Blog

Kamogelo Phiri smashed an outstanding half-century, while Jason Rowles bagged a five-wicket haul as St David’s Marist Inanda soundly defeated Helpmekaar by an emphatic 56 runs in their Johnny Waite T20 match at St David’s on Wednesday afternoon.

Helpmekaar won the toss, chose to bowl first, and held the hosts to 148/5 in their 20 overs. St David’s then skittled the visitors for just 92 in 15.5 overs, thanks to a brilliant display of spin-bowling from Rowles.

Kamogelo Phiri cracked nine boundaries – five fours and four sixes – on his way to a brilliant 78 off 55 to play the pivotal knock in the St David’s innings. He arrived at the crease after the first delivery of the fourth over, which had led to the dismissal of Rowles after he scored a watchful nine runs from 10 deliveries.

Things went from bad to worse for St David’s when they lost their second wicket nine balls later. Those early wickets tied down Jeff Levin’s charges and they finished the powerplay on 43/2 for a strike rate of 7.17 runs an over.

Helpmekaar’s bowling attack saw to it that St David’s did not have big partnerships by striking at regular intervals. The home side needed someone to bat deep to counter Helpmekaar’s wicket-taking, and that is what Phiri did. He stayed in the middle for 14.2 overs and was dismissed off the last delivery of the innings while trying to clear the boundary.

By then, he had shared a sharp 64-run fifth-wicket stand with Hayden Campbell, who weighed with an unbeaten 16. The home side’s next-best partnership was Rowles and Armaan Manack’s 26 runs for the first wicket. Armaan Manack contributed 14 runs to the total, while his brother Morteza added 12.

When it was their turn to bat, Helpmekaar barely got going. They lost their first wicket in the first over and, from there, their batsmen struggled to engage a third gear. Only two went at a strike rate above 100, and even then they barely made it. Kyle Swanepoel went at 109 and Anthony Stone at 106.

Stone top-scored for the visitors with a 43-ball 46, while Swanepoel, with 12, and Zuan Joubert, with 15, were the only other visiting batsmen to reach double figures.

If the Helpmekaar innings fell flat, it was in part because of the bowling of Jason Rowles. The all-rounder bamboozled the visitors’ middle and lower order on his way to an innings destroying five wickets for 17 runs from 3.5 overs. His spell included 17 dot balls from 23 deliveries.

Christopher Emslie, who took the first wicket for St David’s, finished with two wickets for 25 runs in three overs.

Summarised Scorecards

St David’s Marist Inanda 148/5 (Kamogelo Phiri 78, Hayden Campbell 16*; Anrich Liebenberg 1/10, Aiden Pretorius 1/31); Helpmekaar Kollege 92/10 (Anthony Stone 46, Zuan Joubert 15; Jason Rowles 5/17, Christopher Emslie 2/25).

St David’s Marist Inanda won by 56 runs.

Player of the Match, Karabo Meso, carved an outstanding maiden international half-century and was brilliant with the gloves as South Africa Women u19 outplayed Ireland Women u19 in their Youth T20 series clash at the University of Pretoria on Wednesday.

South Africa recorded an emphatic 58-run victory to establish an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

Ireland’s captain, Amy Hunter, won the toss and decided to bowl first, hoping her bowling attack could emulate the success that the hosts enjoyed on Monday.

That was not to be as South Africa chalked up 147/7 from their 20 overs. That total proved to be a mountain too high to climb for the visitors, who stumbled to 89/9 from their 20.

Meso struck eight fours and a six on her way to a match-winning 60 off 44 balls.

When the Steyn City learner arrived at the crease in the seventh over, South Africa needed to rebuild after wickets fell from back-to-back deliveries. The double-strike by Aimee Maguire meant that the home team had lost three wickets for 10 runs in 2.5 overs.

Meso bided her time, scoring at less than a run-a-ball through the first half of her innings, but a 62-run fourth-wicket partnership with Diara Ramlakan (31) not only stabilised the South African innings, but it swung the momentum firmly in favour of the home side.

The pair’s partnership, which came from only 46 deliveries, also propelled the hosts past the 100-run mark in the 15th over. It had taken South Africa more than nine overs to get past 50 runs. It also marked the third time in the three matches that Ramlakan, another Steyn City learner, had been part of a match-winning partnership.

