Semifinal spots sealed at KES Water Polo Tournament
The defending champions of the King Edward VII (KES) Water Polo Tournament, Rondebosch Boys’ High will face their southern suburbs’ rivals, Bishops Diocesan College, for a place in Sunday’s final.
In the other semi-final, Hilton College carries KwaZulu-Natal’s hopes, while St Stithians College flies the flag for Gauteng.
The action takes place at the Mark Stevens Aquatic Centre and will be broadcast LIVE on SuperSport Schools.
To book their places in the semifinals, Rondebosch, Bishops, Hilton, and Saints had to play some of their best polo in the quarterfinals.
Bosch was far from convincing on the opening day when they scored nervy wins over Selborne College and Jeppe High School for Boys. On Saturday, they suffered a shock 7-8 loss to Clifton College.
That defeat mattered little, however, and Bosch finished atop Pool C to book a date with South African College High School (SACS) in the last eight.
With a semi-final place on the line, coach Jared Wingate-Pearse’s outfit played their socks off, scoring 11 times while conceding eight goals. Noah Reiback and Kieran Bennewith both found the back of the net three times while Luke Burger netted a brace. The scoring was completed by further goals from Zack Labuschagne and Matthew Galpin.
Their opponents, Bishops also had a bumpy ride to the last four, although they dominated their quarterfinal clash against the hosts, KES.
What’s clear, though, is that coach Jabulani Sibiya’s Bishops’ boys have not reached their full potential and they could be peaking at the right time. Their 16-8 demolition of KES in the quarterfinal was a clear indication that they’re hitting their stride.
Harry Ford was the enforcer for the Capetonians, netting a whopping six goals, while Matt Fenn scored four times, and Danie Van der Heever snagged a brace. Jack Grout, Owen Cross, Milo Letschert, and Timothy Young also got in on the action to seal the victory for their team.
The Bish/Bosch semifinal meeting will be the fourth match between the Cape Town sides in under a month.
Bishops have the upper hand after winning two of the previous three meetings, with the most recent win coming during the final of the SACS Nite Series.
The second semifinal, which also promises to thrill, sees Hilton facing Saints, who will be banking on some home support.
St Stithians has impressed and shut down any doubters with their performances this weekend.
Under the guidance of coach Michael Stewart, they beat St Andrew’s College and Northwood in the pool stages. But they saved their best performance for the quarterfinals, where they faced Kearsney College.
It was a thrilling game of water polo that delivered end-to-end action and some superb goals.
Travis Donnelly was the standout player for Saints, striking four times while Nathan Mansfield scored a hat-trick. Blake Morton and James Crick both bagged braces, while James Pohl fired in a hat-trick for Kearsney.
With that win, St Stithians knocked out one of the favourites for the tournament, but they won’t have an easy ride against Hilton. The KwaZulu-Natal school has gone about its business in a very quiet and admirable way.
They breezed past the pool stages with two wins and one draw before brushing aside Selborne College 11-7 in the last eight.
Tristan Uys was, as usual, in the thick of the scoring, contributing four goals, while Hilton captain, Thomas Taylor, scored three. Mitchelle Garreau joined the action with another two, while Garrick Phillips and Liam Casey also made it onto the score sheet.
The losers in the quarterfinals faced off before the day’s play came to an end in the Cup playoffs section, with SACS defeating KES 4-2, and Kearsney beating Selborne 4-3.
That means it will be SACS versus Kearsney for fifth place on Sunday.
The final day’s action kicks off at 07:00, with the first semifinal scheduled for 08:00 between Bishops and Rondebosch.
DAY 2 RESULTS
Bishops (2) 9-9 (1) St Andrew’s College
Kearsney 6-5 Paul Roos
Clifton 8-7 Rondebosch
St John’s College 15-3 Pretoria Boys High
St Stithians 14-3 Northwood
KES 9-7 Westville
Selborne College 10-2 Jeppe
Hilton College (2) 10-10 (0) SACS
Plate quarterfinals
St Andrew’s College 4-3 Westville
Paul Roos 5-4 Northwood
Clifton 5-2 Pretoria Boys High
St John’s 5-4 Jeppe
Cup quarterfinals
Bishops 16-8 KES
St Stithians 11-8 Kearnsey
Rondebosch 11-8 SACS
Hilton College 11-7 Selborne College
Plate playoffs
Westville 4-3 Pretoria Boys High
Northwood 5-3 Jeppe
Cup playoffs
KES 2-4 SACS
Kearsney 4-3 Selborne
DAY 3 FIXTURES
07:00 – St Andrew’s College vs Clifton; 07:30 – Paul Roos vs St John’s; 08:00 – Bishops vs Rondebosch; 08:50 – Hilton vs St Stithians; 09:40 – Westville vs Northwood; 10:10 – Plate 5th/6th playoff match; 10:40 – Plate 3rd/4th playoff match; 11:10 – Plate final; 11:40 – Selborne College vs KES; 12:10 – Kearsney vs SACS; 12:40 – 3rd/4th Playoff match; 13:30 – Final.
