Forty of the best boys’ and girls’ water polo-playing schools in South Africa will assemble in Johannesburg this weekend for the Saints Water Polo Invitational.
The annual event, known as the “Saints Stayers” by many, runs from Thursday through to Sunday at the St Stithians Aquatic Centre, and features only players who will be in school next year.
Twenty boys’ and 20 girls’ teams will be in action, chasing the last piece of silverware up for grabs before the annual Inter-Provincial Tournament in December.
The matches take place at the Main Pool, Olympic South, and Olympic North pools.
High-quality water polo will be on show, with both the boys’ and girls’ sections featuring some heavy hitters.
Bishops is the defending boys’ champion after beating their Cape Town rivals, South African College High School (SACS), 10-7 in last year’s final.
On the girls’ front, the hosts, Saints, will be eager to make it two titles in a row after edging out St Anne’s DSG 9-8 in a nail-biting final last year.
The Breakdown
Boys
There are a handful of teams that will be regarded as title contenders, although the fact that the sides are composed of stayers could result in some unexpected outcomes.
In Pool A, Kearsney College will be eager to progress and get their hands back on the trophy they won in 2024. Coach Nicholas Rodda‘s side finished fifth last year after beating St John’s College 6-5 on the final day.
They’re up against Jeppe High School for Boys, St Andrew’s College, St Peter’s College, and Rondebosch Boys’ High.
St Andrew’s will be brimming with confidence after winning the Woodridge Stayers title two weeks ago, while Bosch, at their best, has the ammunition to go all the way.
Bishops is in Pool B, where they will face Michaelhouse, Pretoria Boys High, Reddam House Constantia, and St Benedict’s College. They’ll be hot favourites to top the group.
Pool C is arguably the group of death and features some heavyweights.
Hilton College, after losing 5-7 to Clifton College in the KZN Top 10 final, will be desperate to bounce back and stake a claim.
They’ll face another KZN side, Durban High School (DHS), as well as Grey High School, and the unpredictable SACS and St David’s Marist Inanda.
The hosts, St Stithians, will compete in Pool D, where they’ll tackle Affies, King Edward VII (KES), St John’s College, and Woodridge College.
Affies and Saints met last week in the final of the Gauteng Top 10 Tournament, and Saints won that game 9-3. Both will face stiff competition from St John’s for a place in the quarterfinals.
The hosts will also take confidence from last year’s tournament. They finished third after edging out Rondebosch 12-11 in the third/fourth playoff match.
The boys’ action begins with a 07:50 clash between Kearsney College and St Andrew’s College.
GIRLS
In the girls’ event, St Anne’s DSG will aim to go one step further this year and win the title after taking home the silver medals last year.
The girls from Hilton, KZN, hit a rich vein of form and recently won the St Anne’s Water Polo Tournament. They have eight players in the KZN U19 squad. However, the squads at St Stithians will be made up of stayers, so their line-up could be very different.
St Anne’s is in Pool A and will face Beaulieu College, Kingsmead College, Pearson High, and Reddam House Bedfordview.
Clarendon, after recently winning the Woodridge Stayers tournament, will compete in Pool B alongside Crawford Lonehill, Durban Girls’ College (DGC), Herschel Girls School, and St Peter’s College.
Danville Park Girls’ High, from Durban, will make their first appearance at the tournament, replacing Rhenish Girls’ High.
They’re in Pool C, taking on Reddam House Constantia, Roedean, and the Eastern Cape duo of Collegiate Girls’ High and DSG Makhanda.
The defending champs, St Stithians, face Kingswood College, St Dominic’s Catholic School for Girls, Woodridge College, and St Mary’s Waverley in Pool D.
BOYS
POOLS
Group A: Jeppe, Kearsney College, Rondebosch Boys’ High, St Andrew’s College, St Peter’s College
Group B: Bishops, Michaelhouse, Pretoria Boys High (PBHS), Reddam House, St Benedict’s College
Group C: Durban High School (DHS), Grey High School, Hilton College, SACS, St David’s Marist Inanda
Group D: Affies, King Edward VII, St John’s College, St Stithians College, Woodridge College
FIXTURES
Thursday, 22 October
Group A
07:50 – Kearsney vs St Andrew’s College
10:20 – Rondebosch vs Jeppe
12:00 – St Andrew’s College vs St Peter’s
14:30 – Kearsney vs Jeppe
17:00 – Rondebosch vs St Peter’s
Group B
07:50 – Reddam Constantia vs St Benedict’s
10:20 – Bishops vs Michaelhouse
12:50 – St Benedict’s vs PBHS
14:30 – Reddam Constantia vs Michaelhouse
17:00 – Bishops vs PBHS
Group C
08:40 – St David’s vs Grey High
10:20 – SACS vs Hilton
12:50 – Grey High vs DHS
15:20 – St David’s vs Hilton
17:00 – SACS vs DHS
Group D
08:40 – St John’s vs KES
11:10 – St Stithians vs Affies
12:50 – KES vs Woodridge
15:20 – St John’s College vs Affies
17:50 – St Stithians vs Woodridge
GIRLS
POOLS
Group A: Beaulieu College, Kingsmead College, Pearson High, Reddam House Bedfordview, St Anne’s DSG
Group B: Clarendon, Crawford Lonehill, Durban Girls’ College (DGC), Herschel Girls School, St Peter’s College
Group C: Collegiate Girls’ High, Danville Park Girls’ High, DSG Makhanda, Reddam House Constantia, Roedean School
Group D: Kingswood College, St Dominic’s Catholic School for Girls, St Mary’s Waverley, St Stithians College, Woodridge College.
Group A
07:00 – Reddam Bedfordview vs Beaulieu
08:40 – St Anne’s vs Pearson
11:10 – Beaulieu vs Kingsmead
13:40 – Reddam Bedfordview vs Pearson
15:20 – St Anne’s vs Kingsmead
Group B
07:00 – DGC vs St Peter’s
09:30 – Herschel vs Clarendon
11:10 – St Peter’s vs Crawford Lonehill
13:40 – DGC vs Clarendon
16:10 – Herschel vs Crawford Lonehill
Group C
07:00 – Reddam Constantia vs Danville Park
09:30 – Roedean vs DSG
12:00 – Danville Park vs Collegiate
13:40 – Reddam Constantia vs DSG
16:10 – Roedean vs Collegiate
Group D
07:50 – Kingswood vs St Dominic’s
09:30 – St Stithians vs St Mary’s
12:00 – St Dominic’s vs Woodridge
14:30 – Kingswood vs St Mary’s
16:10 – St Stithians vs Woodridge
