St John’s and St David’s to do battle for KES Night League title

The inaugural King Edward VII (KES) Night League will conclude on Thursday when St John’s College battles St David’s Marist Inanda in the final at the KES Aquatic Centre.

The clash takes place at 19:20 and will be streamed LIVE on SuperSport Schools.

The tournament, which kicked off on 15 January, has produced some jaw-dropping action and bucketloads of goals. It has also revealed where the power in the province lies in 2026.

Both finalists have impressed, and they go into the final having suffered only one defeat each.

St David’s lost their opening match, going down 3-5 against St Stithians College, but coach Dean Whyte’s boys bounced back with a vengeance after that setback.

They thumped St Benedict’s College 22-6 before beating Jeppe High School for Boys 14-7, St John’s 7-5, and KES 11-8.

Barring their loss to St David’s, St John’s was on fire in their other games, outplaying Jeppe 12-3, Saints 17-9, and KES 14-9.

There will be very little to separate the sides in the title game. Both are brimming with confidence after strong showings in tournaments played last weekend.

St David’s won the Vides Water Polo Tournament in East London for a second year in succession, while St John’s finished as the runner-up at the Pretoria Boys High 125th Water Polo Tournament, losing out to Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) after a penalty shootout.

While St David’s and St John’s meet for the title, KES faces St Stithians for third place.

Saints will fancy their chances of winning a third bronze medal of their 2026 campaign after finishing third at the SAC Shield and third in Pretoria last weekend.

Led by coach Michael Stewart, St Stithians came up just shy of qualifying for the final, missing out by two points. Their opponents, KES, will be the underdog, but they will draw inspiration from their supporters.

The fifth-place playoff will feature St Benedict’s College against Jeppe High School for Boys.

Fixtures

17:30 – St Benedict’s College vs Jeppe High School for Boys (5th/6th playoff)
18:25– King Edward VII vs St Stithians College (3rd/4th playoff)
19:20 – St John’s College vs St David’s Marist Inanda (Final)

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Avuyile Sawula

Avuyile Sawula is a multimedia sports journalist, broadcaster, and writer. He possesses a journalism degree from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. During his time in the media industry, he has worked for various online media publications covering a variety of sporting codes. He also has a broadcasting background, having worked as a news journalist at one of Cape Town’s commercial radio stations. His reporting beats include hockey, rugby, water polo, and cricket. Apart from writing, he has a knack for creating sports content, video editing and running.

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