DAY 1 | KES | Cape sides set the early pace in Johannesburg
South African College High School (SACS), Bishops Diocesan College and Rondebosch Boys High all picked up two wins apiece to make impressive winning starts to their campaigns on the opening day of the Standard Bank King Edward VII Water Polo Tournament at the Mark Stevens Aquatic Centre on Friday.
The three Cape sides and the defending champions, St John’s College, were dominant, dismantling their opposition to take early command of their groups ahead of the second day’s action They each have six points.
Rondebosch Boys opened the day’s proceedings by rolling to a 10-4 win over the hosts, KES. They next went on to take down the recent winners of the Vides Water Polo Tournament, Clifton College, in a tightly contested affair, winning 12-8.
Luke Burger was the standout player for the Cape side, scoring eight goals in their two matches, while Bradley Warneke and Noah Reiback also produced strong performances.
Bishops entered the festival on a high after beating SACS 14-11 to claim the SACS Nite Series title earlier in the week, and there were no signs of a hangover for coach Jabulani Sibiya’s men, as they powered their way past Pretoria Boys High and Westville Boys’ High, scoring a combined 29 goals in those two matches.
Matt Fenn, who netted seven goals, and was named the MVP of the Nite Series final, continued his prolific goalscoring form, netting eight times.
Bishops tackle St Stithians College in their final Pool C clash on Saturday.
Meanwhile, SACS will be breathing a sigh of relief after almost going down in their second outing of the day against Hilton College.
After beating Selborne College 15-10 earlier in the day, coach Devon Card’s side dropped the ball in their later encounter against a hungry Hilton side.
Jason Sileno’s charges went blow-for-blow with SACS, and the lead changed hands a number of times, with both Hanu Pieterse and Tristan Uys scoring hattricks to keep the KZN boys in the contest.
The experience of SACS bore fruit, however, as they pulled themselves out of a nervy situation and scraped a narrow 10-9 victory, thanks to spirited efforts from Nicholas Fall and Jandro Rojo-Ross, who also scored hattricks.
St John’s College was, by far, the best of the local teams, going about their business in a mature and effective manner.
Their wins, against Northwood and Paul Roos, have them atop Pool D, with a final pool clash against St Andrew’s College beckoning on day two.
The second day begins with a high-octane clash between KES And Clifton College at 07:00.
Selborne and Hilton College will be chasing second spot in Pool B when they meet at 11:10.
Meanwhile, Vaughn Marlow’s Paul Roos will be aiming for a win over Northwood in their last Pool D outing.
All the action is LIVE on the SuperSport Schools App, and DSTV Channel 216.
Results: Day 1
Rondebosch Boys High 10-4 King Edward VII
Hilton College 15-9 Jeppe Boys High
St Stithians 12 (3)-12(2) Westville Boys
St John’s 17-10 Northwood
SACS 15-10 Selborne College
Bishops 16-4 Pretoria Boys High
Paul Roos 12-7 St Andrew’s College
King Edward VII 12-8 Grey High
Selborne College 12-10 Jeppe Boys High
Bishops 13-11 Westville
St Andrew’s College 14-6 Northwood
Rondebosch 12-8 Clifton College
SACS 10-9 Hilton
St Stithians College 17-12 Pretoria Boys High
St John’s 10-6 Paul Roos
Clifton College 10-5 Grey High
Day 2, Saturday, 2 March
07:00 – King Edward VII vs Clifton College (17); 07:50 – SACS vs Jeppe (18); 08:40 – Pretoria Boys High vs Westville (19); 09:30 – St John’s vs St Andrews College (20); 10:20 – Rondebosch vs Grey High (21); 11:10 – Selborne vs Hilton (22); 12:00 – St Stithians vs Bishops (23); 12:50 – Paul Roos vs Northwood (24); 13:40 – 3rd Pool 1 vs 2nd Pool 4 (25); 14:10 – 2nd Pool 2 vs 4th Pool 1(26); 14:40 – 3rd Pool 3 vs 4th Pool 4 (27); 15:10 – 3rd Pool 4 vs 4th Pool 3 (28); 15:40 – 1st Pool 1 vs 2nd Pool 2 (29); 16:30 – 1st Pool 2 vs 2nd Pool 1 (30); 17:20 – 1st Pool 3 vs 2nd Pool 4 (31); 18:10 – 1st Pool 4 vs 2nd Pool 3 (32); 19:00 – Loser 25 vs Loser 27 (33); 19:30 – Loser 26 vs Loser 28 (34); 20:00 – Loser 29 vs Loser 31 (35); 20:30 – Loser 30 vs Loser 32 (36).
Day 3, Sunday, 3 March
07:00 – Winner Plate qualifier 1 vs Winner Plate qualifier 2 (37); 07:30 – Winner Plate qualifier 2 vs Winner Plate qualifier 4 (38); 08:00 – Cup Quarterfinal 1 winner vs Cup quarterfinal 3 winner (39); 08:50 – Cup quarterfinal 2 winner vs Cup quarterfinal 4 winner (40); 09:40 – Loser 33 vs Loser 34 (41); 10:10 – Winner 33 vs Winner 34 (42); 10:40 – Loser Plate semi-final vs Loser Plate semi-final 2 (43); 11:10 – Winner Plate semi-final 1 vs Winner Plate semi-final 2 (44); 11:40 – Loser 35 vs Loser 36 (45); 12:10 – Winner 35 vs Winner 36 (46); 12:40 – Loser Cup semi-final 1 vs Loser Cup semi-final 2 (47); 13:30 – FINAL (48).
