{"id":37991,"date":"2024-03-14T19:14:45","date_gmt":"2024-03-14T17:14:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=37991"},"modified":"2024-03-14T19:14:45","modified_gmt":"2024-03-14T17:14:45","slug":"currie-cup-boys-province-and-kzn-set-the-pace-on-day-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=37991","title":{"rendered":"Currie Cup| Boys| Province and KZN set the pace on day one"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Western
Zack Cicero in action for the Western Province u18 side on the opening day of the SA Junior Water Polo Championships in East London. Photo: Shot by Shani Photography<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The highly anticipated South African Junior Water Polo Championships<\/strong> got off to an exhilarating start in East London on Thursday with a number of teams asserting themselves and building early momentum ahead of a busy weekend in the Joan Harrison Swimming Pool<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Overnight rain freshened the water and, as the day progressed, the sun came out to play, making for perfect conditions for water polo.<\/p>\n

The teams expected to stand out duly delivered as Western Province<\/strong>, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN)<\/strong>, and Central Gauteng<\/strong> dominated proceedings.<\/p>\n

It was Province, and coach Rob Ambler<\/strong>\u2019s KZN side, though, that grabbed the spotlight, with both units recording three wins apiece.<\/p>\n

Coach Jabulani Sibiya<\/strong>‘s Western Province <\/strong>team, the tournament favourites,<\/a> started their campaign with a 15-5 win over the Northern Tigers<\/strong>. In their second encounter, they overran Nelson Mandela Bay<\/strong> 23-8, with Arkin Marais<\/strong>, Thomas Truter<\/strong>, and Connor-Melling Williams<\/strong> scoring hattricks. Then, they outplayed Buffalo City<\/strong> 18-4, with Jandro Rojo-Ross netting four times.<\/p>\n

KZN, on the other hand, were made to work hard to maintain their unbeaten record.<\/p>\n

After edging out the hosts, Buffalo City<\/strong>, 14-11, in their opener, they took on Central Gauteng in what was arguably the match of the day, before outscoring Nelson Mandela Bay 18-11 in their last outing.<\/p>\n

Against Central Gauteng, KZN trailed early on but managed to stay close, with very little to separate the sides through the first two chukkas.<\/p>\n

KZN’s Meyer Malherbe<\/strong> and Oliver Ditz<\/strong> were ruthless in front of goal and made telling contributions for their team at critical points during contest.<\/p>\n

Trailing 6-7 heading into the final chukka, after goals for Gauteng by Ross Rovelli<\/strong>, Greg Pryce<\/strong>, and Ross Stuart, <\/strong>Ambler’s troops changed the complexion of the contest by attacking with grit and determination, and capitalising on their opportunities.<\/p>\n

Goals by Malherbe, Ditz, James Pohl<\/strong>\u00a0and Luca Sandri<\/strong> eventually led to a convincing victory.<\/p>\n

\"The
The KZN Currie Cup side at the Junior Championships in East London. Photo: Shot by Shani Photography<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gauteng, on the other hand, will rue their missed opportunities, but they have two opportunities to book a spot in the semi-finals on Friday.<\/p>\n

After winning their third match against the Northern Tigers by a 21-4 margin, coach Jon-Marc de Carvalho’<\/strong>s charges take on Buffalo City and Western Province on Friday. A win in either match would be enough to secure a place in the top four.<\/p>\n

In other matches on Thursday, Buffalo City won against the Northern Tigers to boost their chances of making the semis.<\/p>\n

Their day two clash against Nelson Mandela Bay, on Friday at 14:00,,<\/strong> could determine which team joins KZN, Province and, likely, Central Gauteng in the battle for top honours.<\/p>\n

Both Eastern Cape outfits will be eager to impress in their home province after a rough opening day. Buffalo City’s results included an 18-4 loss to Province, while NMB went winless in their three matches.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, day two will not be any kinder to the Northern Tigers. They face a confident KZN<\/strong> side at 13:00<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Friday’s action begins at 07:00<\/strong> with a clash of the tournament’s two unbeaten teams, KZN and Western Province.<\/p>\n

ALL the action will be LIVE on the SuperSport Schools App, and DSTV Channel 216.<\/p>\n

