St John’s College eyeing a second consecutive title at the Clifton Water Polo tournament
Clifton Water Polo tournament winners from 2022, St Johns College will set their eyes on defending their title at this year’s inaugural tournament set to kick-off in Durban this coming Friday.
The 18th edition of the tournament will see 16 schools battle it out for top honours throughout the weekend, with the tournament coming to an end on Monday.
In last year’s edition, St Johns entered the tournament high in confidence and went on to claim top spot by thumping Paul Roos (13-7) in the final.
The final was played at a high tempo with the Gauteng side taking a (3-1) after the first chukka. They asserted their dominance in the final three chukkas, and despite a flurry of late goals by the Cape side, St Johns held on to win the clash by six goals.
In the third/fourth play-off match, the hosts, Clifton took on the South African College Schools, after both sides stumbled to narrow defeats on day three. The Cape side prevailed in that fixture, edging out Clifton by eight goals to six.
This year’s tournament will see a similar structure in play, with the 16 teams separated in four pools. Pool A will see Kearsney from Durban take on SACS, Glenwood, and King Edward VII.
Last year’s finalists, Paul Roos will be licking their lips in Pool B, as they’re up against Westville, Durban High School, and Affies.
St Andrews College from Makhanda are the only school from the Eastern Cape this year, and they are seeded in Pool C, alongside Hilton College, Pietermaritzburg College, and Reddam House Constantia.
Pool D is the group of death, with last year’s winners, St Johns set to take on the home side, Clifton, Grey College, and Michaelhouse who finished in ninth place last year.
Gqeberha’s Pearson, Grey High School and Maritzburg college will miss out on this year’s tournament with their spots being taken by Reddam House Constantia, Pietermaritzburg College and Bloemfontein’s Grey College.
The groups:
Pool A- Kearsney, SACS, Glenwood, Kind Edward VII.
Pool B- Paul Roos, Westville, Durban High School, Affies.
Pool C- St Andrews, Hilton College, Pietermaritzburg College, Reddam House Constantia.
Pool D- St Johns College, Clifton, Grey College, Michaelhouse.
The fixtures:
Friday:
08:00- Westville vs Durban High School; 08:45- Clifton vs Grey College; 09:30- St Andrews vs Reddam House Constantia; 10:15- KES vs Kearsney College; 11:00- Affies vs Westville; 11:45- Michaelhouse vs St Johns; Pietermaritzburg College vs St Andres; 13:15- SACS vs Glenwood; 14:00- Paul Roos vs Durban High School; 14:45- St Johns vs Grey College; 15:30- Hilton College vs Pietermaritzburg College; 16:15- Kearsney vs Glenwood; 17:00- Clifton vs Michaelhouse; 17:45- SACS vs KES; 18:30- Paul Roos vs Affies; 19:15- Hilton vs Reddam House Constantia.
Saturday:
07:15- Michaelhouse vs Grey College; 08:00- Pietermaritzburg College vs Reddam House Constantia; 08:45- KES vs Glenwood; 09:30- Clifton vs St Johns; 10:15- Hilton vs St Andrews; 11:00- Paul Roos vs Westville; 11:45- Kearsney vs SACS; 12:30- Durban High School vs Affies; 13:15- BREAK; 14:00- 2nd Pool A vs 3rd Pool C; 14:45- 2nd Pool B vs 3rd Pool D; 15:30- 3rd Pool A vs 2nd Pool C; 16:15-3rd Pool B vs 2nd Pool D; 17:00- Loser 25 vs 4th Pool D.
Sunday:
07:15- Loser 26 vs 4th Pool A; 08:00- Loser 27 vs 4th Pool B; 08:45- Loser 28 vs 4th Pool C; 09:30- 1st Pool A vs Winner 26; 10:30- 1st Pool B vs Winner 25; 11:30- 1st Pool C vs Winner 28; 12:30- 1st Pool D vs Winner 27; 13:30- Winner 29 vs Winner 30; 14:15- Winner 31 vs Winner 32; 15:00- Loser 29 vs Loser 30; 15:45- Loser 31 vs Loser 32; 16:30- Loser 33 vs Loser 35; 17:15- Loser 34 vs Loser 36; 18:00- Winner 33 vs Winner 35; 19:00- Winner 34 vs Winner 36.
Monday:
07:00- 15th/16th play-off – Loser 40 vs Loser 39; 07:45- 13th/14th play-off- Winner 40 vs Winner 39; 08:30- 11th/ 12th play-off- Loser 37 vs Loser 38; 09:15- 9th/10th play-off- Winner 37 vs Winner 38; 10:00-7th/8th play-off- Loser 41 vs Loser 42; 10:45- 5th/6th play-off- Winner 41 vs Winner 42; 11:30-3rd/4th play-off- Loser 44 vs Loser 43; 12:30- Final- Winner 44 vs Winner 43.
