St John’s College’s defence of the SACS Water Polo Tournament title got off to a bright start in Cape Town at the SACS Aquatic Centre on Thursday.
The boys from Gauteng dominated most of their opponents and picked up maximum points.
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Playing in Pool B, St John’s went four for four, beating Jeppe High School for Boys 6-4, Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG) 5-2, Clifton College 3-2, and Selborne College 9-5.
Their toughest encounter was against Clifton, and it took a phenomenal solo effort from Luke Shipway, who scored a hat-trick, to seal the win for St John’s.
Bishops, the 2024 champions, and Rondebosch Boys’ High, put together clean runs, too, also winning four matches each.
Bishops impressed, scoring a combined 32 goals as they dismantled the challenges of Pretoria Boys High, Northwood, Jeppe, and Paul Roos.
Their big guns, Timothy Young and Matt Fenn, were in sublime goal-scoring form, while skipper Michael Mafunda conceded only 12 goals.
Bosch ended the day on top of the log after picking up maximum points.
Coach Jared Wingate-Pearse‘s troops went about their business quietly after struggling to see off Paul Roos 4-3 in their opener.
They connected well thereafter and scored goals with conviction, defeating Selborne and Parktown before concluding with a 9-3 victory over Northwood.
Clifton College, meanwhile, had a mixed bag of results, winning two matches, drawing one, and losing one. Their 3-3 draw with Selborne came in the dying seconds of the match when Nabil Bejia and Nathan Burger scored in quick succession to rescue a point for the Durban school after a sluggish start.
Pool A, which includes the hosts, SACS, was equally entertaining.
SACS laid an early marker, outplaying Grey College 9-2.
Coach Devon Card’s side improved after that win, beating a dangerous St David’s Marist Inanda side 3-2, St Benedict’s College 7-3, and St Stithians College 4-2.
Ben Bigara led from the front, while Aidan Turrell, Connor Mortlock, Thomas Melling-Williams, and Harry Oldham all had good outings.
Hilton, who recently won the Clifton Water Polo Tournament, carried that winning momentum into the opening day.
Coach Paul Martin’s side was ruthless and deadly on attack, playing an entertaining brand of water polo.
They made light work of St Alban’s College in their opener, winning 6-3 thanks to a Bradley Van Loggerenberg hat-trick.
Thereafter, they thumped Grey College 11-1, beat Grey High 5-3, and capped off a solid day with a 5-2 win over St Andrew’s College of Makhanda.
Those results meant Hilton ended the day atop Pool A, ahead of SACS, Wynberg, and St Stithians.
Wynberg and Saints both won three and lost one. Meanwhile, St Alban’s and Grey College will enter day two still searching for their first wins.
Friday’s action kicks off with two Pool B matches, with Jeppe taking on Parktown in a Jozi Derby, followed by Bishops against Selborne.
DAY 1
Results
Pool A
St Alban’s 3-6 Hilton College
SACS 9-2 Grey College
St Andrew’s 5-1 St Benedict’s
St David’s 3-5 SACS
Wynberg 4-5 St Stithians
Grey College 1-11 Hilton College
SACS 7-3 St Benedict’s
Wynberg 3-1 Grey High
St David’s 2-4 St Stithians
St Andrew’s 4-2 St Alban’s
Grey College 3-7 St Benedict’s
St David’s 3-1 Grey High
St Alban’s 3-7 St Stithians
St Andrew’s 2-3 Wynberg
Hilton College 5-3 Grey High
St David’s 7-1 Grey College
St Alban’s 1-6 Wynberg
St Andrew’s 2-5 Hilton College
Grey High 9-2 St Benedict’s
SACS 4-2 St Stithians
Pool B
Rondebosch 4-3 Paul Roos
Clifton 3-3 Selborne
Bishops 6-1 Pretoria Boys
St John’s 6-4 Jeppe
Northwood 11-2 Parktown
Rondebosch 5-1 Selborne
St John’s 5-2 Paul Roos
Bishops 10-4 Jeppe
Pretoria Boys 8-4 Parktown
Clifton 6-4 Northwood
Paul Roos 6-3 Jeppe
Rondebosch 16-2 Parktown`
Bishops 11-5 Northwood
St John’s 3-2 Clifton
Selborne 8-4 Pretoria Boys
Clifton 17-0 Parktown
Bishops 5-2 Paul Roos
St John’s 9-5 Selborne
Jeppe 3-4 Pretoria Boys
Rondebosch 9-3 Northwood
FIXTURES
Friday, 25 September
Pool A
08:10 – St Andrew’s vs Grey College
08:30 – St Alban’s vs SACS
08:50 – Grey High vs St Stithians
09:10 – St David’s vs Wynberg
09:50 – Hilton College vs St Benedict’s
10:10 – St Andrew’s vs SACS
11:10 – St David’s vs St Albans
11:30 – Hilton College vs St Stithians
12:30 – Grey College vs Grey High
12:50 – Wynberg vs St Benedict’s
13:50 – St Andrew’s vs St David’s
14:10 – Grey College vs St Stithians
14:50 – SACS vs Grey High
15:10 – Wynberg vs Hilton College
16:30 – St David’s vs St Benedicts
16:50 – St Andrew’s vs St Stithians
17:30 – St Alban’s vs Grey High
18:10 – SACS vs Hilton College
19:30 – Wynberg vs Grey College
19:50 – St Alban’s vs St Benedict’s
Pool B
07:10 – Jeppe vs Parktown
07:30 – Bishops vs Selborne
07:50 – St John’s vs Northwood
09:30 – Paul Roos vs Pretoria Boys
10:30 – Rondebosch vs Clifton
10:50 – Selborne vs Jeppe
11:50 – Paul Roos vs Parktown
12:10 – Bishops vs Clifton
13:10 – St John’s vs Rondebosch
13:30 – Northwood vs Pretoria Boys
14:30 – Selborne vs Parktown
15:30 – Bishops vs St Johns
15:50 – Clifton vs Jeppe
16:10 – Northwood vs Paul Roos
17:10 – Rondebosch vs Pretoria Boys
17:50 – Bishops vs Parktown
18:30 – Clifton vs Paul Roos
18:50 – Northwood vs Selborne
19:10 – Rondebosch vs Jeppe
20:10 – St John’s vs Pretoria Boys
Saturday, 26 September
Pool A
06:50 – St Andrew’s vs Grey High
07:10 – St Benedict’s vs St Stithians
08:10 – St David’s vs Hilton College
08:30 – St Alban’s vs Grey College
09:30 – SACS vs Wynberg
Pool B
07:30 – Selborne vs Paul Roos
07:50 – Northwood vs Jeppe
08:50 – St John’s vs Parktown
09:10 – Clifton vs Pretoria Boys
09:50 – Bishops vs Rondebosch
Quarterfinals
10:40 – Pool A3 vs Pool B2
11:00 – Pool A2 vs Pool B3
11:20 – Pool A1 vs Pool B4
11:40 – Pool A4 vs Pool B1
Semifinals
12:30 – QF1 vs QF3
13:00 – QF2 vs QF4
Bronze medal match
14:00 – TBC vs TBC
Final
14:30 – TBC vs TBC