Meanwhile, Meso charged towards her first Youth T20 International half-century while sharing an enterprising sixth-wicket stand with Luyanda Nzuza (16). Together, they added 39 runs from 27 balls. Openers, Diedre van Rensburg (19) and Simoné Lourens (13) were the only other batters to reach double figures.

Aimee Maguire was the pick of the Irish bowlers and returned the best figures of the match, capturing a sparkling four wickets for 29 runs. Lara McBride and Niamh MacNulty bagged a wicket each.

After her batting brilliance, Meso then put on a show behind the stumps. The wicketkeeper executed an outstanding stumping off Kayla Reyneke’s bowling to dismiss Freya Sargent in the second over and the Irish ladies never quite recovered from that setback.

They lost wickets in clumps, with four of them toppling in the powerplay. They also failed to get a measure of both the pitch and the field, inaccurately judging singles and twos. The result was that they lost a stunning four batters to run outs, with three of them featuring Meso, who displayed outstanding reflexes.

Abby Harrison (21), Ellie McGee (18), and Kia McCartney (11) were the only Ireland batters to make it into double figures.

Reyneke was the pick of the home side’s bowlers, claiming three wickets for 10 runs in three overs. Seshnie Naidu and Nthabiseng Nini were the other wicket-takers, removing one batter each.

The sides will play the remaining two games on Friday, with the hosts eyeing a series whitewash.

Summarised Scorecards

South Africa Women u19 147/7 (Karabo Meso 60, Diara Ramlakan 31; Aimee Maguire 4/29, Niamh MacNulty 1/27); Ireland Women u19 89/9 (Abby Harrison 21, Ellie McGee 18*; Kayla Reyneke 3/10, Seshnie Naidu 1/11).

South Africa won by 58 runs.

After surviving a hard-fought Schools SA20 battle with Durban High School (DHS) the previous week, Clifton College breezed through their next match in the competition, thumping Grantleigh High School by 137 runs in a quarterfinal clash at the Riverside Sports Club on Wednesday.

The home team elected to bat first after winning the toss and their openers, Byron Ward and Hayden Drieselmann turned that into a very good decision by sharing an opening stand of 92 runs. It ended when Drieselmann was caught by Luca Olivier off the bowling of Dillen Pieterse for 37 from 36 balls, which had included five fours.

Ward continued on his merry way, advancing the total to 137 with Tim Saulez before the opener’s cracking innings was halted by a run out. He had faced only 39 balls for 64 runs, smashing two sixes and eight fours.

Saulez was out with the total on 151 after a quickfire 35 from 17 deliveries, three of which he deposited over the boundary, with another two sent to the boundary.

Muhammed Malek weighed in with an unbeaten 25 off 17 as Clifton finished on 196/5, setting their visitors from Richards Bay a steep required run rate of 9.85 to win.

Grantleigh’s bowlers claimed only three of the five wickets to fall – the other two were from run outs – with Dillen Pieterse’s 1/8 from two overs their best return. Tristan van Rooyen did a tidy job, picking up 1/27 in four.

The visitors made a decent start to their reply, with Van Rooyen and Yadav Davarm putting on 16 for the first wicket but, once Tim Saulez had bowled Van Rooyen for eight, the wickets began to tumble.

That opening stand proved to be the best of Grantleigh’s innings, but they had few answers for Saulez. He ripped through their batting, capturing a scintillating 5/13 from his four overs.

Shiraz Perumal saw the first ball he bowled struck for four but retaliated with two quick wickets to snap up 2/10 in 1.5 overs. Gabriel Vermeulen, also, played his part by claiming 2/22 as Grantleigh folded for 59 in only 10.5 overs.

It was a decisive performance from the Clifton attack, but 12 wides and 16 extras will be a slight cause for concern.

Kian Topham led Grantleigh’s batsmen with nine runs.

Summarised Scorecard

Clifton College 196/5 (Byron Ward 64, Hayden Drieselmann 37, Tim Saulez 35, Muhammad Malek 25*, Dillen Pieterse 1/8); Grantleigh High School 59/10 (Tim Saulez 5/13, Shiraz Perumal 2/10, Gabriel Vermeulen 2/22). Clifton College won by 137 runs.

Hoërskool Middelburg reigned victorious in the Middelburg derby, convincingly beating Hoër Tegniese Skool (HTS) Middelburg by eight wickets on Saturday.

Relive all the action on SuperSport Schools – (www.supersportschools.com)

Just a day after defeating Hoërskool Kempton Park in the quarter-final round of the Fain Noordvaal competition, the Middies went into battle with their neighbours, HTS Middelburg, in the schools’ annual derby.

