St John’s nips St David’s to win KES Night League title
The St John’s College 1st water polo side etched its name into the history books on Thursday by claiming the inaugural KES Night League title in Johannesburg.
The boys from Houghton defeated St David’s Marist Inanda, 9-8 in a tense final to win their first piece of silverware in 2026.
The journey to the title-deciding clash was by no means an easy one for coach Jon-Marc De Carvalho and his troops, who faced several challenging obstacles on their way to winning the title.
They won four of their five round-robin matches, losing just once, when they went down 5-7 against St David’s.
The final, however, was a different kettle of fish. It was back-and-forth from the first whistle, and by the start of the final chukka, there was almost nothing to separate the sides.
Strong defence and converting goal-scoring opportunities in crucial moments lifted St John’s to a gritty win.
“It was a super tough final. Neither team gave anything away,” coach De Carvalho told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“In the end, St David’s controlled the third chukka, which usually means you go on to win the game, but our guys locked up the defence in the fourth and then gave it everything they had on attack and kept chipping away. That determination pushed us through.”
During their campaign, St John’s had to play several matches without key players, who were sidelined either by injuries or illness.
Despite those setbacks, De Carvalho relied on his seniors to guide the team’s newcomers. Missing some players also forced him to test his squad’s depth, he said.
“We have been marred by some injuries and sickness during the league,” he explained. “That, and wanting to rotate younger players to get experience at this level, left us with a different team makeup every game. That allowed us to try new combinations and see what the future holds for us.”
The St John’s standouts included experienced top performers Simon Mussett, Luke Shipway, and Chris Chapman. De Carvalho, however, was more impressed with how his side’s youngsters stepped up and made their presence felt.
“Our matrics always lead from the front and have taken true responsibility for the team, but our u17 players have really stepped up and backed them and shone brightly when their older counterparts were injured or sick,” he said.
“Fedor Sadovnik has been solid on the right for us and given us backup at centre back when we needed it most.
“Rupert Schonborn has been a rock at the back and had to move into a starting role tonight and a few other games, and he has made it tough for all other centre forwards. He’s also scored key goals.
“Ethan Bennett has trained really hard and has shown his versatility all over the pool.
“Muhammad Bodiat has stepped up with some fantastic goals and key assists in every game.
“It has been great to see them all grow and really take on some of the responsibility in the team.”
St John’s will next shift their attention to the KES Water Polo Tournament, which runs from 27 February to 1 March.
Their approach will be simple, said coach De Carvalho: “We have to take the KES tournament one game at a time. We are in a tough group, and then, moving into crossovers, we will be meeting some really strong teams.
“This win will give us confidence, but that counts for nothing if we don’t hit the ground running on day one of KES.”
Results
Jeppe High School for Boys 11-10 St Benedict’s College
St Stithians College 11-9 KES
St John’s College 9-8 St David’s Marist Inanda
KES Night League standings
St John’s College
St David’s Marist Inanda
St Stithians College
King Edward VII
Jeppe High School for Boys
St Benedict’s College
