Spirited Kearsney claims first ever Saints Invitational title
Kearsney College made history at the annual St Stithians Invitational Water Polo Tournament when they came from behind to clinch an impressive 17-14 win over Bishops Diocesan College in the final, played in the Olympic Pool on Sunday.
The KwaZulu-Natal outfit entered the final unbeaten after recording wins over SACS, Hilton College, Pretoria Boys High, and Jeppe High School for Boys in Group C.
In the knockout stages, coach Nick Rodda‘s team edged out St Andrew’s College 11-9 before beating a highly regarded St John’s College team 8-7 to book themselves a spot in the final against Bishops.
In Bishops, they came up against a side that had enjoyed a similar run of success after an emphatic showing during their Group B matches. Coach Jabulani Sibiya‘s team collected victories over St John’s, King Edward VII (KES), Michaelhouse, and Pearson High while finishing the group stage as the event’s highest scorers by 20 goals.
In the quarterfinals, they dealt their Cape Town rivals, SACS, a 14-10 defeat. Then, in the semi-finals, they were pushed all the way by Hilton College, but a late goal from Matt Fenn sealed a 7-6 win and a place in the title decider.
Bishops, as they had done throughout the tournament, started the final like a house on fire and, after two chukkas, they led Kearsney 8-6.
The Botha’s Hill boys were kept in the game by a brace each from Thomas Francke and Levi Thom, while captain James Pohl struck once, as did Luca Sandri.
In the third chukka, coach Rodda’s team changed the complexion of the match by scoring first from a five-metre penalty that was converted by the experienced Oliver Ludwig.
Matt Fenn, who had been deadly for Bishops throughout the tournament, inched his side ahead again, and at the end of the third chukka the Cape Town outfit was a goal to the good in a high-scoring clash by an 11-10 margin. Thomas Aylward had netted twice for Kearsney, with Sandri adding a second to his tally.
With the title on the line and one more chukka to play, Kearsney came alive and blew Bishops away as Sandri, Thom, and Aylward all completed their hattricks.
James Whatmore also struck twice, with his second coming with only four seconds remaining to seal the win by a three-goal margin for the KZN team.
Reacting to the victory, head coach Nick Rodda said he was pleased with the fighting spirit that brought his team from behind to victory and the title.
“We’ve had some slow starts and some fightbacks in some of the games,” he admitted, “but, overall, it’s been exceptional,” he told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“We were the underdogs. Having not performed here before, we came in unaware of Bishops and their talent.
“Overall, I’m incredibly happy and [we’re] looking good for the next two years. We have some great youngsters who aren’t here to join the team in the future.”
The Saints Invitational title is Kearsney’s second piece of silverware this season after they claimed top honours at the KZN Top 10 Water Polo Tournament two weeks ago.
Rodda believes the water polo programme at Kearsney will go from strength to strength. “We’ve just been working on our foundations,” he explained.
“The previous coach, Pierre Le Roux, who moved to New Zealand, did the groundwork. I’ve come through and put the pieces together, having been at Kearsney for only two years.
Kearsney’s season in KZN is almost done. In December, some of the school’s players will be in action for KZN at the annual Schools Water Polo South Africa Inter-Provincial Tournament in East London.
Rodda said he’s setting the bar high for 2015. “We have two fixtures left in KZN. Our next goal is to hopefully get an invite to the KES (King Edward VII) tournament and go for gold there next year.
“If not, we are hoping for another gold at the Reef Cup, should we not go to KES,” he concluded.
St John’s College took home the bronze medals after beating Hilton 6-5 in the third/fourth playoff match. The defending champions, SACS had to settle for sixth place after going down 3-7 to St David’s Marist Inanda.
Among the other winners on the final day were St Alban’s, Affies, Pretoria Boys High, Michaelhouse, Durban High School, St Stithians, and Rondebosch.
Day 4 Results | Boys
St Alban’s College 8-7 Grey College
Affies 10-1 Pearson
Pretoria Boys High 5-2 Grey High
Michaelhouse 9-6 Jeppe High School for Boys
Durban High School 11-6 Reddam House Constantia
St Stithians College 5-3 King Edward VII
Rondebosch Boys’ High 12-4 St Andrew’s College
St David’s Marist Inanda 7-3 SACS
St John’s College 6-5 Hilton College
Kearsney College 17-14 Bishops Diocesan College
