Author: asawula

A new SAC Shield champion will be crowned in Makhanda on Sunday as two of Cape Town’s best, Bishops Diocesan College and South African College High School (SACS), battle it out for the tournament’s top honours in the St Andrew’s College pool.

They booked their spots in the showpiece after Bishops defeated Rondebosch 10-4 and SACS held off St John’s College 10-9 in their respective semi-finals on Saturday.

Bishops go into the final with the upper hand after a superb unbeaten run at the tournament. Coach Jabulani Sibiya’s side will take confidence from their impressive performances and their fight on day two especially, which saw them come from behind to win their pool matches against Selborne College and St Stithians College.

As for SACS, they began the showpiece on the back foot with a defeat against Bishops, but their comeback since then has been superb.

On day two, they were dominant, and they capped it off by beating Clifton College in the first match of day three, their last Pool A game, before overwhelming last year’s champions Paul Roos in the quarterfinals.

Coach Devon Card’s side then showed character in the semi-finals against an in-form St John’s team, as they, once again, came from behind to book themselves a spot in the title-decider.

The final will be the third meeting between SACS and Bishops within the span of a week. On Tuesday, Bishops convincingly thumped SACS in round one of the SACS Night series, beating them 11-5 after trailing them 1-4 at halftime. In Makhanda, they edged their Pool A clash 11-10.

The battle for silverware is set for 12:20 as both teams seek their first title of the season.

Meanwhile, the hosts, St Andrews College have had a tournament to forget and will contest the 11^th/12^th spot with Michaelhouse.

Paul Roos will be aiming to finish on a high in their 5^th/6^th play-off match against Selborne College, while an unlucky St John’s side will have third spot on their collective mind when they face Rondebosch Boys High at 11:20.

All the action will be live on SuperSport Schools.

Results: Day 3

SACS 10-6 Clifton College
Bishops 9-7 Grey High School
Selborne College 7 (5)-7(4) St Stithians College
Michaelhouse 8-5 Grey High School
St Stithians College 9-7 Michaelhouse
Hilton College 9-6 St Andrew’s College
Selborne College 8-6 Westville Boys’ High
Paul Roos 6-3 Clifton College

Quarterfinals

Bishops 8-2 Westville
SACS 13-7 Paul Roos
Rondebosch 8-3 Selborne College
St John’s College 9-7 Clifton College

Semi-finals

Bishops 10-4 Rondebosch Boys High
SACS 10-9 St John’s College

Day 4, Sunday, 28 January, @ St Andrew’s College

08:00 – (48) Michaelhouse vs St Andrew’s (11th/12th); 08:50 – (49) St Stithians vs Hilton 43 (9th/10th); 09:40 – (50) Westville vs Clifton College (7th/8th); 10:30 – (51) Selborne College vs Paul Roos (5th/6th); 11:20 – (52) Rondebosch Boys vs St John’s College (3rd/4th); 12:10 – Finalists line up; 12:20 – (53) SACS vs Bishops.

Johannesburg’s Roedean School booked themselves a spot in the quarterfinals of the Brian Baker Water Polo tournament after maintaining a 100 percent winning record on day two at Kingswood College in Makhanda.

The side, which started on a high the previous day by edging past Diocesan School for Girls (DSG) 14-10 at their home pool, were a cut above the rest on the second day of the tournament.

They scored a combined 59 goals and dismantled every opponent that stood in front of them. They first made light work of Rhenish, beating them 15-5 before, scoring 26 goals against Hudson Park, which was followed by an 18-6 win in the last match of the day against Gqeberha’s Pearson High School.

Kyle Kumm’s Kingswood College side was also on song, recording two victories, with a 10-2 victory against Crawford Lonehill followed by an 8-6 upset of Cape Town’s Reddam House Constantia in their second encounter of the day.

Seismic shockwaves reverberated when Herschel went up against last year’s winners, and the favourites, St Stithians College. The girls from Stellenbosch stood their ground and edged out Etienne Le Roux’s side 7-6.

Le Roux’s side showed why they claimed the title and exhibited their pedigree in their final two matches, accumulating 31 goals in thumping Collegiate and Stirling High respectively.

It was a tight day for Stirling High, who conceded a further 21 goals against Herschel, while Clarendon shocked St Dominic’s 7-6, and Pearson defeated DSG 7-6.

