Western Province starts brightly, Nelson Mandela Bay stuns KZN
The Western Province u19 A girls’ team got their hunt for a Schools Water Polo South Africa Inter-Provincial Tournament title off to a solid start by recording two victories on the second day of the tournament in East London on Sunday.
Province entered the event as one of the teams to watch, and rightfully so after reaching the IPT and Currie Cup finals in the past 12 months.
Early in the morning, they made their presence felt when they defeated a gritty and resilient Nelson Mandela Bay side 12-6. All eyes were, however, on their second outing of the day against their archrivals, Central Gauteng A.
Coach Kelsey Thomson’s team began their tournament with a nervy 9-4 win over Buffalo City on Saturday and were expecting a tougher battle against Province. The last two meetings between the teams had ended in favour of Gauteng, and the Western Cape side was keen to avenge those defeats.
The teams, surrounded by a packed crowd on all sides of the Joan Harrison Swimming Pool, delivered a cracking game of water polo from chukka one to chukka four, with both challenging the other’s resilience.
Province went ahead in the first half and led 3-1 lead at halftime after an Alexa De Villiers brace and a strike by Hannah Banks. Meanwhile, Francesca de Villiers was on target for Gauteng.
The third chukka featured a defensive masterclass from coach Etienne Le Roux‘s Western Province side as they shut down their opponents from all angles, mostly restricting them to shots from long range.
Shot-stopper Iviwe Tracy Oduore sparkled in goal and made several top saves to keep her side in front.
Central Gauteng managed to beat her twice, however, through Amy Smith and Tori Tanner-Ellis in the third chukka, but Emma Catto replied for the Capetonians, and De Villiers slotted a third to stake Province to a 5-3 lead heading into the final chukka.
The last eight minutes of the match were all about game management for Province while Gauteng was desperate to level matters. They created a number of chances but their finishing lacked accuracy and they were punished when Roxanne Uys scored with four minutes to play.
The defending champions left it too late and had to settle for a consolation goal from Anastasia Hambakis. Uys, though, quickly responded for Western Province to make it 7-4 at the final whistle.
Reacting to his team’s performance, Le Roux said he was impressed with how they defended and how they managed to shut down a quality Gauteng outfit.
“Defence is one of the biggest things I have focused on with the team,” he told SuperSport Schools Plus. “We had long chats about not conceding silly goals.
“Our first game wasn’t great. We did concede a few silly ones. To concede only four against a very strong Gauteng team, I’m super impressed with them. There was lots of defending and blocking, which was good to see.”
Le Roux, who moved to the Western Cape earlier in 2024, is a former Gauteng coach, which might have helped his game plan for Sunday’s showdown. He believes Western Province’s win stands them in good stead going forward.
“With the format changing, it’s going to be hard. There are still a lot of tough games left, and we can’t afford to slow down,” he said. “The job is not done.
“This win was very good for the team, especially after the Currie Cup, where they lost in the final. It’s a great confidence booster.”
Another massive result on Sunday was achieved by Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB), who handed the more fancied KwaZulu-Natal a 14-9 loss.
NMB had come out on the wrong end of a tough opener against Western Province, going down 6-12 on Saturday, but they showed impressive fighting spirit in that contest.
It was again on display against KZN, with Nelson Mandela Bay coming on strongly after half-time to overtime a deficit and, eventually, charge to a comfortable victory.
Coach Grant McKenzie was ecstatic with the win. “The performance was far better,” he said.
“I think against Western Province we were a bit unsettled, and we tightened up a little bit. It was more about team dynamics. I’m much happier with our defensive efforts, but it doesn’t stop here,” he added, sounding a warning to NMB’s future opposition.
Meanwhile, both Western Province B and Central Gauteng B maintained their unbeaten runs. Zimbabwe picked up their first win, convincingly outplaying Northerns, and Buffalo City A remained winless despite a valiant effort against KwaZulu-Natal.
