Crème de la crème ready to lock horns at SACS Water Polo Tournament
Twenty of the best boys’ water polo-playing schools in South Africa will assemble in Cape Town this weekend for the prestigious SACS Water Polo Tournament.
The much-anticipated competition takes place from 4 to 6 October, with all matches being played at the picturesque SACS Aquatic Centre.
The tournament, similar to the Clifton Water Polo Tournament, which took place a week ago, includes top sides, but it is contested over shorter games, which is counteracted by sides playing many matches over the three days.
The SACS Water Polo Tournament is also the country’s longest-running schools’ water polo event, having started all the way back in 1984.
The teams are split into two pools of 10, and the group matches stretch right through until the final day, with the top four teams in each pool progressing to the quarterfinals.
The defending champions, Bishops Diocesan College, made history in 2024 by becoming the first-ever Bishops side to win the tournament.
Under the tutelage of Jabulani Sibiya, they defeated St John’s College 5-2 in the final to break their SACS Water Polo Tournament hoodoo.
They have been drawn in Pool B, where they will face Clifton College, Grey College, Parktown Boys’ High, Paul Roos Gimnasium, Pretoria Boys High, Selborne College, St Alban’s College, St David’s Marist Inanda, and SACS.
Pool A, meanwhile, will be contested by Grey High School, Hilton College, Jeppe High School for Boys, Northwood School, Rondebosch Boys’ High, St Andrew’s College, St Benedict’s College, St John’s College, St Stithians College, and Wynberg Boys’ High School.
The Breakdown
Pool A
It’s a fools’ game trying to predict how Pool A will pan out, but one can make some educated guesses.
It’s a tough group filled with competitive teams, and the format of the tournament (20 minutes a game) could help to level the playing field for some of the underdog sides.
Hilton College will be brimming with confidence after winning the Clifton Water Polo Tournament for the first time last week. The Paul Martin-coached side edged out St John’s College 10-8 in the final.
Hilton has never won the SACS Water Polo Tournament, but they’re a veteran unit, loaded with some of the heaviest offensive firepower in the country, and they’ll be looking to rewrite history.
Rondebosch Boys’ High will also be a serious contender for the title. Under coach Jared Wingate-Pearse, the ‘Bosch boys have produced a strong showing in 2025. In term one, they pushed Bishops all the way in the SACS Nite Series.
Gauteng is one of the game’s traditional powerhouses and they’ll be represented by Jeppe, St John’s College, St Benedict’s College, and St Stithians College.
St John’s will be favoured to go far. They made it all the way to the title game at the Clifton Water Polo Tournament, but St Stithians bears watching, too. They convincingly beat St John’s in the final of the St Alban’s Beach Water Polo Festival early in September.
Gqeberha’s Grey High School and St Andrew’s College of Makhanda are the two Eastern Cape sides in the pool. They last won the tournament in 2012 and 2014, respectively.
Pool B
There is no doubt that Bishops will be pushed hard in their pursuit of back-to-back SACS Water Polo Tournament titles.
They’re up against some stiff competition and will have to deliver their A-game from the outset.
Along the way, they take on their Cape rivals, SACS and Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG), who were both eliminated in the quarterfinals last year.
SACS last won the tournament in 2023, while PRG is still in search of their maiden title.
Clifton College will also be in the mix and aiming to add to their title win in 2021.
Selborne College has claimed the title on four occasions: in 1992, 1993, 1994 and 2015. Led by coach Storm Siebert, the East London school will also be a threat.
The group is completed by Grey College and the Gauteng quartet of St Alban’s, Parktown, St David’s Marist Inanda, and Pretoria Boys High.
At face value, it’s a well-balanced pool, and the so-called underdogs will be confident of their chances to sneak into the top four.
TEAMS
Pool A
Grey High School, Hilton College, Jeppe High School for Boys, Northwood School, Rondebosch Boys’ High, St Andrew’s College, St Benedict’s College, St John’s College, St Stithians College, Wynberg Boys’ High School.
Pool B
Bishops, Clifton College, Grey College, SACS, Parktown Boys’ High, Paul Roos Gimnasium, Pretoria Boys High, Selborne College, St Alban’s College, St David’s Marist Inanda.