Results: Day 2

Pool 1

St Mary’s Waverley 9-5 Stirling High
Roedean Schools 15-5 Rhenish
Pearson High School 12-10 Hudson Park
St Mary’s Waverley 8-4 Collegiate
Herschel 7-6 St Stithians College
Kingswood College 10-2 Crawford Lonehill
Roedean School 26-4 Hudson Park High
Herschel 21-2 Stirling High School
St Stithians College 15-4 Collegiate
Rhenish 9-8 Hudson Park High School
Kingswood College 8-6 Reddam House Constantia
St Stithians College 16-2 Stirling High School
St Mary’s Waverley 4-20 Herschel
Pearson 6-18 Roedean School

Pool 2

Durban Girls’ College 20-3 Alex Road
Reddam House Constantia 14-1 Woodridge
St Anne’s Diocesan 14-5 Crawford Lonehill
Clarendon 7-6 St Dominic’s
Reddam House Bedfordview 24-4 Alex Road
Diocesan School for Girls 10-4 Rhenish
Reddam House Constantia 9-7 St Anne’s
Reddam House Bedfordview 5-4 Durban Girls’ College
St Dominic’s 24-1 Alex Road
St Anne’s Diocesan 15-4 Woodridge
Diocesan School for Girls 6-7 Pearson High
Clarendon 8-9 Durban Girls’ College
St Dominic’s 2-3 Reddam House Bedfordview
Crawford Lonehill 10-2 Woodridge 

Day 3, Saturday, 27 January @Kingswood College

The second day of the annual SAC Shield, hosted by St Andrew’s College in Makhanda, produced more exhilarating action in the pool, along with championship-defining performances ahead of the looming quarterfinals.

One of the in-form teams at the tournament, St John’s College, continued on their prolific run and, although tested, remained unbeaten on the day.

The side from Johannesburg got one over last year’s champions, Paul Roos, beating them 10-8 early in the morning in a tightly contested affair. Soon after that, they repeated that scoreline against Michaelhouse, which took them to five wins in five games after victories against the hosts, Rondebosch Boys’ High, and Westville, which came only after a penalty shootout, on day one.

As a result, St John’s finished atop Pool B and qualified for the quarterfinals alongside Rondebosch Boys’ High, Westville, and Paul Roos.

St Andrew’s and Michaelhouse will sit out this year’s title race.

Final four spots in Pool A, which has one more team that Pool B, are still up for grabs, with three fixtures still to be played on Saturday morning.

As things stand, Bishops top the Pool A table with 10 points, with SACS trailing them by two.

SACS bounced back nicely on day two, playing with flair to score a combined 30 goals in their two matches against a winless Grey High and St Stithians College respectively. They take on Clifton College at 07:00 on Saturday in their last Pool A game.

Bishops will lock up first place if they defeat Grey High on day three.

The knock-out stages will resume right after those last Pool A encounters when the seventh-place team from Pool A tackles the team that is sixth in Pool B.

Results: Day Two

Pool A

St Stithians 8-6 Hilton College
Selborne College 13-8 Clifton College
SACS 17-7 Grey High
Bishops 9 (2)- 9(1) Selborne College
St Stithians 4-7 Clifton
Selborne 8-11 Hilton
Clifton 5-7 Bishops
SACS 13-9 St Stithians
Bishops 12-10 Hilton

Pool B

St John’s 10-8 Paul Roos
Rondebosch Boys 8-4 St Andrews
Westville 8-4 Michaelhouse
Rondebosch 11-8 Paul Roos
Westville 8-5 St Andrews
St John’s 10-8 Michaelhouse

Day 3 fixtures

Saturday, 27 January, @ St Andrew’s College

07:00– (34) Clifton vs SACS; 07:45 – (35) Grey High vs Bishops; 08:30 – (36) Selborne vs St Stithians; 09:15 – (37) 7th Pool A vs 6th Pool B (qualifier); 10:00 – (38) 1st Pool A vs 4th Pool B (quarterfinal 1); 10:50 – (39) 2nd Pool A vs 3rd Pool B (2nd quarterfinal); 11:40 – (40) 3rd Pool A vs 2nd Pool B (3rd quarterfinal); 12:30 – (41) 4th Pool A vs 1st Pool B (quarterfinal 4); 13:20 – (42) 5th Pool A vs Winner 37 (Plate semi-final); 14:10 – (43) 6th Pool A vs 5th Pool B (Plate semi-final); 15:00 – (44) Loser 38 vs Loser 40 (5th-8th); 15:50 – (45) Loser 30 vs Loser 41 (5th-8th); 16:40 – (46) Winner 38 vs Winner 40 (Semi-final 1); 17:30 – (47) Winner 39 vs Winner 41 (Semi-final 2).

There were 187 goals scored on the opening day of the Brian Baker Water Polo Tournament, hosted by Kingswood College, in Makhanda on Thursday.

In the opening two matches of the day, the hosts scored 18 goals against Woodridge, while Clarendon Girls thumped Alex Road 24-2.

There were also wins for Reddam House Constantia, who bossed and bullied Crawford Lonehill to secure a 22-5 win.

The day also produced an impressive victory for Stellenbosch’s powerhouse Rhenish Girls High School as they edged Gqeberha’s Pearson High School 10-7.

Collegiate breezed past Stirling High, while the defending champions, St Stithians College, got their campaign off to the best possible start, defeating their Johannesburg rivals, St Mary’s Waverley 13-2.