To celebrate their long-standing rivalry, and to support a good cause, the match stood as the centrepiece of a Pink Day in support of breast cancer awareness.

As they had done against Kempton Park, the Middies’ bowling attack performed well, with Eduan Strydom leading the charge this time around. In seven overs, two of which were maidens, he conceded only 19 runs and dismissed four batsmen.

He combined nicely with the hero of Middelburg’s win over Kempton Park, Gavin Genis, who snared another three wickets to take his tally up to eight wickets across the two days of cricket.

Genis started the HTS collapse, claiming the wicket of their top scorer, Ruben Jooste, for a rapid 27 from only 12 balls. Strydom struck soon after that, sending Marinus Enslin back to the pavilion for 24 runs. A flurry of wickets followed before HTS captain, Toy Engelbrecht, struck a quickfire 24, also from only 12 deliveries, to get his side to 119 before their last wicket fell.

Engelbrecht was also the first one to strike with the ball, removing opener Le Roux French with the second ball of the Middies’ innings. Herman Potgieter and Reuben Brandmuller, however, oozed confidence with the bat.

Potgieter struck 10 fours and raced to an unbeaten 51, while Brandmuller cleared the boundary three times and added five fours in his contribution of an undefeated 49 as the pair combined for a match-winning and unbroken 103-run partnership to see Hoërskool Middelburg home in just 13.3 overs.

Summarised scorecard

Hoër Tegniese Skool Middelburg 119 (Ruben Jooste 27, Toy Engelbrecht 24, Marinus Enslin 24; Eduan Strydom 4/19, Gavin Genis 3/51, Shaun Taljaard 2/9); Hoërskool Middelburg 120/2 (Herman Potgieter 51*, Reuben Brandmuller 49; Toy Engelbrecht 1/19). Hoërskool Middelburg won by eight wickets.

Jeppe High School for Boys came out on top in a low-scoring thriller against Pretoria Boys High School in Johannesburg on Saturday.

Relive all the action on SuperSport Schools – (www.supersportschools.com)

The Johannesburg side’s first little victory was winning the toss, after which they elected to bowl. What, at first, might have seemed like a questionable decision soon turned into a great toss to win.

Boys High’s opening pair Joseph van Dijk and Joshua Hall had the Jeppe bowlers toiling away as they put up a hard-fought 50-run partnership. Van Dijk was the main contributor to the Boys High innings, with his 76-ball knock resulting in an invaluable 47 runs.

However, Jeppe’s Munib Ayob and leg-spinner Shreshth Kumar soon turned the tide.

Ayob, gnawing away on a challenging length with his accurate right-arm medium pacers piled on the pressure, bowling 50 dot balls and conceding only 15 runs in 9.5 overs. That disciplined approach brought him four wickets as the Boys High batsmen soon had no choice but to go after him.

Kumar bowled impressively, too, in partnership with Ayob. The leg-spinner held up his end expertly, snaring an impressive 3/31 from  10 overs.

Patrick Mouton was the only other Boys High batsman to make a noteworthy contribution, weighing in with an important 25 runs to help the side from Pretoria past the 150-run mark to 156 all-out.

One wonders what was said in the Boys High huddle during the innings’ change as the visitors’ bowlers came out firing. Taking a leaf out of Ayob’s book, the Boys High bowlers kept on hitting a good length, making it tough for the Jeppe batsmen to score.

Opening bowler, Jaydon Knott-Craig, was the pick of the visiting bowlers, capturing a tidy 2/23 in 10 overs. His performance fired up Euan Gottfried (2/22) and the rest of the attack as they chipped away with timely wickets.

However, Jeppe’s Aiden Reyneke kept his composure and grafted hard for a vital 28 runs from 55 deliveries, while McKenzie Roos contributed a telling 26 not out, which steered the home side across the line in the 47th over, with only two wickets to spare.

Summarised scorecard

Pretoria Boys High School 156/10 (Joseph van Dijk 47, Patrick Mouton 25; Munib Ayob 4/15, Shreshth Kumar 3/31); Jeppe High School for Boys 157/8 (Aiden Reyneke 28, Mckenzie Ross 26*, Extras 24, Ethan Elliot 23; Euan Gottfried 2/22, Jaydon Knott-Craig 2/23, Steyn Botha 2/25, Patrick Mouton 2/39). Jeppe High School for Boys won by two wickets.

