped due to lightning, which forced the showdown to be moved to Reddam House Helderfontein‘s indoor facility. Back in the water, SACS were pushed all the way by St John’s, but they showed champions’ pedigree to win 7-6.
Their team chemistry, individual flashes of brilliance, and composure in defence proved to be a winning mix. Nicholas Fall, who ended the tournament as the best attacker, was especially influential in the title-decider and throughout the playoffs.
Overall standings:
Boys: South African College Schools (SACS), St John’s College, St Andrew’s College, St Stithians College, St David’s Marist Inanda, Rondebosch Boys High, Diocesan College (Bishops), Clifton College, Hilton College, Michaelhouse, Affies, Grey College, St Alban’s, Grey High, King Edward VII, Jeppe, Pretoria Boys High, Reddam House Constantia, Reddam House Helderfontein, St Benedict’s College.
Girls: Herschel Girls School, Roedean School, Reddam House Constantia, Clarendon High School, Reddam House Bedfordview, St Dominic’s Catholic, Diocesan School for Girls (DSG), St Stithians College, Kingswood College, St Mary’s Waverley, Collegiate, Pearson High School, St Anne’s Diocesan School, Durban Girls College, Kingsmead College, Crawford Lonehill, Chisipite Senior School, Rand Park High, St Peter’s College, Reddam House Helderfontein.
