Central Gauteng A claims Western Province and Aussie Crocs scalps
Sunday, day two of the 2024 Schools Water Polo South Africa Inter-Provincial Tournament in East London was highlighted by a showdown between last year’s finalists, Western Province A and Central Gauteng A.
In 2023, it took both sides winning through to the title decider and a penalty shootout to decide the competition in favour of Province, but on Sunday, with the new format ensuring the top sides meet in pool action, Central Gauteng pulled off a 12-10 victory.
Greg Pryce, the Defender of the Tournament last year, showed off his scoring ability, striking four times for Central Gauteng, and Jack Wilkins matched him with four of his own. The victory, though, was forged by a composed and efficient team effort.
Reflecting on the positives from his team’s win, coach Jon-Marc De Carvalho identified their resilience as something that pleased him. “We needed to adapt better to what the referees were calling, so that is something that we need to look at and work on. But the fact that the boys could still push through, even though we had kick-outs – and the kick-out count was quite lopsided – we still were able to defend them many times despite being a man down, and then go up, attack, and score. That’s a big positive for me.”
De Carvalho said he would like to see his side’s spacing and passing improve. “We missed one or two good opportunities, where, for example, the pass to the centre-forward was two metres short, and it was a tip-in, so we missed that. There were little things like that, which we needed to do a bit better.
“I’m actually really happy with the guys,” he quickly added. “They went through everything and they were composed enough at the right times. We scored goals when we needed them, which was really good.”
Western Province kept their great rivals under pressure throughout. After falling 0-2 down in the early going, they quickly pulled it back to 2-2, but Central Gauteng then edged in front again and they maintained a one to two-goal lead throughout the contest until close to the end when they opened up a three-goal advantage. The Capetonians scored the last goal but it was Central Gauteng’s day and they won by two.
Judah Dos Santos excelled in the Central Gauteng goal, but, as the coach pointed out, he was cleverly assisted by his defenders, who limited and defined Western Province’s scoring channels.
In the evening, De Carvalho’s charges faced the Aussie Crocs. The boys from Brisbane had edged out KwaZulu-Natal A 15-14 in an exciting clash on Saturday evening, and they added another win when they beat Nelson Mandela Bay 17-13 in the midday heat. Nelson Mandela Bay’s Calum Emslie stole the spotlight in that clash, however, netting nine times.
The Crocs’ winning run was emphatically halted by Central Gauteng A, however, with the Gautengers cruising to a 22-10 victory.
With the win, they put their hands up as the title favourites. However, the new format, could see them meeting Western Province A again later in the event, and there was little to separate the sides on Sunday.
Encouragingly for De Carvalho’s side, Alexander Kelbrick, a prolific scorer for Northerns at last year’s IPT, was dialled in for the game against the Australians and he was rewarded with a four-goal haul. Central Gauteng is blessed with scoring threats from all parts of the pool, and now, with Kelbrick finding his scoring form, that’s another problem for their opposition to deal with.
KwaZulu-Natal, after a narrow defeat in their opener, bounced back with wins over Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela Bay. Coach Rob Ambler was pleased with how they finished against Buffalo City, breaking open a tight contest in the latter stages of the game, whereas they had let slip the previous day’s match in the late going against the Aussie Crocs.
In the morning, KwaZulu-Natal A beat Buffalo City 13-8 and they continued to show improvement in their evening clash with Nelson Mandela Bay, roaring to a 22-8 win.
Western Province A also easily handled Nelson Mandela Bay in an early morning encounter, posting a 20-6 win. Their showdown with KwaZulu-Natal A late on Monday should be an exciting clash. Much will depend on how KwaZulu-Natal performs and recovers from a morning meeting with Central Gauteng A.
In a tightly contested clash between Central Gauteng B and Western Province B, the inland team again came out on top, also by two goals, winning 10-8.
SCORES
Western Province B 8: Migael Terblanche (2), William Robinson (2), Milo Letschert (1), Frantz Wetzl (1), Matt Forbes (1), Luke Cartwright (1). Central Gauteng B 10: Simon Mussett (3), Ethan Horn (3), Chris Chapman (2), Francois Hartslief (1), Erik Arwidi (1).
Nelson Mandela Bay 6: Calum Emslie (3), Spencer Adshade (2), Oliver Martin (1). Western Province A 20: Ross Stewart (4), Nicholas Fall (3), Bradley Warneke (3), Thomas Truter (2), Mac Lecuona (2), Jandro Rojo-Roos (2), Matthew de Villiers (1), Arkin Marais (1).