The South African u17 boys’ hockey team is gearing up to take part in the third edition of the Dato Mirnawan Cup in Malaysia over the coming week.

The tournament, which is hosted by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation, will be played in Kuala Lumpur and is scheduled to run from 1-10 November.

It will be the second time that a South African team contests the event after last year’s crop of players won silver medals after losing 3-4 to India in the final.

For a second year running, the team will be coached by Northwood’s Justin Collins, while the captain will be SACS dangerman Reece Theunis.

It’s an 18-player squad filled with talent from across the country, with a variety of provinces represented.

Eastern Province boasts five players, including three – Dante Elkington,  goalkeeper Kaino Broadhurst, and Keegan Le Roux – from Grey High School.

Chulumanco Mkontwana, who shone for Pearson High this past season, also earned himself a spot in the team along with Gregory Rodwell, from St Andrew’s College.

The Western Province representatives are the SACS‘ trio of Josh Le Roux, Mohlodi Maseko, and Theunis, who are joined by Callum Anderson, from Bishops.

Boland won the u16 SASHOC National Week in the mid-year holidays, and three players who were part of that winning team – Logan Lackay (Paul Roos), Tylor Carter (Paul Roos), and Stephan Malan (Parel Vallei) – will also jet off to Malaysia.

They will be joined by the experienced Christo Swanepoel, also from Paul Roos Gimnasium, who was called up to replace Litha Kraai after his selection for the SA Men’s Indoor World Cup squad.

The rest of the side is made up of three KwaZulu-Natal players: Coastal‘s Christopher Abrahams, from Durban High School (DHS), and Ryde Brisset, from Clifton College, were included, along with Maritzburg College‘s Siwaphiwe Sithembu, who was in top form for the KZN Inland side at the SASHOC National Week.

Jeppe‘s Juan Martin (Southern Gauteng) and Pretoria Boys High‘s Victor Louw (Northern Tigers) complete the squad.

Speaking to SuperSport Schools Plus ahead of the tournament, skipper Reece Theunis said he was looking forward to leading his team on the world stage, despite the limited time they have had to train as a unit.

“Training in a centralised area with the whole team would be the most ideal situation, but being in different cities, it is tough,” he said.

“We will have to create that team culture and chemistry. Other than that, our team is looking extremely strong, with a lot of raw talent shown, and skilled players among the boys.

“It will be my first time playing with most of the boys in the team, so I’m quite excited to see how we will get on.”

Theunis, who won the u18 SASHOC National Week title with Western Province, is the only player remaining from last year’s silver medal-winning team.

He said he’s picked up lessons from last year’s campaign and that experience should serve him well in Malaysia.

“The tour is a big step up from provincial hockey to international hockey, as the game is much quicker and has an even smaller margin for error.

“Personally, I struggled with emotions on the field last year and this year, but with the help of many people, I have learnt how to deal with my emotions much better,” he admitted.

“Going to Malaysia, I am more than prepared for this and am very thankful for those who have helped me overcome this.”

Theunis said he understands the responsibility that comes with wearing the captain’s armband for his country.

South Africa opens their account on Sunday, 3 November, against Canada before taking on South Korea the following day.

They play their final Group A game on Tuesday, 5 November, against the Malaysia Tigers.

Theunis insisted that the South African team is not going to Malaysia to make up the numbers, They intend to challenge for the title.

“Obviously, as a team, we are going to Malaysia to go unbeaten and to get that gold medal around our necks.

“We want to show the world that South Africa has that fighting spirit and will compete against every team that we face,” he said.

South Africa u17 Squad

Kaino Broadhurst, Chulumanco Mkontwana, Keegan le Roux, Gregory Rodwell, Dante Elkington (all Eastern Province), Joshua le Roux, Mohlodi Maseko, Callum Anderson, Reece Theunis (all Western Province), Logan Lackay, Stephan Malan, Tylor Carter, Christo Swanepoel (all Boland), Ryde Brisset, Christopher Abrahams (KZN Coastal), Siwaphiwe Sithembu (KZN Inland), Juan Martin (Southern Gauteng), Victor Louw (Northern Tigers).