Scores<\/strong><\/p>\n

Western Province (9) 15<\/strong>: Thomas Truter (x5), Nicholas Fall (x5), Arkin Marais, Ross Stewart, Zack Cicero, Connor Melling-Williams, Sebastian Kastern. Northern Tigers (4) 5<\/strong>: Kieron Potgieter, Criston Richter (x2), Adriaan Erasmus Vam Niekerk, Alexandre Kendrick Kelbrick.<\/p>\n

Central Gauteng (6) 12:<\/strong> Greg Pryce (x2), Ross Rovelli, Marc Smith (x2), Zico Williams, Jack Wilkins (x2), Mark Hudson, Declan Wood, Karabo Mamaregane (x2). Nelson Mandela Bay (0) 3: <\/strong>Zandre Botha, Camden Christian, Luke Lightening.<\/p>\n

KwaZulu-Natal (10) 14: \u00a0<\/strong>Luca Sandri (x3), James Pohl (x3), Tristan Uys (x3), Meyer Malherbe, Ethan Lyne (x2), Rhees Hall, Matthew Lortan. Buffalo City (6) 11: <\/strong>Liam Hansen (x2), Caleb Moon (x3), Kairon Roux (x3), Eythan Assem, Connor Maree (x3).<\/p>\n

Nelson Mandela Bay (5) 8: <\/strong>Nicholas Franklin (4), Daylan van Niekerk, Zabdre Botha (x2), Calum Emslie. Western Province (12) 23<\/strong>: Ross Stewart (x3), Adam October (x2), Thomas Truter (x7), Matthew de Villiers, Arkin Marais (x4), Salahuddin Khan, Connor-Melling Williams (x3), Nicholas Fall, Zack Cicero.<\/p>\n

Buffalo City 16: <\/strong>Caleb Moon, Liam Hansen (x4), Kairon Roux (x2), Thomas Caswell (x5), Armand van Rooyen, Connor Maree (x3). Northern Tigers 14: <\/strong>Julian Olivier (x2), Ben Melville (x7), Alexander Kelbrick (x5).<\/p>\n

KwaZulu-Natal 12: <\/strong>Meyer Malherbe (x5), Luca Sandri, Oliver Ditz (x4), Max Scully, Kirk Wilson. Central Gauteng 8: <\/strong>Ross Rovelli (x2), Greg Pryce (x2), Ross Stuart (x2), Nicholas Searle, Karabo Mamaregane.<\/p>\n

Western Province 18:\u00a0 <\/strong>Jandro Rojo-Ross (x4), Nicholas Fall (x2), Adam October, Connor-Melling Williams (x2), Thomas Truter (x4), Sebastian Kastern (x2), Arkin Marais (x2), Ross Stewart. Buffalo City 4: <\/strong>Kairon Roux (x3), Eythan Assam.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Nelson Mandela Bay 10: <\/strong>Luke Lightening, Coel Trollip, Calum Emslie (x2), Nicholas Franklin (x4), Raoul Eia (x2). KwaZulu-Natal 18: <\/strong>Luca Sandri (x2), Kirk Wilson, Rhees Hall (x3), Tristan Hall, James Pohl (x2), Max Scully (x4), Oliver Ditz (x2), Meyer Malherbe (x3).<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Northern Tigers 6: Alexander Kelbrick (x2), Ben Melville (x4). <\/strong>Central Gauteng 21: <\/strong>Ross Rovelli (x4), Nicholas Searle (x2), Greg Pryce (x2), Jack Wilkins (x4), Ross Stuart (x2), Zico Williams (x3), Karabo Mamaregane (x2), Mark Hudson (x2).<\/p>\n

Day 2<\/b><\/p>\n

Friday, 15 March 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

07:00 –<\/strong> KwaZulu-Natal vs Western Province; 08:00 –<\/strong> Central Gauteng vs Buffalo City; 09:00 –<\/strong> Northern Tigers vs Nelson Mandela Bay; 12:00 –<\/strong> Western Province vs Central Gauteng; 13:00 –<\/strong> Northern Tigers vs KwaZulu-Natal; 14:00 –<\/strong> Buffalo City vs Nelson Mandela Bay; 16:00 –<\/strong>\u00a0Semi-final 1; 17:00 –<\/strong> Semi-final 2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The highly anticipated South African Junior Water Polo Championships got off to an exhilarating start in East London on Thursday with a number of teams asserting themselves and building early momentum ahead of a busy weekend in the Joan Harrison Swimming Pool. Overnight rain freshened the water and, as the day progressed, the sun came […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":38000,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37991"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37991\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}