FIXTURES
Day 1 – Saturday, 4 October
07:10 – St Stithians vs Jeppe
07:30 – Rondebosch vs St John’s College
07:50 – Bishops vs Grey College
08:10 – Clifton vs Selborne College
08:30 – Hilton vs Grey High
08:50 – St Andrew’s College vs St Benedict’s
09:10 – SACS vs Parktown
09:30 – St David’s Marist vs St Alban’s
09:50 – Wynberg vs Northwood
10:10 – St John’s College vs Jeppe
10:30 – Pretoria Boys High vs Paul Roos
10:50 – Bishops vs Selborne College
11:10 – Rondebosch vs Grey High
11:30 – Wynberg vs St Benedict’s
11:50 – St David’s vs Grey College
12:10 – SACS vs St Alban’s
12:30 – St Andrew’s College vs Northwood
12:50 – Hilton vs St Stithians
13:10 – Parktown vs Paul Roos
13:30 – Clifton vs Pretoria Boys High
13:50 – St John’s College vs Grey High
14:10 – St Andrew’s College vs Rondebosch
14:30 – Grey College vs St Alban’s
14:50 – Bishops vs Paul Roos
15:10 – St Stithians vs Northwood
15:30 – Hilton vs Wynberg
15:50 – SACS vs Pretoria Boys
16:10 – St David’s Marist vs Clifton
16:30 – Jeppe vs St Benedict’s
16:50 – St Andrew’s College vs St John’s
17:10 – Selborne vs Parktown
17:30 – St Stithians vs Wynberg
17:50 – Clifton vs Paul Roos
18:10 – Hilton vs Jeppe
18:30 – SACS vs Grey College
18:50 – St David’s Marist vs Selborne
19:10 – St Alban’s vs Parktown
19:30 – St Benedict’s vs Grey High
19:50 – Rondebosch vs Northwood
20:10 – Bishops vs Pretoria Boys High
Day 2 – Sunday, 5 October
07:10 – St Alban’s vs Paul Roos
07:30 – SACS vs Selborne College
07:50 – St David’s Marist vs Pretoria Boys High
08:10 – Hilton vs St John’s College
08:30 – St Stithians vs Rondebosch
08:50 – St Benedict’s vs Northwood
09:10 – St Andrew’s College vs Wynberg
09:30 – Grey College vs Parktown
09:50 – Jeppe vs Grey High
10:10 – Hilton vs Rondebosch
10:30 – Bishops vs Clifton
10:50 – Selborne College vs St Alban’s
11:10 – St Andrew’s College vs St Stithians
11:30 – Jeppe vs Northwood
11:50 – Grey College vs Paul Roos
12:10 – SACS vs Clifton
12:30 – St John’s vs St Benedict’s
12:50 – Wynberg vs Grey High
13:10 – St Davids vs Bishops
13:30 – Pretoria Boys vs Parktown
13:50 – Hilton vs St Andrew’s College
14:10 – St John’s College vs Northwood
14:30 – Selborne College vs Paul Roos
14:50 – Rondebosch vs St Benedict’s
15:10 – Wynberg vs Jeppe
15:30 – SACS vs St David’s Marist
15:50 – Clifton vs St Alban’s
16:10 – Pretoria Boys vs Grey College
16:30 – St Andrew’s College vs Grey High
16:50 – Hilton vs Northwood
17:10 – Bishops vs Parktown
17:30 – St Stithians vs St Benedict’s
17:50 – SACS vs Paul Roos
18:10 – Rondebosch vs Jeppe
18:30 – Clifton vs Grey College
18:50 – Pretoria Boys vs Selborne College
19:10 – Bishops vs St Alban’s
19:30 – Wynberg vs St John’s College
19:50 – St Stithians vs Grey High
20:10 – St David’s vs Parktown
Day 3 – Monday, 6 October
06:50 – Hilton vs St Benedict’s
07:10 – Grey High vs Northwood
07:30 – Selborne College vs Grey College
07:50 – Pretoria Boys vs St Alban’s
08:10 – St Andrew’s College vs Jeppe
08:30 – St Stithians vs St John’s College
08:50 – St David’s Marist vs Paul Roos
09:10 – Clifton vs Parktown
09:30 – Rondebosch vs Wynberg
09:50 – SACS vs Bishops
10:40 – 3rd Pool A vs 2nd Pool B (Quarterfinal 1)
11:00 – 2nd Pool A vs 3rd Pool B (Quarterfinal 2)
11:20 – 1st Pool A vs 4th Pool B (Quarterfinal 3)
11:40 – 4th Pool A vs 1st Pool B (Quarterfinal 4)
12:30 – Semifinal 1
13:00 – Semifinal 2
14:00 – Bronze medal playoff
14:00 – Final