Playing at home, Diocesan School for Girls (DSG) recorded one victory out of their two matches over Hudson Park before coming down to Roedean School 14-10 to cap off a high-scoring day.

A clash between Stirling High School and St Mary’s Waverley launches day two’s action at the Kingswood College pool, while Durban Girls’ College goes up against Alex Road at DSG. Both encounters start at 07:00.

Results: Day 1

Pool 1

Kingswood College 18-2 Woodridge
Clarendon 24-2 Alex Road
Durban Girls’ College 8-7 St Dominic’s
Reddam House Constantia 22-5 Crawford Lonehill
St Anne’s 9-8 Kingswood College
Reddam House Bedfordview 10-9 Clarendon Girls

Pool 2

Diocesan School for Girls 13-2 Hudson Park
Collegiate 9-2 Stirling High School
St Stithians College 13-2 St Mary’s Waverley
Pearson 7-10 Rhenish
Diocesan School for Girls 10-14 Roedean School
Herschel 18-4 Collegiate

Day 2, Friday, 26 January, @ Kingswood College

Pool 1

07:00- Stirling High School vs St Mary’s Waverley; 08:00 – Roedean School vs Rhenish; 09:00 – Hudson Park vs Pearson High School; 10:00 – Collegiate vs St Mary’s Waverley; 11:00 – Herschel vs St Stithians College; 12:00 – Kingswood College vs Crawford; 13:00 – Roedean School vs Hudson Park; 14:00 -Stirling High School vs Herschel; 15:00 – St Stithians vs Collegiate; 16:00 – Hudson Park vs Rhenish; 17:00 – Kingswood College vs Reddam House Constantia; 18:00 – St Stithians College vs Stirling High School; 19:00 – St Mary’s Waverley vs Herschel; 20:00 – Pearson High School vs Roedean School.

@DSG

Pool 2 

07:00 – Durban Girls’ College vs Alex Road; 08:00 – Reddam House Constantia vs Woodridge College; 09:00 – St Anne’s vs Crawford; 10:00 – Clarendon vs St Dominic’s 11:00 – Reddam House Bedfordview vs Alex Road; 12:00 – Rhenish vs Diocesan School for Girls; 13:00 – Reddam House Constantia vs St Anne’s; 14:00 – Durban Girls’ College vs Reddam House Bedfordview; 15:00 – St Dominic’s vs Alex Road; 16:00 – St Anne’s vs Woodridge; 17:00 – Diocesan School for Girls vs Pearson High School; 18:00 – Clarendon vs Durban Girls’ College; 19:00 – St Dominic’s vs Reddam House Bedfordview; 20:00 – Crawford vs Woodridge.

Superb water polo, filled with non-stop action and a slew of upsets, highlighted the SAC Shield as it got off to a fiery start at St Andrew’s College in Makhanda on Thursday.

The annual tournament welcomed 13 schools from across the country to battle it out for top honours in a gruelling and demanding three-day slugfest between a selection of many of South Africa’s elite teams.

The hosts had a disappointing opening to their day, losing against St John’s and Paul Roos respectively. But they got into the winning column with a win over Michaelhouse in the evening at DSG.

The big winners on the day were, undoubtedly, Bishops Diocesan College, who for the second time this week defeated South African College High School (SACS) 11-10. The win came in the wake of Jabulani Sibiya’s side recording a stunning come-from-behind 11-5 triumph against the same opponents at the SACS Night Series on Tuesday.

That momentous victory added to Bishop’s 10-8 triumph against St Stithians earlier in the day and puts the side in a commanding position entering day two of the event.

There were also provincial derbies in play, which included Clifton College edging Hilton College 8-6 to claim KwaZulu-Natal bragging rights. Meanwhile, Selborne College shocked Grey High in an Eastern Cape clash to shake up matters in Pool A ahead of a busy day two.

One team that will need to improve on Friday is Stellenbosch’s Paul Roos Gymnasium, the defending champions.

Despite winning all three of their matches, they were, at times, lucky and had to come from behind twice to force penalty shootouts against St Andrew’s and Michaelhouse respectively.

The second day’s action kicks off with a mouthwatering clash between St John’s College and Paul Roos at 07:00. The home side face Rondebosch Boys High at 09:15, while Selborne College will look to make it two wins on the trot when they take on Hilton College at 13:45.