KwaZulu-Natal B 22: Kyron de Kock (4), Robert Smith (4), Matthew Botha (3), Ruan Basson (3), Keagan Elliott (2), Andrew Boucher (2), Troy Rees-Jones (1), Ryan Spooner (1), Drew Hollingsworth (1), Zaid Asmal (1). Eastern Gauteng 4: David Emslie (2), Michael Oliver (2).
Northerns 11: Marthinus Richter (5), Aidan Butler (2), Kieron Potgieter (2), Zander van Niekerk (1), Christon Richter (1). Zimbabwe 7: Sibusiso Sibanda (4), Garrick Duff (2), Dylan van Hoof (1).
Buffalo City 8: Liam Hansen (2), Thomas Caswell (2), Connor Maree (2), Sean Audie (1), Kairon Roux (1), KwaZulu-Natal A 13: Tristan Uys (4), Mitchel Garreau (2), Luca Sandri (2), Ethan Lyne (2), Kirk Wilson (1), James Pohl (1), Max Scully (1).
Nelson Mandela Bay 13: Calum Emslie (9), Coel Trollip (2), Oliver Martin (2). Aussie Crocs 17: Benjamin Spell (4), Kairo Lynch (3), Angus Cope (3), Joseph Gallagher (2), James Martin (2), Jack Plowman (1), Giacomo Hernandez (1), Cameron Medley (1).
KwaZulu-Natal B 9: Robert Smith (3), Drew Hollingsworth (1), Matthew Botha (1), Nicholas Naude (1), Kyron de Kock (1), Ryan Spooner (1), Western Province B 14: Milo Letschert (3), Struan Valentine (2), Luke Cartwright (2), William Robinson (2), Aiden Laubser (2), Matt Forbes (1), Blake Brown (1), Franz Wetzl (1).
Western Province A 10: Ross Stewart (5), Nicholas Fall (2), Arkin Marais (1), Connor Melling-Williams (1). Central Gauteng A 12: Greg Pryce (4), Jack Wilkins (4), Marc Smith (2), Ross Rovelli (2).
Zimbabwe 14: Garrick Duff (4), Sibusiso Sibanda (3), Jarryd Reed (2), Chika Mgbemena (2), Kayden Bhana (1), Tian Muller (1), Ruan Nel (1). Eastern Gauteng 8: Michael Oliver (3), Daniel Stead (2), Cole Lamberti (1), David Emslie (1), Nathan Whelan (1).
Northerns 0. Central Gauteng B 17: Erik Arwidi (3), Francois Hartslief (3), Darien Salovy (2), Chris Chapman (2), Mukhetwa Maemu (2), Travis Donnelly (2), Logan du Preez (1), Kyle Kennerley (1), Ethan Horn (1).
Nelson Mandela Bay 8: Calum Emslie (5), Oliver Martin (2), Rolan Swanevelder (1). KwaZulu-Natal A 22: Luca Sandri (4), Thomas Taylor (3), Ethan Lyne (3), James Pohl (3), Tristan Uys (3), Mitchel Garreau (3), Max Scully (2), Brogan Jones (1).
Zimbabwe 9: Garrick Duff (4), Sibusiso Sibanda (3), Ruan Nel (2). Western Province B 17: Luke Cartwright (6), Milo Letschert (3), William Robinson (2), Struan Valentine (2), Migael Terblanche (1), Jayden Bosman (1), Matt Forbes (1), Sebastian Kastern (1).
Aussie Crocs 10: Benjamin Spall (3), James Gallagher (2), Jack Plowman (2), James Martin (1), Angus Cope (1), Kairo Lynch (1) Central Gauteng A 22: Alexander Kelbrick (4), Jack Wilkins (3), Nicholas Searle (2), Declan Wood (2), James Crick (2), Mark Hudson (2), Karabo Mamaregane (2), Sebastian Bruinders (1), Harry Wilkins (1), Greg Pryce (1), Marc Smith (1), Ross Stuart (1).
Day 3 Fixtures
07:00 – Western Province A vs Buffalo City
08:05 – KwaZulu-Natal B vs Northerns
09:10 – Central Gauteng A vs KwaZulu-Natal A
10:15 – Western Province B vs Eastern Gauteng
11:20 – Aussie Crocs vs Western Province A
12:25 – Zimbabwe vs Central Gauteng B
13:30 – Nelson Mandela Bay vs Buffalo City
14:35- Northerns vs Western Province B
15:40 – Western Province A vs KwaZulu-Natal A
16:45 – KwaZulu-Natal B vs Central Gauteng B
17:50 – Nelson Mandela Bay vs Central Gauteng A
18:55 – Northerns vs Eastern Gauteng
19:10 – Aussie Crocs vs Buffalo City (Joan Harrison West)
