No unbeaten teams heading into playoffs
Monday, at the Schools Water Polo South Africa Inter-Provincial Tournament, was a big day for KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) A in the boys’ u19 competition, with coach Rob Ambler‘s side taking on unbeaten Central Gauteng A in a mid-morning clash and Western Province A in the mid-afternoon.
The KZN boys had suffered a last-gasp 14-15 loss to the Aussie Crocs in their opener but had then accounted for Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela Bay on Sunday. That first loss, though, was against a side not in contention for the inter-provincial honours.
On day three of the event, KZN was relaxed and determined as they took on the high-flying Central Gauteng A side, which had brushed aside the Aussie Crocs on Sunday evening, romping to a 22-10 victory. They had also scored a 12-10 win over Western Province A in their first match on Sunday.
Therefore, most would have picked Central Gauteng A as the favourites ahead of their clash with KZN. And it looked as if it was going to be a comfortable win for Jon-Marc De Carvalho‘s charges after they scored twice within the first minute and were soon 3-0 up.
KZN, though, didn’t blink. With Ross Strauss, in goal, stymying the Central Gauteng attack, KZN struck back and drew level at 3-3. Soon, they edged ahead, and for most of the contest they remained out front, but Central Gauteng hadn’t entered the game with an unbeaten record without reason. They, too, had demonstrated their resilience and grit in compiling that mark.
Digging deep, they found a way past Aka Ngcobo, who had replaced Strauss between the sticks for the second half, to snatch a two-goal lead in the fourth chukka. It might have appeared as if KZN had cracked. They hadn’t.
With Tristan Uys providing a hard-charging emotional example, they came roaring back, aided by some superb stops from Ngcobo, who denied Central Gauteng time after time, aided by a wholehearted defensive effort from the coastal side.
In the last minute, with the score at 9-9, KZN won a penalty and James Pohl took on the responsibility of the shot. His effort was stopped, but the ball rebounded towards Pohl. Calmly, he gathered it and slotted, putting his side ahead once more.
Central Gauteng pushed mightily for an equaliser, but they were met by a smothering defence and a wall of hands, with the KZN defenders twice pulling off blocks as their opponents attempted shots on goal.
When the final whistle sounded, KZN had taken down the last undefeated team in the u19 competition.
Tristan Uys, as he has done for most of the tournament, led the KZN scorers, striking six times, while Greg Pryce and Mark Hudson slotted three goals each for Central Gauteng.
Commenting on his side’s character-filled fightback, coach Rob Ambler said: “We know, if we are down, there is no need to panic. We will follow our processes, and it will come right.”
It was sticking to their structures that got KZN back into the contest after going behind early, he said. “They played a heavy press on us. We knew what to do with the press. We call it a ‘dory’ – just keep swimming. It worked for us.
“There’s a lot of fight in these boys. They really want it, and we want to prove that we don’t need to be the most physical side. We play technical water polo. We’ve been training technical water polo, and technical beat physicality today.”
Summarising his side’s approach, Ambler added: “What we want to do is be a team and not have individualism. That’s what pays off.
“We build our programme on three things: never give up, manners maketh the man, and team above all else, and that’s our most important one.”
Never giving up and team above all else were needed later in the day when Western Province A put together a sublime first chukka, performing with precision on the attack and as a well-oiled unit on defence to open up a 5-0 lead over KZN.
Perhaps the highlight among that scintillating scoring fest was a pinpoint pass from the back that fell onto the left hand of Nicholas Fall just three metres from the KZN goal and he stuck the chance away, It was direct, accurate, and executed with outstanding skill.
Ethan Lyne finally got KZN onto the scoresheet with a rocket of a helicopter backhand shot. Province responded well, however, quickly scoring again before adding another to go 7-1 ahead.
Most teams would have folded, but something about the KZN boys caught the eye. Despite falling so far behind, they continued to play with a smile in their faces, literally. That kept their spirits up. They didn’t shrink from the challenge. They embraced it.
Western Province stayed out in front, but when the final whistle sounded KZN had reduced the deficit to a 7-10 defeat. Province certainly took something out of the contest, but KZN, too, will feel there were some positives in their defeat.
Later in the day, Central Gauteng A took out their frustrations on Nelson Mandela Bay, charging to a 22-2 win. Marc Smith made hay, scoring six times, while six others scored two goals each.
With that result, Central Gauteng A, Western Province A, and KwaZulu-Natal A all finished their Pool A schedule with nine points each. Central Gauteng topped the standings on goal difference, with Western Province in second and KZN in third.
Buffalo City beat Nelson Mandela Bay 11-9 in a big Eastern Cape derby in the early afternoon, which ensured they finished above their neighbours, in fourth place.
Central Gauteng B led the way in Pool B with a pristine record of five wins from five matches. The order is, in fact, the same as Pool A, with the second and third places belonging to Western Province B and KZN B.
The Aussie Crocs, who are not part of the inter-provincial competition, were outplayed by Western Province A, losing 8-17 in the morning, but they got back to winning ways against Buffalo City, although they were pushed all the way, with the visitors from Brisbane scoring a tight 13-12 victory.
SCORES
Western Province A 14: Nicholas Fall (8), Ross Stewart (3), Arkin Marais (1), Thomas Truter (1), Mac Lecuona (1). Buffalo City 7: Liam Hansen (3), Connor Maree (2), Kairon Roux (1), Daniel Breetzke (1).