Results: Day One

Pool A

Bishops 10-8 St Stithians College
SACS 10-8 St Andrew’s
St Stithians College 11-7 Grey High
SACS 10-5 Selborne College
Bishops 11-10 SACS
Selborne College 6-3 Grey High
Clifton 8-6 Hilton College
SACS 13-6 Hilton College
Clifton 11-4 Grey High
Hilton College 13-3 Grey High

Pool B

Paul Roos 10-5 Westville Boys High
Rondebosch Boys High 10-7 Michaelhouse
St John’s College 10-8 St Andrew’s College
Paul Roos 7(9)-7(8) St Andrew’s College
St John’s College 8-6 Rondebosch Boys High
Paul Roos 6(12)-6(11) Michaelhouse
St John’s College 7(10)–7(9) Westville Boys High
St Andrew’s College 11-8 Michaelhouse
Rondebosch Boys High 12-8 Westville Boys High

 Day 2 Fixtures

Friday, 26 January, @ St Andrew’s College

07:00 – (19) St John’s vs Paul Roos; 07:45 – (20) Hilton vs St Stithians; 08:30 – (21) Selborne vs Clifton; 09:15 – (22) St Andrew’s vs Rondebosch; 10:00 – (23) Grey High vs SACS; 10:45 – (24) Bishops vs Selborne; 11:30– (25) St Stithians vs Clifton; 12:15 – (26) Westville vs Michaelhouse; 13:00 – (27) Rondebosch vs Paul Roos; 13:45 – (28) Selborne vs Hilton; 14:30 – (29) Clifton vs Bishops; 15:15 – (30) SACS vs St Stithians; 16:00 – (31) Westville vs St Andrew’s; 16:45 – (32) Michaelhouse vs St John’s; 17:30 – (33) Bishops vs Hilton

After a jaw-dropping water polo season in 2023, the St Stithians College girls’ first team will be aiming to replicate their superb form when they kick off their 2024 campaign this weekend at the Brian Baker Tournament in Makhanda.

Saints won the tournament last year, after edging Durban Girls’ College 8-7 in the final.

The 13^th edition of the prestigious annual event will see 20 girls’ teams from all around the country battling it out for glory.

St Stithians, coached by former SA player, Etienne Le Roux, are the favourites and are keen to live up to that tag with an impressive early season showing.

The girls from Johannesburg have been drawn in one of the tougher groups, Pool D, where they will take on Herschel, St Mary’s Waverley, Collegiate, and East London’s Stirling High School.

It will also be a special weekend for Le Roux, and one to savour, as he begins to look towards a future in the Western Cape with Rondebosch Boys’ High from March.

In an exclusive interview with SuperSport Schools ahead of the tournament in Makhanda, the 36-year-old said despite his departure he is still fully committed to the team, and he will ensure they challenge for the honours in every competition they contest.

“A new year always brings new challenges, and we feel confident that we can challenge all opposition and be strong competitors in 2024,” he said.

“It will be tough to leave a programme that has taken years to develop and implement. But there are many other factors, both work and personal, which were considered for the decision to leave St Stithians.

“But for now, I’m just excited to see my team playing again, and pushing boundaries at every opportunity.”

Saints were superb in the pool last year, putting together an astonishing 65-game unbeaten run.

After claiming glory in Makhanda early in 2023, the side went on to win the National Aquatics, Reef Cup, St Anne’s National Tournament, and the Roedean Prestige Cup.

It will take some doing to stop Saints’ hunt for more glory, even though the team has lost the bulk of its players from last year’s all-conquering outfit. Le Roux said his side will bank on its mental strength, which has been a key to its past successes.

“I think our biggest attribute last year was our mental strength and never-give-up attitude,” he said.

“For many games, we were down in the beginning but then managed to fight back. We will look to have that same mental grit when we get there this weekend.

“We are well prepared after a good pre-season programme. I think the players are also in a very good space after a wonderful SA Schools Tournament in 2023.”

Before departing Saints, Le Roux will lead the side in four more tournaments – the National Aquatics, Roedean Prestige Cup, Old Petrians and Reef Cup – all of which they won last year.

Asked if he had any message for the school, Le Roux didn’t hesitate: “Saints will always be in my heart.

“The families, players, parents, and staff, I have worked with over the years are all truly amazing.

“I hope for nothing but success for them after I have gone,” he concluded.

St Stithians College fixtures at the Brian Baker tournament:

Thursday, 25 January @ Kingswood College:

15:00- St Stithians College vs St Mary’s Waverley

Friday, 26 January @ Kingswood College

11:00- St Stithians College vs Herschel
15:00- St Stithians College vs Collegiate
18:00- St Stithians College vs Stirling High School

A hattrick of goals by Ross Stewart and a brace from Tim Young steered Bishops Diocesan College to an emphatic 11-5 victory over SACS in round one of the 2024 SACS Night Series in Cape Town on Tuesday.

The annual series, which is played over six rounds, culminating in the final late next month, began in a most unforeseen manner in front of a lively crowd, buzzing with enthusiasm.

Heading into the match, Bishops had, in recent times, fallen short against SACS on numerous occasions, including in the pre-season matches the two had contested.

It appeared to be a case of déjà vu for Jabulani Sibiya’s side as they went behind early in the encounter and trailed 1-4 at the halfway mark, with SACS scoring their goals through Zack Cicero, Connor Melling-Williams, and a brace from Nicholas Fall.