Staff

Manager: Jason Syce
Head Coach: Justin Collins
Assistant Coach: Lance Louw
Physio: Keagan Lailvaux
Video Analyst: Keegan Pearce

Group Fixtures

3 November 

16:00 – South Africa vs Canada

4 November

16:00 – South Africa vs Korea

5 November

20:00 – South Africa vs Malaysia Tigers

Kayla Reyneke, Ashleigh van Wyk, and Fay Cowling were in fine form as South Africa Women u19 overwhelmed Ireland Women u19 in the first two matches of their five-match Youth T20I series at the Groenkloof Oval on Monday in Pretoria.

In the first match, played in the morning, South Africa won the toss, elected to bowl first, and restricted Ireland to only 113/8. Captain Reyneke and company needed only 13.1 overs to score 115/4 in reply and claim victory.

The hosts chose not to change a winning formula for the afternoon encounter. They won the toss, again chose to field, and were even tougher on Ireland, holding the tourists to just 93/8 in their 20 overs. Then, with the bat, the South African side was even more emphatic in sealing victory than they had been earlier in the day, racing to 94/4 in 9.2 overs.

South Africa leads the series 2-0 and will be aiming to make it 3-0 and wrap up a series win when the sides play again on Wednesday.

In the morning’s match, the Irish innings was doomed from the first over of the day. Nthabiseng Nini saw to it that the visitors did not have a good start by any measure by breaching Freya Sargent’s defences in the first over. However, the visitors consolidated through Amy Hunter and Alice Tector, who scored 52 runs in their second-wicket partnership.

Matters rapidly changed after Mona-Lisa Legodi dismissed Hunter. The wicket taken by the Prestige College learner was the beginning of a downhill spiral for Ireland. Ashleigh van Wyk followed the removal of Hunter with the wicket of Tector with the next delivery. The leg spinner from Marais Viljoen spun webs around the Irish batters as she bagged three wickets for 22 runs from her four-over spell.

Reyneke emerged from the innings break in no mood to stick around and make a meal out of the chase. The South Africa captain made it seem as if she was batting on a different surface than everyone else, carving a wonderful unbeaten 46 off 27 balls to shepherd the home side to victory. The former Hoërskool Bellville learner struck five fours and two sixes.

She also shared a match-winning 55-run third-wicket partnership with Diara Ramlakan (18) which all but sealed South Africa’s win.

In the afternoon match, the visitors had a better start. They didn’t lose their first wicket until the fifth over when Fay Cowling broke a dangerous-looking opening stand between Sargent (9) and Hunter (24). As had happened in the previous game, the loss of the first wicket triggered a collapse. Hunter’s dismissal was the first of four wickets to fall in 5.1 overs for only 22 runs.

Cowling gave little away, adhering to a nagging and challenging line and length. The Jeppe High School for Girls seam bowler’s discipline was outstanding and she conceded only three runs in three overs while capturing three wickets in the process. She also pouched the catch that sent Sargent on her way just as she looked like she was preparing to score big.

Then, during the South Africa innings, Cowling put her all-round abilities on display, striking an unbeaten 18 off 10 balls to steer the hosts over the line. When she arrived at the crease, South Africa was on 67/4 after decent contributions from their top order.

Simone Lourens and Jemma Botha had kicked things off with a 19-run opening partnership. As they did in the first innings, Reyneke (19) and Ramlakan (19) shared a useful partnership, adding 40 runs to the score for the third wicket.

Niamh MacNulty and Aimee Maguire dismissed the duo within four deliveries of each other. However, that was too little too late.

Summarised Scorecards

Match 1

Ireland u19 113/8 (Amy Hunter 24, Alice Tector 24; Ashleigh van Wyk 3/22, Ntabiseng Nini 1/15); South Africa u19 115/4 (Kayla Reyneke 46*, Simone Lourens 19, Kia McCartney 2/16, Freya Sargent 1/20) South Africa won by six wickets.

Match 2

Ireland u19 93/8 (Freya Sargent (24), Ellie McGee 13; Fay Cowling 3/3, Ashleigh van Wyk 1/14); South Africa u19 94/4 (Diara Ramlakan 19, Kayla Reyneke 19; Freya Sargent 2/18, Aimee Maguire 1/21). South Africa won by six wickets.

NWU Vaal FC’s u19s beat the School of Excellence 1-0 at Elandsfontein on Saturday to walk away with maximum points, which lifted them to 14th place on the Gauteng Development League (GDL) log.

The win by NWU Vaal over one of South Africa’s most highly regarded academies showed that the GDL newcomers have assimilated to meet the demands of the league. More than that, their victory showed they belonged.