KwaZulu-Natal B 16: Ruan Basson (4), Drew Hollingsworth (3), Robert Smith (2), Andrew Boucher (2), Kyron de Kock (2), Matthew Botha (1), Keegan Elliott (1), Troy Rees-Jones (1). Northerns 7: Marthinus Wessels (2), Luke Egan (2), Ulric Curlewis (2), Keegan Dick (1).
Central Gauteng A 9: Greg Pryce (3), Mark Hudson (3), Karabo Mamaregane (1), Marc Smith (1), Ross Rovelli (1). KwaZulu-Natal A 10: Tristan Uys (6), Matthew Lortan (2), James Pohl (1), Kirk Wilson (1).
Western Province B 18: Luke Cartwright (4), William Robinson (4), Milo Letschert (3), Matt Forbes (2), Aiden Loubser (1), Leo Jackson (1), Blake Brown (1), Franz Wetzl (1), Migael Terblanche (1). Eastern Gauteng 5: Reece Coetzer (2), Daniel Stead (1), David Emslie (1), Michael Oliver (1).
Aussie Crocs 8: Giacomo Hernandez (2), James Martin (2), Jack Plowman (1), Joseph Gallagher (1), Xavier Coates (1), Angus Cope (1). Western Province A 17: Nicholas Fall (6), Jandro Rojo-Roos (3), Adam October (2), Arkin Marais (2), Mac Lecuona (2), Connor Melling-Williams (1), Zack Cicero (1).
Zimbabwe 9: Chika Mgbemena (3), Garrick Duff (2), Ruan Nel (2), Sibusiso Sibanda (2). Central Gauteng B 16: Simon Mussett (4), Erik Arwidi (3), Travis Donnelly (2), Chris Chapman (2), Ethan Horn (1), Darien Salovy (1), Calder Millington (1), Mukhetwa Maemu (1), Logan du Preez (1).
Nelson Mandela Bay 9: Calum Emslie (4), Oliver Martin (2), Joshua Hinks (2), Asante Chivere (1). Buffalo City 11: Connor Maree (3), Liam Hansen (2), Thomas Caswell (2), Sean Audie (1), Mitchell Höll (1), Kairon Roux (1), Samuel van de Venter (1).
Northerns 6: Criston Richter (2), Keegan Dick (2), Riley Lamprecht (1), Thabiso Mbembele (1). Western Province B 13: Migael Terblanche (3), Milo Letschert (3), William Robinson (3), Blake Brown (2), Luke Cartwright (1), Jayden Bosman (1).
Western Province A 10: Arkin Marais (3), Nicholas Fall (3), Thomas Truter (1), Ross Stewart (1), Jandro Rojo-Roos (1), Bradley Warneke (1). KwaZulu-Natal A 7: Tristan Uys (2), Matthew Lortan (1), Lian Terblanche (1), Ethan Lyne (1), James Pohl (1), Brogan Jones (1).
KwaZulu-Natal B 6: Kyron de Kock (2), Robert Smith (1), Drew Hollingsworth (1), Nicholas Naude (1), Keegan Elliott (1). Central Gauteng B 11: Simon Mussett (3), Chris Chapman (2), Francois Hartslief (2), Mukhetwa Maemu (1), Darien Salovy (1), Erik Arwidi (1), Ethan Horn (1).
Nelson Mandela Bay 2: Cole Trollip (1), Joshua Hinks (1). Central Gauteng A 22: Marc Smith (6), Ross Rovelli (2), Greg Pryce (2), Jack Wilkins (2), Alexander Kelbrick (2), Karabo Mameregane (2), Sebastian Bruinders (2), Harry Wilkins (1), Mark Hudson (1), Declan Wood (1), Ross Stuart (1).
Northerns 12: Thabiso Mbembele (3), Marthinus Wessels (2), Albertus Nothnagel (2), Andre Lindeboom (1), Aidan Butler (1), Kieron Potgieter (1), Ulric Curlewis (1), Christon Richter (1). Eastern Gauteng 3: Daniel Stead (1), David Emslie (1), Michael Oliver (1).
Aussie Crocs 13: Jack Plowman (3), James Martin (2), Benjamin Spall (2), Joseph Gallagher (2), Angus Cope (2), Cameron Medley (1), Kairo Lynch (1). Buffalo City 12: Connor Maree (3), Liam Hansen (2), Thomas Caswell (2), Daniel Breetzke (2), Dominic Stegmann (1), Sean Audie (1), Rodney Mashaya (1).
Day 4 Fixtures
07:00 – Buffalo City vs Central Gauteng B (Quarterfinal 1, match 26)
08:05 – KwaZulu-Natal A vs Nelson Mandela Bay (Quarterfinal 2, match 27)
09:10 –Western Province A vs KwaZulu-Natal B (Quarterfinal 3, match 28)
10:15 – Central Gauteng A vs Western Province B (Quarterfinal 4, match 29)
11:20 – Zimbabwe vs Eastern Gauteng (Match 30)
12:25 – Aussie Crocs vs Pool B Invitational (Match 47)
13:30 – Loser match 27 vs Loser match 28 (Middle qualifier 1)
14:35 – Loser match 26 vs Loser match 28 (Middle qualifier 2)
15:40 – Northerns vs Eastern Gauteng (Match 33)
16:45 – Winner match 27 vs Winner match 28 (Semi-final 1)
17:50 – Winner match 26 vs Winner match 29 (Semi-final 2)
18:55 – Northerns vs Zimbabwe (Match 38)
