{"id":89023,"date":"2026-01-22T20:40:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T18:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=89023"},"modified":"2026-01-22T20:40:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T18:40:15","slug":"tight-clashes-and-cagey-affairs-as-sac-shields-opening-day-thrills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=89023","title":{"rendered":"Tight clashes and cagey affairs as SAC Shield’s opening day thrills"},"content":{"rendered":"
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St Andrew’s College goalkeeper and captain, Jacques Du Tiot, helped his side record a famous win against St John’s College. Photo: Toni Butterworth<\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Outrageous goals, shock results, and top-quality water polo highlighted the start of the annual St Andrew’s College (SAC) Shield Water Polo Tournament<\/a><\/strong>, which\u00a0got off to a gripping start in Makhanda on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The prestigious event pits some of the country’s best water polo-playing schools – from the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal – against each other. It runs through until Sunday.<\/p>\n

Catch all the action LIVE on SuperSport Schools<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In the past two years, the opening days of the tournament delivered bucketloads of goals and one-sided matches, but that wasn’t the case this time around. The matches were physical and competitive, and some of the big guns were given a taste of their own medicine.<\/p>\n

The story of the day was undeniably the upset caused by St Andrew’s<\/strong> when they defeated last year’s runner-up, St John\u2019s College<\/strong>, in Pool A.<\/p>\n

The hosts had made a shaky start to their campaign, going down 1-0 to Westville Boys’ High<\/strong> on penalties following a 7-7 draw early on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n