The visitors were, however, kept in the game by the superb efforts of their shot-stopper, Jordan De Sousa.

With his charges trailing at the break, Sibiya’s team talk must’ve been one for the books as his side came out looking like a totally different unit.

The visitors first clawed their way back to make it 4-4, courtesy of goals by James Malan, Matt Fenn, and the skipper Stewart.

From there, there was no stopping them as they turned attack into the best form of defence and countered on every opportunity that arose.

Bryn Parry, Cameron Moon, Tim Young, Milo Letschert, and Owen Cross all got in on the goalscoring action in the third and fourth chukkas.

During that time, Bishops netted 10 times and conceded only once, powering their way to an emphatic victory, which sent shockwaves across the Western Province school scene and beyond.

“We’re so excited to start on a high for the season. What we saw on the scoreboard was backed by preparation,” Bishops’ head coach Jabulani Sibiya told SuperSport Schools after the match.

“We started very early in the pre-season, and we’ve been working really hard. We had a couple of practice games, where we’ve lost against them, so I think we did extremely well to come out and start the season on a high.

“SACS is a very competitive side, one of the top sides in the country, after last year’s rankings, so we really are excited to start the season by beating them convincingly.”

Other matches

In another first round encounter, Rondebosch Boys’ High also made a winning start, downing a motivated Reddam House Constantia side 14-6.

The Rondebosch boys did it in style, with Luke Burger, and Noah Reiback scoring hat-tricks.

Meanwhile, Paul Roos were dominant in their clash against Wynberg in the final match of the day.

Arkin Marais, Milan van der Westhuizen, Thomas Cruickshank, Adam October, and Nicolaas van der Westhuizen were all on the scoresheet as their team recorded an 11-6 win to get their campaign up and running.

Scorers from SACS vs Bishops

SACS (5):  Zack Cicero, Connor-Melling Williams (x2), Nicholas Fall (x2). Bishops (11): Ross Stewart (x3), James Malan, Matt Fenn, Bryn Parry, Cameron Moon, Tim Young (x2), Milo Letschert, Owen Cross.

Round 2 fixtures

31 January:

17:00- Reddam House vs Wynberg
18:00- SACS vs Rondebosch Boys High
19:00- Paul Roos vs Bishops

The 2024 water polo season raises the stakes during the second week of the school year with one of its premier events, the SAC Shield, getting underway on Thursday at St Andrew’s College in Makhanda.

The tournament kicks off with a north vs south clash between St Stithians College and Bishops Diocesan College, while the hosts are set to take on St John’s College in the third match of the day.

Out of the 13 schools in attendance, last year’s winners, Paul Roos Gymnasium are among the favourites and will be eager to go back-to-back, and in the process launch a season that holds great promise for the Stellenbosch side.

They’re drawn in Pool B, where they will take on Westville, Michaelhouse, Rondebosch, St John’s College, and the hosts.

Speaking exclusively to SuperSport Schools ahead of the tournament, head coach Vaughn Marlow said he was pleased with his side’s preparation and the team is eager to get the ball rolling.

“The squad has worked hard in the build-up to the start of the season,” he said.

“We are fortunate in that a good core of last year’s team is returning this year, so we are feeling good and prepared for the season to come.

“From a coaching perspective, I’m very happy with the pre-season. We had a good training camp before school and have been able to play a lot of preparation games. The goal is consistent improvement and that is what we will aim to do.”

Last year, the Western Cape side enjoyed a very good year, even though they lost in two finals against SACS at the Clifton and SACS Water Polo tournaments later in the season.

They did, however, get one over their provincial rivals earlier in the year when they claimed the silverware in the Western Province League.

PRG are aiming to improve their performances in high-pressure moments, and Marlow’s side will also want to stop playing second fiddle to SACS. However, the coach feels that competition will be tighter this season.

“Nothing motivates good teams like losing. I think SACS and PRG had good sides last year,” he said.

“We beat them in the final of the Western Province league to end the first term and then they got the better of us in the second half of the year. I think this year we should be fairly evenly matched again, along with Rondebosch, Bishops, St John’s, St Stithians, Hilton, Clifton, and others.

“I think against those top eight to 10 schools it could go either way, so motivation is high, and the boys are determined.”

That determination will be tested in Makhanda where the team will aim to emulate the 2023 outfit by putting together a successful defence of the title that they won by beating Rondebosch Boys’ High in the final a year ago.

Paul Roos plays five matches over the first two days of the tournament, so squad depth, stamina, and their resilience will be tested.

“The format around SAC Shield is unforgiving,” Marlow said.

“Long games, long course polo, and arguably the strongest line-up of any tournament in the country, means that, generally speaking, the better team wins on the day.

“There is no substitute for conditioning and hard work at this tournament, and without that, it’s very difficult to succeed.”

