Roedean clinches Saints Invitational title
Roedean School claimed the girls’ title in the 30th edition of the Saints Invitational Water Polo Tournament after beating Reddam House Bedfordview in the final on Sunday.
Coach Siyabonga Guzana‘s side scored a 9-6 victory in the Saints Olympic Pool to improve on their runner-up finish in 2023.
It was an outstanding tournament for Roedean. They were the only team in the Girls’ section to finish with an unbeaten record after seven games. Meanwhile, the loss in the final was the first that Reddam Bedfordview had suffered in the prestigious event.
Guzana said the Saints Invitational had helped the growth of his team. He explained: “The tournament, for us, was about building a foundation, to see where we lack and where we need to improve. We went into it with the approach of wanting to grow, to see what we could do, and where our strengths and weaknesses are.”
The Parktown school aced the group stage, topping Group A on goal difference over Diocesan School for Girls (DSG) Makhanda after three wins and a 4-4 draw with the Eastern Cape side.
In the quarterfinals, Roedean dealt with a potential banana skin when they beat St Anne’s 8-4. Then, in the semi-finals, they faced Herschel in a game that brought together last year’s finalists. This time, though, the result went the other way, with Roedean squeezing past the Capetonians by a 4-3 margin.
“Overall, we progressed well. In every game, we were just getting better and better, and within that space, we are very pleased, and happy, with our performance,” Guzana told SuperSport Schools Plus.
The coach admitted that his charges’ results were somewhat unexpected because of the change to a stayers’ team for the Saints Invitational.
“The goal for us was to see where we could play well. We were not focusing much on positioning or saying we would make it to the final, or make it to the semifinal. I was willing to look at our ability, and to see where we rank in the national aspect.”
“Obviously, after losing our matriculants, we wanted to see where we fit and where are we strong and where are we weak but overall, for us, it has been a phenomenal weekend. It has been a phenomenal tournament and we are chuffed about the results.”
Guzana said his side’s success has encouraged them to tackle some forthcoming events with confidence, especially now that they have a good understanding of their strengths and weaknesses.
Last year’s champions, Herschel finished with the bronze medal after beating the hosts, St Stithians, in the third-place playoff, while Durban Girls’ College (DGC) recorded a comfortable win over DSG Makhanda to place fifth.
Reddam House Constantia, who won the Mackenzie Cup and the St Anne’s Water Polo Tournament this term, finished 10th after going down 2-5 to St Dominic’s Catholic Girls’ School in their final outing.
DAY 4| RESULTS
19th/20th: Rand Park 2-14 St Peter’s
17th/18th: Chisipite 4-7 Pearson
15th/16th: Beaulieu 6-7 Crawford Lonehill
13th/14th: Collegiate 6-7 Kingsmead
11th/12th: Kingswood 6-16 Clarendon
9th/10th: St Dominic’s 5-2 Reddam Constantia
7th/8th: St Mary’s Waverley 6-9 St Anne’s
5th/6th: DSG 2-8 DGC
3rd/4th: St Stithians 3-5 Herschel
1st /2nd: Reddam Bedfordview 6-9 Roedean
