SuperSport Schools Plus

Herschel clinches Brian Baker title for a second year in succession


The 2025 Brian Baker Water Polo Tournament champions, Herschel Girls School. Photo: Kingswood College on Facebook.
The 2025 Brian Baker Water Polo Tournament champions, Herschel Girls School. Photo: Kingswood College on Facebook.

Herschel Girls School, from Claremont, in Cape Town, successfully defended the Brian Baker Water Polo Tournament title on Sunday.

They made it back-to-back titles after beating Reddam House Bedfordview in the title game. Last year, they scored a 14-11 win over Reddam House Constantia to lift the winner’s shield.

In Sunday’s showdown, Herschel started positively and exerted pressure on Reddam House Bedfordview, and that pressure was rewarded when Herschel won a penalty.

Charlotte Wiltshire took the shot and made it count, netting with a top-left bounce shot to put the defending champions ahead.

The tempo of the game picked up after the goal and within three minutes Reddam Bedfordview retaliated with a brilliant strike from Caitlin Scrimgeour.

With both sides battling away, Herschel broke the tie, with Kirsten Bottger getting her name onto the scoresheet. Reddam House, again, found a reply, this time through Alisha Beswick, with her goal levelling matters for Alex Hawkins’ charges.

A Nina Wades’ goal extended the Capetonians’ advantage to two goals, and Wades netted again to put her team three goals to the good.

Reddam Bedfordview was firmly on the back foot, but Caitlin Scrimgeour gave them some hope by netting a third goal for the Gauteng school. Heading into the final chukka, Herschel led 5-3.

The defending champs dialled up the pressure even more with a quarter to go, which delivered them a sixth goal.

In response, Coach Malcolm Ackermann’s Reddam Bedfordview side fought their way down the pool and won a penalty, which they buried to reduce the gap to two points. However, that’s how it ended, with Herschel running out the winners by a 6-4 margin as they clinched the Brian Baker title again.

In the playoff for the bronze medal, Reddam House Constantia beat St Stithians College, with last year’s runners-up winning a tight contest 5-4.

It was a good improvement for Saints, who, after an all-conquering 2023, had to settle for ninth in 2024.

Roedean School, the early pace-setters, took fifth after a 9-5 win over St Anne’s Diocesan College, while DSG Makhanda beat Durban Girls College (DGC) 5-3 to take seventh place.

Although they lost on Sunday, St Anne’s improved from 12th in 2024 to sixth in 2025.

RESULTS

Stirling 10-0 Alexander Road – 19th/20th
Pearson 7-4 Woodridge – 17th/18th
Hudson Park 7-5 Collegiate – 15th/16th
St Dominic’s 6-4 Glenwood House – 13th/14th
St Mary’s Waverley 6-5 Kingswood – 11th/12th
Clarendon 6-3 Rhenish – 9th/10th
DSG Makhanda 5-3 Durban Girls’ College 7th/8th
Roedean 9-5 St Anne’s – 5th/6th
Reddam House Constantia 5-4 St Stithians – 3rd/4th

FINAL

Herschel 6-4 Reddam House Bedfordview

Vuyo Ndudane
error: Sorry ol' chap, those shenanigans are not permissible.