PRG’s goal for the season is to “play to their potential and work hard”. The SAC Shield presents them with an ideal opportunity to implement that goal.

Paul Roos Pool B fixtures at the SAC Shield 2024

Day 1, Thursday, 25 January @ St Andrew’s College

07:45 – (2) Paul Roos vs Westville
11:30 – (7) Paul Roos vs St Andrew’s College
15:15 – (12) Paul Roos vs Michaelhouse

Day 2, Friday, 26 January @ St Andrew’s College

07:00 – (19) Paul Roos vs St John’s College
13:00 – (27) Paul Roos vs Rondebosch Boys’ High

 

The 13^th edition of the annual Brian Baker tournament takes place this weekend in Makhanda where 20 of the country’s best girls’ water polo teams will battle for early season supremacy.

The tournament, hosted by Kingswood College, commences on Thursday, with the final scheduled for Sunday at 12:00.

The early season showdown offers an opportunity for some schools to improve on their performances from last year’s tournament, while the established top teams will be aiming to assert their dominance for yet another year.

The hosts, Kingswood College, finished in fourth place last year after reaching the semi-finals, where they were fell 2-6 to Durban Girls College. They were subsequently beaten by Herschel in the third and fourth place play-off.

The defending champions are the Gauteng powerhouse, St Stithians College, who are coming off a spectacular season in which they went unbeaten and won 65 games. Saints are in group D alongside Herschel, St Mary’s Waverley, Collegiate, and East London dark horses, Stirling High School.

The 2024 campaign will also be a last hurrah for Saints’ coach, Etienne Le Roux, who departs Johannesburg for the Western Cape in March. He’ll be taking up a post at Rondebosch Boys’ High.

Stellenbosch’s Rhenish High School will face Roedean, Diocesan Schools for Girls (DSG), Pearson High and Hudson Park.

All eyes will be on pool B, where the home side will be in action. They’ll open their challenge against another Eastern Cape side, Woodridge College, before testing themselves against Reddam House Constantia, St Anne’s Diocesan School, and Crawford College (Lonehill).

Former South African player, Hannah Muller’s Clarendon Girls feature in Pool C in Makhanda. They enjoyed a good season in 2023, which included a win in their Stayers tournament.

Muller will also aim to make use of her experience coaching Buffalo City at last year’s Schools Water Polo South Africa Inter-Provincial Tournament, where she would have gained insight into many of the players who will be playing in Makhanda.

Clarendon’s expectations will be high as they go up against tough opposition from St Dominic’s, Durban Girls College, Reddam House Bedfordview, and Alexander Road High School.

With such a high-quality field, there are sure to be plenty of tightly contested clashes to thrill the spectators throughout the weekend.

The clash between St Stithians College and St Mary’s Waverley, which happens on the opening day, certainly promises a stirring showdown.

On day two, an Eastern Cape derby between Hudson Park and Pearson High School will get the ball rolling ahead of the playoffs, which begin on Saturday.

Groups

Pool A: Roedean, Diocesan School for Girls, Pearson High School, Rhenish, Hudson Park.
Pool B: Reddam House Constantia, Kingswood College, St Anne’s, Crawford, Woodridge College.
Pool C: Clarendon School for Girls, St Dominic’s, Durban Girls’ College, Reddam House Bedfordview, Alex Road.
Pool D: Herschel, St Stithians College, St Mary’s Waverley, Collegiate, Stirling High School.

Fixtures

Thursday, 25 January

Pool 1

13:00 – Kingswood College vs Woodridge; 14:00 – Clarendon vs Alex Road; 15:00 – St Dominic’s vs Durban Girls’ College; 16:00 – Reddam House Constantia vs Crawford; 17:00 – Kingswood College vs St Anne’s; 18:00 – Reddam House Bedfordview vs Clarendon.

Pool 2

13:00 – Diocesan School for Girls vs Hudson Park; 14:00 – Collegiate vs Stirling High School; 15:00 – St Stithians College vs St Mary’s Waverley; 16:00 – Pearson High School vs Rhenish; 17:00 – Diocesan School for Girls vs Roedean School; 18:00 – Herschel vs Collegiate.

Friday 26 January

Pool 1

07:00 – Stirling High School vs St Mary’s Waverley; 08:00 – Roedean School vs Rhenish;  09:00 – Hudson Park vs Pearson High School; 10:00 – Collegiate vs St Mary’s Waverley;  11:00 – Herschel vs St Stithians College; 12:00 – Kingswood College vs Crawford; 13:00 – Roedean School vs Hudson Park; 14:00 –Stirling High School vs Herschel; 15:00 – St Stithians vs Collegiate; 16:00 – Hudson Park vs Rhenish; 17:00 – Kingswood College vs Reddam House Constantia;  18:00 – St Stithians College vs Stirling High School; 19:00 – St Mary’s Waverley vs Herschel; 20:00 – Pearson High School vs Roedean School.