RESULTS
Scores
Western Province B 11: Kirsten Bottger (6), Kelly Cadiz (2), Anna Lieberman, Gabriela Stuart-Reckling, Tatum Malherbe. Buffalo City B 10: Mia Smit (2), Slayde Herman (2), Shenlyn Grotjohn (2), Caroline Kretzmann (2), Courtney Linke, Emma Booyens.
Western Province A 12: Alexa De Villiers (4), Hanna Banks (3), Emma Catto, Sofia Walker, Amy Van Breda, Julia Luckoff, Isabella Tooley. Nelson Mandela Bay 6: Teagan Harty (2), Elizabeth Horn, Anna Olivier, Jessica Stevens, Matipa Karimazondo.
Central Gauteng B 8: Amy Stubbs (2), Taylor Billett (2), Kiara Cronje, Simphiwe Zulu, Mia Duffy, Humairaa Bodiat. Eastern Gauteng 6: Maddison Griffin (3), Megan Venter, Caitlin Scrimgeour, Erin Blackburn, Megan Venter.
Zimbabwe 23: Tyla Love (4), Emily Taylor (3), Olivia Accorsi (3), Lucy Wood (3), Chloe Ralphs (2), Ryley Jardine (2), Taya Smyth (2), Tayleigh Taylor, Danike Swan. Northerns 3: Jorja Ross (3).
KwaZulu-Natal 14: Inge Southey (5), Caitlin McMurray (2), Lara Mervis (2), Amber Lewis (2), Kayleigh Nieuwstad, Georgina Strachan, Kayla Andrews. Buffalo City 4: Roxy-Lee van Eek (2), Meka Loots, Erin Batting.
Eastern Gauteng 6: Maddison Griffin (2), Emma Spronk (2), Megan Venter, Caitlin Scrimgeour. Western Province B 12: Kirsten Bottger (6), Kelly Cadiz (2), Tatum Malherbe, Bailey Donnachie, Sarah Palframan, Anna Lieberman.
Western Province A 7: Roxanne Uys (2), Alexa De Villiers (2), Hannah Banks, Emily Van Heerden, Emma Catto. Central Gauteng A 4: Francesca De Villiers, Amy Smith, Tori-Tanner Ellis, Anastasia Hambakis.
Central Gauteng B 7: Aimee Hattingh (3), Kiara Cronje, Taylor Billett, Mia Duffy, Amy Stubbs. Zimbabwe 6: Taya Smyth (2), Tyla Love, Emily Taylor, Tayleigh Taylor, Lily Bean.
Buffalo City B 18: Slayde Herman (6), Caroline Kretzmann (4), Shenlyn Grotjohn (3), Courtney Linke (2), Emma Booyens, Bella Graham, Cami de Villiers. Northerns 8: Jorja Ross (5), Danel Schoeman, Lore Snyckers, Gabriella Grobbelaar.
Nelson Mandela Bay 14: Teagan Harty (3), Jessica Stevens (3), Lucy Rutherfoord (2), Anna Christensen Pinto (2), Matipa Karimazondo, Amie Jenner, Rebecca Botha. KwaZulu-Natal 9: Kayla Andrews (2), Gemma Malherbe (2), Amber Lewis, Lara Mervis, Caitlin McMurray, Inge Southey (2).
Western Province B 9: Kirsten Bottger (6), Bailey Donnachie, Sarah Palframan, Anna Lieberman. Zimbabwe 5: Taya Smyth (2), Lucy Wood, Tayleigh Taylor, Lily Bean.
Day 3 Fixtures
07:00 – Western Province A vs Buffalo City A
08:05 – Eastern Gauteng vs Northerns
09:10 – Central Gauteng A vs KwaZulu-Natal
10:15 – Western Province B vs Central Gauteng B
11:20 – Zimbabwe vs Buffalo City B
12:25 – Nelson Mandela Bay vs Buffalo City A
13:30 – Northerns vs Western Province B
14:35 – Western Province A vs KwaZulu-Natal
15:40 – Eastern Gauteng vs Buffalo City B
16:45 – Nelson Mandela Bay vs Central Gauteng A
17:50 – Northerns vs Central Gauteng B
