Currie Cup| Girls| Big guns dominate opening day

The Western Province u18 girls’ team will enter day two of the South African Junior Water Polo Championships in East London in high spirits after going unbeaten on the opening day of the tournament at the Joan Harrison Swimming Pool.

Province had been tabbed as one of the favourites after their impressive showing at last year’s Schools Water Polo South Africa Inter-Provincial Tournament where they narrowly lost to Central Gauteng in the final.

They announced themselves to the East London crowd in superb fashion on Thursday, clawing their way to a nail-biting 15-12 win over Buffalo City in their opener.

Hannah Banks and Emily van Heerden grabbed hattricks, while Alexa de Villers struck four times. In response, Tori Voke put six into the back of the Western Province net for Buffalo City.

Coach Connor Whiting‘s side then took on the stern challenge of Central Gauteng in a clash that had, no doubt, been circled by the players and supporters.

With the Western Province boys’ team backing them from the stands, the Province girls dug deep, twice hauling themselves back into the contest after falling behind.

Roxanne Uys contributed a brace, while Emily van Heerden added a double to her earlier hattrick, but it was Hannah Banks, with five goals, who was the driving force behind a 12-6 win for Western Province.

Another team that impressed on day one was KwaZulu-Natal, under the guidance of coach Jason Sileno.

After a nervous start, in which they played to a 9-9 draw against Nelson Mandela Bay, before winning on penalties, KZN rectified their errors in their second match of the day to claim a 16-11 win over the hosts.

They will need to bring their A-game early on Friday when they take on a bruised Central Gauteng side.

Meanwhile, Nelson Mandela Bay will be confident of securing a semi-final spot after they bounced back to defeat Buffalo City in the final game of day one.

Top performances by Teagan Harty and Matipa Karimazondo steered the side to a dramatic 10-9 victory.

Friday’s action sees Central Gauteng tackling Buffalo City at 08:00. An hour later, KZN battles Western Province, with the two semi-finals set to be played late in the day.

Scores

Kwa-Zulu Natal 13: Inge Southey, Kayla Andrews, Lara Mervis, Claire Hind, Caitlin McMurray, Gemma Malherbe. Nelson Mandela Bay 10: Anna Pinto (x6), Lucy Rutherfoord, Teagan Harty (x2), Matipa Karimazondo.

Buffalo City 12: Tori Voke (x6), Meka Loots (x3), Jasmine Koch (x3). Western Province 15: Alexa de Villers (x4), Hannah Banks (x3), Emily van Heerden (x3), Isabella Tooley (x2), Bella Murray, Amy van Breeda, Erin-Bella Nordgaard.

Central Gauteng 17: Amy Smith (x4), Anastasia Hambakis (x4), Mia Loizides (x3), Ruby Carlson (x2), Jessica Black, Francesca de Villiers, Courtney Calenborne, Emma Pelicot. Nelson Mandela Bay 13: Teagan Harty (x3), Matipa Karimazondo (x3), Elizabeth Horn (x2), Lucy Rutherfoord (x2), Amie Jenner, Jasmine Witthuhn, Anna Pinto.

KwaZulu-Natal 9 (4): Inge Southey (x3), Kayla Andrews (x3), Lara Mervis (x2) (+1p), Clair Hind (x1 +1p), Caitlin McMurray (x1 +1p), Gemma Malherbe (+1p). Nelson Mandela Bay 9 (1): Anna Pinto (x6), Lucy Rutherfoord, Teagan Harty (x1 +1p), Matipa Karimazondo

Buffalo City 11: Jasmine Koch (x3), Meka Loots(x3), Tori Voke (x2), Roxy Van Eek, Tatum Knox, Megan Schwartz. KwaZulu-Natal 16: Inge Southey (x4), Lara Mervis (x3), Caitlin McMurray (x3) Kayla Andrews (x2), Gemma Malherbe, Alwande Zondi, Claire Hind, London Remley.

Central Gauteng 6: Amy Smith, Simphiwe Zulu, Julia Joseph, Ruby Carlson, Anastasia Hambakis, Mia Loizides. Western Province 12: Hannah Banks (x5), Emily van Heerden (x2), Roxanne Uys (x2), Isabella Tooley, Erin-Belle Nordgaard, Alexa de Villiers.

Nelson Mandela Bay 10: Matipa Karimazondo (x5), Teagan Harty (x2), Lucy Rutherfoord, Elizabeth Horn. Buffalo City 9: Jasmine Koch (x2), Kiyara Campbell, Megan Schwartz, Roxy Van Eek, Meka Loots, Gemma Hanafey.

Fixtures

Friday, 15 March 2024

08:00 – Central Gauteng vs Buffalo City; 09:00 –KwaZulu-Natal vs Western Province; 12:00 – Central Gauteng vs KwaZulu-Natal; 13:00 – Western Province vs Nelson Mandela Bay; 16:00 – Semi-final 1; 17:00 – Semi-final 2.

Saturday, 16 March 2024

08:00 – 3^rd/4^th play-off; 10:00 – FINAL.

• About
• Latest Posts

Avuyile Sawula

Avuyile Sawula is a multimedia sports journalist, broadcaster, and writer. He possesses a journalism qualification from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. During his time in the media industry, he has worked for various online media publications covering a variety of sporting codes. He also has a broadcasting background having worked as a news journalist at one of Cape Town’s commercial radio stations. His reporting beats include hockey, rugby, water polo, and cricket. Apart from writing, he has a knack for creating sports content, and video editing.

Latest posts by Avuyile Sawula (see all)

• SAC Shield: Bishops and Rondebosch unbeaten, St Stithians and Selborne impress - 2025-01-24
• High scoring on the opening day of the SAC Shield - 2025-01-23
• Top teams to contest the SAC Shield - 2025-01-22