Pool 2

07:00 – Durban Girls’ College vs Alex Road; 08:00 – Reddam House Constantia vs Woodridge College; 09:00 – St Anne’s vs Crawford; 10:00 – Clarendon vs St Dominic’s  11:00 – Reddam House Bedfordview vs Alex Road; 12:00 – Rhenish vs Diocesan School for Girls; 13:00 – Reddam House Constantia vs St Anne’s; 14:00 – Durban Girls’ College vs Reddam House Bedfordview; 15:00 – St Dominic’s vs Alex Road; 16:00 – St Anne’s vs Woodridge; 17:00 – Diocesan School for Girls vs Pearson High School; 18:00 – Clarendon vs Durban Girls’ College; 19:00 – St Dominic’s vs Reddam House Bedfordview; 20:00 – Crawford vs Woodridge.

Saturday 27 January

Pool 1

07:00 – Pool A 2^nd vs Pool B 3^rd; 08:00 – Pool B 2^nd vs Pool A 3^rd ;09:00 – Pool C 3^rd vs Pool D 2^nd ; 10:00 – Pool D 3^rd vs Pool C 2^nd; 11:30 – Loser 41 vs Loser 43; 12:30 – Loser 42 vs Loser 44; 14:00 – Pool A 1^st vs Winner 44; 15:00 – Pool B 1^st vs Winer 43; 16:00 – Pool C 1^st vs Winner 42; 17:00 – Pool D 1^st vs Winner 41; 18:30 – Loser 47 vs Loser 49; 19:30 –Loser 48 vs Loser 50.

Pool 2

07:00 – Pool A 4^th vs Pool B 5^th; 08:00 – Pool B 4^th vs Pool A 5^th; 09:00 – Pool C 4^th vs Pool D 5^th; 10:00 – Pool D 4^th vs Pool C 5^th; 11:30 –Loser 53 vs Loser 56; 12:30 – Loser 54 vs Loser 55; 14:00 –Winner 53 vs Winner 56; 15:00 – Winner 54 vs Winner 55; 17:00 – Loser 57 vs Loser 58; 18:00 – Winner 57 vs Winner 58.

Sunday 28 January

Pool 1

07:00 – Winner 47 vs Winner 50; 08:00 – Winner 48 vs Winner 49; 09:00 – Loser 51 vs Loser 52; 10:00 – Winner 51 vs Winner 52; 11:00 – Loser 63 vs Loser 64; 12:00 – Winner 63 vs Winner 64. 

13:00 – Prize Giving

Pool 2

07:00- Loser 59 vs Loser 60; 08:00 – Winner 59 vs Winner 60; 09:00 –Loser 45 vs Loser 46; 10:00 – Winner 45 vs Winner 46.

The 2024 summer sports season is about to shift into top gear with two prestigious water polo tournaments taking place in Makhanda this coming weekend.

On the boys’ side of things, the action will come thick and fast on SuperSport Schools from the annual SAC Shield, hosted by St Andrew’s College. Nearby, Kingswood College hosts top girls’ teams from across the country in the Brian Baker Tournament.

The SAC Shield will see 13 of the best assemble in the small Eastern Cape town, with the first drop of the ball happening bright and early at 07:00 on Thursday. The final, to be played at 12:20 on Sunday, will bring the event to a close.

The four-day festival will present teams with an opportunity to sharpen their skills in double-quick time ahead of a busy schedule over the next two months. Chemistry, cohesion and squad depth will all be to the fore.

Last year’s winners, Paul Roos Gymnasium are drawn in Pool B, and will face St Andrew’s College, St John’s College, Westville Boys’ High, Michaelhouse, and their provincial neighbours, Rondebosch Boys’ High.

Coach Vaughn Marlow’s team already has a number of games under its belt after hosting a pre-season festival this past weekend.

The Stellenbosch side will be take that pre-season experience into the event, where they’ll be seeking to overturn their misfortune of losing to SACS in the final of two big tournaments late last year.

Pool A includes St Stithians College and Selborne College, who will use the congested tournament format to help fast-track their preparations for the Vides tournament, which takes place in East London next month.

Grey High is in the mix, too, along with the Cape powers, SACS and Bishops. Under the guidance of coach Devon Card, SACS were, undoubtedly, South Africa’s best last year.

Jabulani Sibiya’s Bishops team has previously enjoyed success in the SAC Shield, lifting the title in 2020 and 2022. They’re first into the water on Thursday against St Stithians. Then, at 13:00, they’re set for a southern suburbs’ showdown against SACS.

In Pool A, KwaZulu-Natal is represented by Clifton College, and Hilton College.

Clifton, Hilton, and Westville will feel they underperformed in last year’s SAC Shield, and their better results later in the year certainly suggest that was the case. They’ll be out to improve on their fourth, fifth, and seventh places from 2023.

