Heavy hitters lead the way as SAC Shield reaches boiling point
Only one team, South African College High School (SACS), owned a perfect record after two days of action at the St Andrew’s College (SAC) Shield Water Polo Tournament in Makhanda.
After a captivating opening day on Thursday, the teams returned to action on Friday, seeking momentum and rhythm with the playoffs looming.
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Pool A, the group of death, delivered some interesting results, while Pool B remained tightly contested, with almost nothing to separate the sides.
Bishops Diocesan College entered the day unbeaten, but that record was tarnished early when they went down 7-11 to Clifton College. It was an outstanding performance by the KwaZulu-Natal side as they suffocated Bishops and restricted their go-to players.
At the other end of the pool, they were clinical. They took their opportunities brilliantly, with Kyle Human, Taylor Seiler, Nathan Burger, Nabil Bejia, and Daniel Northard getting on the scoresheet.
The usual suspects, Matt Fenn and Timothy Young, along with the youngster, Noah Viuff, tried to get Bishops back into the game, but their efforts were in vain.
Later in the day, Bishops held on for an 8-7 win over St John’s College in a thriller, while Clifton brushed past St Andrew’s College 11-5.
Rondebosch Boys’ High impressed. After losing in the Bisch/Bosch derby on day one, they came out firing on Friday, beating the hosts 10-7 before dominating Westville Boys’ High on their way to a commanding 13-5 win.
In Pool B, SACS and St Stithians College picked up handy wins, and they look set to finish in first and second place in the group, respectively.
Saints beat a struggling Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG) side 13-5 and backed up that performance with a hard-fought 9-3 victory over Grey High School.
SACS, meanwhile, needed a penalty shootout to snatch a win against Hilton College. They took it 3-2 from the spot after their match had ended tied at 10-10. They added further victories over Selborne College and Grey High to end their pool stage campaign without a loss.
Coach Storm Siebert’s Selborne side strengthened their chances of progressing to the last eight by Grey in an Eastern Cape derby. They followed that up with a win over PRG.
SACS will finish atop Pool B, but there’s one remaining match in the group, between St Stithians and Hilton, which will impact the positions behind them.
Pool A is also undecided, with Rondebosch and St John’s vying for second spot. A win for Clifton over their KwaZulu-Natal rivals, Westville in Saturday’s first game, at 06:30, would cement Clifton’s place in the playoffs.
RESULTS
Pool A
St John’s 10-4 Westville
St Andrew’s 7-10 Rondebosch
Clifton 11-7 Bishops
Rondebosch 13-5 Westville
St John’s 7-8 Bishops
St Andrew’s 5-11 Clifton
Pool B
St Stithians 13-6 Paul Roos
Hilton (2) 10-10 (3) SACS
Grey High 4-7 Selborne
Hilton 8-5 Paul Roos
Grey 3-9 St Stithians
Selborne 5-8 SACS
Paul Roos 6-9 Selborne
SACS 10-8 Grey High
FIXTURES
Day 3 – Saturday, 24 January
Pool A
06:30 – Westville vs Clifton; 07:20 – Rondebosch vs St John’s.
Pool B
08:10 – St Stithians vs Hilton College.
Playoff fixtures will be confirmed after the pool matches.
