Tight clashes and cagey affairs as SAC Shield’s opening day thrills
Outrageous goals, shock results, and top-quality water polo highlighted the start of the annual St Andrew’s College (SAC) Shield Water Polo Tournament, which got off to a gripping start in Makhanda on Thursday.
The prestigious event pits some of the country’s best water polo-playing schools – from the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal – against each other. It runs through until Sunday.
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In the past two years, the opening days of the tournament delivered bucketloads of goals and one-sided matches, but that wasn’t the case this time around. The matches were physical and competitive, and some of the big guns were given a taste of their own medicine.
The story of the day was undeniably the upset caused by St Andrew’s when they defeated last year’s runner-up, St John’s College, in Pool A.
The hosts had made a shaky start to their campaign, going down 1-0 to Westville Boys’ High on penalties following a 7-7 draw early on Thursday morning.
They were the underdogs against St John’s, who had impressed with a 9-5 win over Clifton College in their first match.
St Andrew’s College, however, put that loss behind them and demonstrated hunger and spirit. They were also boosted by the vociferous support of their home crowd.
Captain Jacques Du Toit led from the front, pulling off numerous saves in goal to keep St John’s at bay.
Experienced campaigners, including Tiago Williams and vice-captains Murray Copeland and Adam Ball, were impressive. The home side led for most of the match, but St John’s levelled matters at 6-6 through Luke Shipway with only a minute remaining.
For a second time on the day, St Andrew’s College headed to a penalty shootout to decide the winner of their game. The hosts converted twice and St John’s only once, giving St Andrew’s a morale-boosting victory.
Another defining result in Pool A was Bishops Diocesan College‘s 10-8 win over Rondebosch Boys’ High in a Bish/Bosch derby.
The Jabulani Sibiya-coached outfit went on to beat Westville 10-6 in their second outing before ending the day with a nervy (score) against the hosts.
‘Bosch picked up a win in their second match, pipping Clifton 12-10. They’ll next face St Andrew’s College at 09:50 on Friday morning.
While Pool A delivered upsets, it was business as usual for South African College High School (SACS) in Pool B.
Coach Devon Card‘s side was pushed to its limits, but they emerged with two wins, outlasting St Stithians College 7-6 before beating their Western Cape rivals Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG) 10-7.
St Stithians ended the day on a positive note with a one-goal win over Selborne. Their next task will be a meeting with Paul Roos early on Friday. Hilton, meanwhile, was stunned by Grey High in their final match of the day, sending the KZN boys back to the drawing board.
For Grey High, last in 2025, it was an encouraging opening day – two wins from two matches.
Friday’s matches will start earlier than previously scheduled because of a two-hour delay on Thursday, which was caused by late finishes and penalty shootouts.
Day 1 Results
Pool A
Westville (1) 7-7 (0) St Andrew’s
St John’s College 9-5 Clifton College
Bishops 10-8 Rondebosch
Bishops 10-6 Westville
Rondebosch 12-10 Clifton
St Andrew’s (2) 6-6 (1) St John’s College
Bishops 20-7 St Andrew’s
Pool B
Paul Roos 7-8 Grey High
Selborne 8-10 Hilton College
SACS 7-6 St Stithians
SACS 10-7 Paul Roos
St Stithians 7-6 Selborne
Hilton 7-10 Grey High
FIXTURES
Day 2 – Friday, 23 January
Pool A
09:00 – St John’s vs Westville; 09:50 – St Andrew’s vs Rondebosch; 10:40 – Clifton vs Bishops; 14:00 – Rondebosch vs Westville; 14:50 – St John’s vs Bishops; 15:40 – St Andrew’s vs Clifton.
Pool B
06:30 – St Stithians vs Paul Roos; 07:20 – Hilton vs SACS; 08:10 – Grey High vs Selborne; 11:30 – Hilton vs Paul Roos; 12:20 – Grey vs St Stithians; 13:10 – Selborne vs SACS; 16:30 – Paul Roos vs Selborne; 17:20 – SACS vs Grey High.
Day 3 – Saturday, 24 January
Pool A
07:00 – Westville vs Clifton; 07:50 – Rondebosch vs St John’s.
Pool B
08:40 – St Stithians vs Hilton College.
