St John’s chasing third straight KES title
The 41st edition of the Standard Bank King Edward VII Water Polo Tournament will provide St John’s College with an opportunity to win a record 10th KES title. The action at the Mark Stevens Aquatics Centre starts early on Friday morning.
The three-day tournament will see the best water polo playing schools in the country assemble in one arena as the season draws to its conclusion, and all the action is live on SuperSport Schools.
It’s one of the biggest tournaments in the country, especially when the calibre of teams in attendance is taken into account.
The winners of the past two editions, St John’s, have been seeded in Pool D, which also includes Northwood, St Andrew’s College, and Paul Roos Gymnasium.
To claim top honours in 2023, the Johannesburg side had to take an extended route to the final after a rough start to their pool matches.
They picked themselves up and edged out Hilton College 13-12 in the semi-finals before defeating their rivals, St Stithians College, in the final.
This year’s tournament will, however, be even more challenging, with most of the teams on the roster high in confidence and playing an attractive brand of water polo.
From the Western Cape, South African College High School (SACS), and Bishops Diocesan College are two of the teams to watch out for. They met in the final of the SAC Shield at the end of January, with SACS sneaking one past their opponents, who had previously beaten them in the SACS Night Series and earlier in the SAC Shield.
SACS are drawn in Pool B, where they will take on Jeppe High, Hilton College, and Selborne College, who recently ended their Vides Tournament in third place.
SACS are also the most successful Cape Town side in the history of the tournament, having won it four times, while Rondebosch and Reddam House Constantia have won it once each.
Another side that will be looking to make its presence felt during the weekend is Clifton College.
The KwaZulu-Natal representatives enter the tournament high in confidence after dominating matters in an excellent showing at the Vides Tournament in East London a fortnight ago.
Coach Paul Martin’s side was unbeaten in the round-robin matches and then eliminated the hosts in the semi-finals before edging out Paul Roos in a penalty shootout to claim the trophy.
They’ll be attempting to win a second KES title, following in the footsteps of their 2016 side. They take on the hosts, Rondebosch Boys’ High, and Gqeberha’s Grey High School in Pool A.
St Stithians College and Pretoria Boys High will renew their rivalry in Pool C, where they’ll battle Westville Boys’ High and Bishops.
The action commences on Friday when KES takes on Rondebosch at 07:00.
SACS versus Selborne College is at 10:20, while Clifton College closes day one against Grey High at 19:30.
The Pools
Pool A: King Edward VII, Rondebosch Boys’ High, Grey High, Clifton College.
Pool B: Jeppe High, Hilton College, Selborne College, SACS.
Pool C: St Stithians College, Westville Boys’ High, Pretoria Boys High, Bishops.
Pool D: St John’s College, Northwood, St Andrew’s College, Paul Roos Gymnasium.
Fixtures
Day 1, Friday, 1 March
07:00 – King Edward VII vs Rondebosch (1); 07:50 – Jeppe vs Hilton College (2); 08:40 – St Stithians vs Westville Boys (3); 09:30 – St John’s vs Northwood (4); 10:20 – SACS vs Selborne (5); 11:10 – Pretoria Boys High vs Bishops (6); 12:00 – Paul Roos vs St Andrew’s College (7); 12:50 – King Edward VII vs Grey High (8); 13:40 – Jeppe vs Selborne College (9); 14:30 – Bishops vs Westville (10); 15:20 – St Andrew’s College vs Northwood (11); 16:10 – Rondebosch vs Clifton College (12); 17:00 – SACS vs Hilton (13); 17:50- Pretoria Boys High vs St Stithians (14); 18:40 – St John’s vs Paul Roos (15); 19:30 – Clifton College vs Grey High (16).
Day 2, Saturday, 2 March
07:00 – King Edward VII vs Clifton College (17); 07:50 – SACS vs Jeppe (18); 08:40 – Pretoria Boys High vs Westville (19); 09:30 – St John’s vs St Andrews College (20); 10:20 – Rondebosch vs Grey High (21); 11:10 – Selborne vs Hilton (22); 12:00 – St Stithians vs Bishops (23); 12:50 – Paul Roos vs Northwood (24); 13:40 – 3rd Pool 1 vs 2nd Pool 4 (25); 14:10 – 2nd Pool 2 vs 4th Pool 1(26); 14:40 – 3rd Pool 3 vs 4th Pool 4 (27); 15:10 – 3rd Pool 4 vs 4th Pool 3 (28); 15:40 – 1st Pool 1 vs 2nd Pool 2 (29); 16:30 – 1st Pool 2 vs 2nd Pool 1 (30); 17:20 – 1st Pool 3 vs 2nd Pool 4 (31); 18:10 – 1st Pool 4 vs 2nd Pool 3 (32); 19:00 – Loser 25 vs Loser 27 (33); 19:30 – Loser 26 vs Loser 28 (34); 20:00 – Loser 29 vs Loser 31 (35); 20:30 – Loser 30 vs Loser 32 (36).
Day 3, Sunday, 3 March
07:00 – Winner Plate qualifier 1 vs Winner Plate qualifier 2 (37); 07:30 – Winner Plate qualifier 2 vs Winner Plate qualifier 4 (38); 08:00 – Cup Quarterfinal 1 winner vs Cup quarterfinal 3 winner (39); 08:50 – Cup quarterfinal 2 winner vs Cup quarterfinal 4 winner (40); 09:40 – Loser 33 vs Loser 34 (41); 10:10 – Winner 33 vs Winner 34 (42); 10:40 – Loser Plate semi-final vs Loser Plate semi-final 2 (43); 11:10 – Winner Plate semi-final 1 vs Winner Plate semi-final 2 (44); 11:40 – Loser 35 vs Loser 36 (45); 12:10 – Winner 35 vs Winner 36 (46); 12:40 – Loser Cup semi-final 1 vs Loser Cup semi-final 2 (47); 13:30 – FINAL (48).
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