Five teams dominate opening day of KES Water Polo Tournament
The highly anticipated King Edward VII (KES) Water Polo Tournament delivered some eye-opening results and exciting water polo on Friday in Johannesburg.
Now into its 42nd edition, the prestigious event has welcomed many of South Africa’s best water polo-playing schools to the Mark Stevens Aquatic Centre.
The action continues into Sunday, 2 March, and the action is LIVE on SuperSport Schools.
On an interesting day that delivered close results, thrilling encounters, and top-class water polo, only five teams – Rondebosch Boys’ High, Bishops, South African College High School (SACS), Kearsney College, and Hilton College – were unbeaten just two matches into the tournament.
The Western Cape trio, who are drawn in different groups, were impressive, with SACS causing early shockwaves. Coach Devon Card‘s side has been in shaky form in 2025 and underperformed in the recently concluded SACS Nite Series. They had to put their early season woes aside heading into the KES Tournament, and they did that in emphatic style.
In their opening match, they thumped Pretoria Boys High 13-4 before stunning St John’s College 14-9.
Aidan Turrell, who has been in fine form in front of goal, scored four times against St John’s, while Jandro Rojo-Ross netted seven goals and Ben Bigara scored a brace. Luca Orgill completed the scoring to seal the win for his side.
Rondebosch and Bishops were also in good form on the opening day but were made to work hard for their wins.
Defending champions, ‘Bosch scored a whopping 21 goals in their two matches. They edged out Selborne College 8-6 before sneaking past Jeppe High School for Boys 13-12.
Bishops, meanwhile, dominated their opener, beating Northwood School 14-5, but they were taken to penalties in their second match by St Stithians College.
It had ended 8-8 after regular time, but Bishops survived by the skin of their teeth, winning 3-2 in the penalty shootout.
Kearsney and Hilton College also introduced themselves in style at the Mark Stevens Aquatic Centre.
They were the top KwaZulu-Natal performers after Northwood, Westville, and Clifton found the going tough on the opening day.
Kearsney breezed past Westville, cruising to a 15-8 win in their opener. Thomas Francke scored four goals and was joined on the scoreboard by Thomas Aylward and skipper James Pohl, who both scored hattricks. Levi Thom and Luca Sandri also struck twice each as Kearsney won comfortably.
In their second match, coach Nicholas Rodda’s troops weren’t at their best. Still, they managed to grind out a hard-fought 12-11 victory over KES.
Their provincial counterparts, Hilton, were in rampant form. Coach Paul Martin‘s boys are playing like a team with a point to prove, and they scored 26 goals while conceding only three.
Hilton began their tournament impressively by blanking St John’s College 8-0. Then, in their second match, they overpowered Pretoria Boys High 18-3.
They’re tied for the top spot in Pool D with SACS, with both teams on six points. They’re set to do battle early on Saturday afternoon for first place in the group ahead of the knockout stages.
Another big result on Friday was a 3-2 win on penalties for Jeppe against Clifton College after the sides had shared an 8-8 draw.
The second day’s action will kick off bright and early with a clash between St Andrew’s College and Bishops at 07:00.
DAY 1 RESULTS
St Stithians College 7-6 St Andrew’s College
Kearsney College 15-8 Westville
Selborne College 8-6 Rondebosch
Hilton College 8-0 St John’s College
Bishops 14-5 Northwood
KES 10-9 Paul Roos
Clifton College (2) 8-8 (3) Jeppe
SACS 14-2 Pretoria Boys High
Bishops (3) 8-8 (2) St Stithians
Paul Roos 7-5 Westville
Selborne College 9-6 Clifton College
SACS 14-9 St John’s College
St Andrew’s 7-3 Northwood
Kearsney 12-11 KES
Rondebosch 13-12 Jeppe
Hilton College 18-3 Pretoria Boys High
Day 2 fixtures
07:00 – St Andrew’s vs Bishops; 07:50 – Kearsney vs Paul Roos; 08:40 – Clifton vs Rondebosch; 09:30 – St John’s College vs Pretoria Boys High; 10:20 – St Stithians vs Northwood; 11:10 – KES vs Westville; 12:00 – Jeppe vs Selborne College; 12:50 – SACS vs Hilton College; 13:40 – 3rd Pool A vs 4th Pool B (Plate Quarterfinal 1); 14:10 – 3rd Pool B vs 4th Pool A (Plate Quarterfinal 1); 14:40 – 3rd Pool C vs 4th Pool D (Plate Quarterfinal 1); 15:10 – 3rd Pool D vs 4th Pool C (Plate Quarterfinal 1); 15:40 – 1st Pool A vs 2nd Pool B (Cup Quarterfinal 1); 16:30 – 1st Pool B vs 2nd Pool A (Cup Quarterfinal 2); 17:20 – 1st Pool C vs 2nd Pool D (Cup Quarterfinal 3); 18:10 – 1st Pool D vs 2nd Pool C (Cup Quarterfinal 4); 19:00 – Plate Playoff; 19:30 – Plate Playoff; 20:00 – Cup Playoff; 20:30 – Cup Playoff.