Day one also includes an interesting clash between Clifton and Hilton, who were ranked one and two in KZN last year. Clifton produced five KZN u19A players and Hilton had four.

The hosts, St Andrew’s face a tough opener on Thursday at 09:15 when they go up against St John’s College. The boys from Houghton had three South African Schools players in their ranks in 2023.

On Thursday only, three games, which take place in the evening, will be played at DSG.

Early season optimism will abound as the teams in the 12-strong field set out to make a statement about their place in the pecking order of South African schoolboys’ water polo in 2024.

The hosts, St Andrew’s, would dearly love to repeat their win of 2021, while SACS, after their dominant 2023, which didn’t include a SAC Shield title, will be keen to add that one to their list of achievements.

Previous winners

2023 – Paul Roos
2022 – Bishops
2021 – St Andrew’s College
2020 – Bishops
2019 – SACS

Groups

Pool A: Clifton College, SACS, Grey High, Bishops Diocesan College, Selborne College, St Stithians College, Hilton College
Pool B: Paul Roos Gymnasium, Westville Boys’ High, Michaelhouse, Rondebosch Boys’ High, St John’s College, St Andrew’s College

Day 1, Thursday, 25 January, @ St Andrew’s College

07:00 – (1) St Stithians vs Bishops; 07:45 – (2) Paul Roos vs Westville; 08:30 – (3) Michaelhouse vs Rondebosch; 09:15 – (4) St John’s vs St Andrew’s; 10:00 – (5) SACS vs Selborne; 10:45 – (6) St Stithians vs Grey High; 11:30 – (7) St Andrew’s vs Paul Roos; 12:15 – (8) Rondebosch vs St John’s; (9) 13:00 – Bishops vs SACS; 13:45 – (10) Grey High vs Selborne; 14:30 – (11) Hilton vs Clifton; 15:15 – (12) Paul Roos vs Michaelhouse; 16:00 – (13) St John’s vs Westville; 16:45 – (14) SACS vs Hilton; 17:30 – (15) Clifton vs Grey High.

Day 1, Thursday, 25 January, @ DSG

19:00 – (16) St Andrew’s vs Michaelhouse; 19:45 – (17) Rondebosch vs Westville; 20:30 – (18) Hilton vs Grey High

Day 2, Friday, 26 January, @ St Andrew’s College

07:00 – (19) St John’s vs Paul Roos; 07:45 – (20) Hilton vs St Stithians; 08:30 – (21) Selborne vs Clifton; 09:15 – (22) St Andrew’s vs Rondebosch; 10:00 – (23) Grey High vs SACS; 10:45 – (24) Bishops vs Selborne; 11:30; (25) St Stithians vs Clifton; 12:15 – (26) Westville vs Michaelhouse; 13:00 – (27) Rondebosch vs Paul Roos; 13:45 – (28) Selborne vs Hilton; 14:30 – (29) Clifton vs Bishops; 15:15 – (30) SACS vs St Stithians; 16:00 – (31) Westville vs St Andrew’s; 16:45 – (32) Michaelhouse vs St John’s; 17:30 – (33) Bishops vs Hilton

Day 3, Saturday, 27 January, @ St Andrew’s College

07:00 – (34) Clifton vs SACS; 07:45 – (35) Grey High vs Bishops; 08:30 – (36) Selborne vs St Stithians; 09:15 – (37) 7th Pool A vs 6th Pool B (qualifier); 10:00 – (38) 1st Pool A vs 4th Pool B (quarterfinal 1); 10:50 – (39) 2nd Pool A vs 3rd Pool B (2nd quarterfinal); 11:40 – (40) 3rd Pool A vs 2nd Pool B (3rd quarterfinal); 12:30 – (41) 4th Pool A vs 1st Pool B (quarterfinal 4); 13:20 – (42) 5th Pool A vs Winner 37 (Plate semi-final); 14:10 – (43) 6th Pool A vs 5th Pool B (Plate semi-final); 15:00 – (44) Loser 38 vs Loser 40 (5th-8th); 15:50 – (45) Loser 30 vs Loser 41 (5th-8th); 16:40 – (46) Winner 38 vs Winner 40 (Semi-final 1); 17:30 – (47) Winner 39 vs Winner 41 (Semi-final 2)

Day 4, Sunday, 28 January, @ St Andrew’s College

08:00 – (48) Loser 42 vs Loser 43 (11th/12th); 08:50 – (49) Winner 42 vs Winner 43 (9th/10th); 09:40 – (50) Loser 44 vs Loser 45 (7th/8th); 10:30 – (51) Winner 44 vs Winner 45 (5th/6th); 11:20 – (52) Loser 46 vs Loser 47 (3rd/4th); 12:10 – Finalists line up; 12:20 – (53) Winner 46 vs Winner 47 (1st/2nd)