Kearsney makes a strong statement on day two of Reef Cup
Kearsney College made their intentions clear on the second day of the Reef Cup Water Polo Invitational Tournament with a thrilling victory over Affies on Friday afternoon.
Kearsney and Affies, along with Michaelhouse, St Alban’s College, and St David’s Marist Inanda, are considered to be title contenders.
St Stithians is hosting the prestigious tournament, which was first contested in 1980.
The Kearsney versus Affies clash was a top-of-the-table showdown in Pool C, which stamped the winner’s ticket to the quarterfinals.
Last year, the KwaZulu-Natal side found themselves in the path of a rampant St Andrew’s College. They fought hard but narrowly lost 7-8 to cede control of their pool to the eventual champions. Coach Nicholas Rodda’s charges made it to the quarterfinals, having taken a longer route to get there, and were beaten by St David’s, who went on to finish as the runners-up.
After their loss in the last eight, Kearsney did not rest on their laurels. They regrouped and emerged as a stronger unit at the Stayers Tournament, hosted by Northwood, in October. Their young side, led by James Pohl and Luca Sandri (feature photo), swept the event.
Fresh out of the pool and having helped his side lift the Stayers’ title, Sandri joined the South Africa swimming squad that took part in the BRICS Games and was part of the gold medal-winning 4x50m and 4x100m relay teams. Sandri and Pohl were also part of the KZN team that won the u16 IPT last December.
This year, they made things easier for themselves at the Reef Cup by defeating the highly regarded Affies team. The game was closely contested until the final chukka, when Kearsney established a two-goal lead, and held on to win 10-8.
Their victory over Affies came hours after they had walloped Rand Park 26–4.
Michaelhouse ensured another KZN side would make it through to the quarterfinals, with back-to-back wins putting them on top of Pool A. Graeme Lucas-Bull’s young team dispatched Reddam Bedfordview 30-1 early on day two before battling it out with St Benedict’s College, who put up a strong fight. But Michaelhouse won that one 10–7.
St Alban’s made it four wins from their four group matches by seamlessly picking up from where they left off on day one. Nardus Badenhorst’s team thumped Steyn City 31–4 before shrugging off the challenge brought on by DHS with a 12–7 victory. Their clean record saw them join Michaelhouse and Kearsney in the quarterfinals.
St David’s kept their mission on course for a second successive appearance in the final. They secured their quarterfinal spot by topping Pool D with a clean sweep of all their games.
No team has found the back of the net as much as St David’s, who scored a massive 83 goals in their four group matches. At the same time, they conceded a paltry 12. In case you were wondering, that works out at an average score of, roughly, 21-3. Dean Whyte’s charges began the day with a 28-1 rout of Reddam Umhlanga before overcoming Glenwood 19–7.
RESULTS
Grey College 16-2 Reddam Bedfordview
Reddam Helderfontein 7-4 Steyn City School
Rand Park 4-26 Kearsney
Parktown 3-13 Woodridge
St Benedict’s 20-4 Beaulieu
DHS 12-3 Falcon
St Peter’s 15-3 Crawford
St David’s 28-1 Reddam Umhlanga
Michaelhouse 30-1 Reddam Bedfordview
St Alban’s 31-4 Steyn City School
Affies 8-10 Kearsney
Glenwood 11-12 Woodridge
Grey College 21-2 Beaulieu
Reddam Helderfontein 10-9 Falcon
Rand Park 5-12 Crawford
Parktown 8-3 Reddam Umhlanga
Michaelhouse 10-7 St Benedict’s
St Alban’s 12-7 DHS
Affies 18-3 St Peter’s
St David’s 19-7 Glenwood.
FIXTURES
Saturday
07:00 – (B#41) Grey College vs Reddam Helderfontein; 07:00 – (B#42) DHS vs St Benedict’s; 07:00 – (B#43) Affies vs Glenwood; 07:50 – (B#44) Woodridge vs St Peter’s; 08:40 – (B#45) Beaulieu vs Steyn City; 09:30 – (B#46) Reddam Bedfordview vs Falcon; 09:30 – (B#47) Rand Park vs Parktown; 09:30 – (B#48) Crawford vs Reddam Umhlanga; 11:10 – (B#49) Group A1 vs Winner Game 43; 11:10 – (B#50) Winner Game 44 vs Group B1; 12:00 – (B#51) Winner 41 vs Group C1; 12:00 – (B#52) Group D1 vs Winner 42; 13:40 – (B#53) Loser Game 45 vs Loser 47; 13:40 (B#54) Loser 46 vs Loser 48; 14:30 – (B#55) Loser 43 vs Loser 41; 14:30 – (B#56) Loser 44 vs Loser 42; 15:20 – (B#57) Winner 47 vs Winner 45; 16:10 – (B#58) Winner 50 vs Winner 49; 16:10 – (B#59) Winner 46 vs Winner 48; 17:00 – (B#60) Winner 52 vs Winner 51; 17:00 – (B#61) Loser 50 vs Loser 49; 18:40 – (B#62) Loser 52 vs Loser 51.
Sunday
07:00 – (B#63) Loser 53 vs Loser 54; 07:00 – (B#64) Winner 53 vs Winner 54; 07:00 – (B#65) Loser 57 vs Loser 59; 08:40 – (B#66) Winner 57 vs Winner 59; 08:40 – (B#67) Loser 55 vs Loser 56; 08:40 – (B#68) Winner 55 vs Winner 56; 10:20 – (B#69) Loser 62 vs Loser 61; 10:20 – (B#70) Winner 62 vs Winner 61; 10:20 – (B#71) Loser 60 vs Loser 58; 12:10 – (B#72 – Winner 60 vs Winner 58.