It took coach Tebello Kheswa‘s NWU Vaal side a little longer than expected to acclimatise to the high-intensity football that is on display in the GDL week in and out.

Last season, they dominated the promotional league and competed fiercely in cup competitions, which included ousting Mamelodi Sundowns from the GDL Youth Cup before finally being stopped by Kaizer Chiefs in the final.

Based on those excellent performances, many expected Kheswa and his young troops to quickly find their feet in the GDL after their promotion was announced.

However, a late start to their season, caused by an attempted change of name, of all things, led to NWU Vaal playing catch-up from the start. They were also behind in terms of match fitness. That cost them and they’ve had to stomach 17 losses while winning only nine times, including Saturday’s impressive victory over School of Excellence.

However, their performance away from home, in Elandsfontein, proved that they have what it takes to become contenders.

At the University of Pretoria Sports Campus, Tuks hosted the defending champions and current log leaders, Highlands Park, on Saturday.

The Lions of the North demonstrated their hunger for a successful defence of their title with a confident 4-0 away victory. With three more points to bolster their points’ total, they further strengthened their case as champions-elect as the GDL races towards its conclusion.

On Sunday, Tuks were in action once more. Despite again playing at home, Jomo Cosmos heaped more misery on Tuks, netting three times without reply to hand their opponents a second big loss in succession.

After 34 matches, Cosmos have completed their schedule. They occupy seventh place in the standings, with 14 wins and 12 losses.

Rosina Sedibane Modiba Sports School picked up three points with a closely contested 1-0 home win over Kathorus Hyper Academy.

At Naturena Village, the highly anticipated fixture between two title-chasing teams – third-placed Kaizer Chiefs and second-placed Mamelodi Sundowns – was called off because of lightning.

RESULTS

Saturday, 26 October

School of Excellence 0-1 NWU-Vaal
Tuks 0-4 Highlands Park

Sunday, 27 October

Tuks 0-3 Jomo Cosmos
Rosina Sedibane Modiba Sports School 1-0 Kathorus Hyper Academy
Kaizer Chiefs vs Mamelodi Sundowns (called off, lightning)

Sunday’s finals saw St Stithians College succeed St Benedict’s College as the u18 champions and St David’s Marist Inanda succeed Michael Mount Waldorf as the u15 champions of the St David’s Inanda Hoops Classic Challenge.

The u18 final was a battle of traditional rivals, with Saints battling St John’s College for the title. Both had produced performances that justified their places in the final.

As often happens in title deciders, the contest was a low-scoring affair, with both units playing stifling defence. St Stithians, though, had the edge and they came away with a tough 35-25 win. Saints’ Benedict Agammouh was also named the u18 Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament.

King Edward VII School (KES) took on last year’s winners, St Benedict’s, for third place, with KES securing a 46-36 win over Bennies to lay claim to the bronze medals.

In the u15 division, the home team, St David’s, delighted their home supporters by scoring a narrow 35-33 win over St Alban’s College to lift the title.

St David’s was in a championship mood throughout the tournament and went unbeaten. They also produced the u15 MVP, with Lelentle Nthlokwa cracking the nod.

St Benedict’s took on St Stithians for third in the u15 competition. After another tightly contested clash, it was Bennies who came away with a 46-39 win, a result which would have been encouraging for both schools as it showed they have good depth in both the open and u15 age groups.

After four days of thrilling basketball action, Elvis Ukpong, the Director of Basketball at St David’s, expressed his gratitude to the supporters, sponsors – Sebamed, Fasken, NBA Africa Store – and SuperSport Schools for their coverage of the Inanda Hoops Classic Challenge.

U18 RESULTS 

Final Placing Games 9-16

Position 9 and 10: Hilton College 52-40 Grey High
Position 11 and 12: King’s Linbro 52-30 St Andrew’s College
Position 13 and 14: St Peter’s College 29-21 Parktown Boys
Position 15 and 16: Redhill 36-28 Sacred Heart

Final Placing Games 5-8

Position 5 and 6: Pretoria Boys 39-31 Michael Mount
Position 7 and 8: Jeppe Boys 35-19 St David’s

Bronze

King Edward VII School 46-39 St Benedict’s College

Final 

St Stithians College 35-25 St John’s College

u18 Final Standings 

1. 1. St Stithians College
   2. St John’s College
   3. King Edward VII School
   4. St Benedict’s College
   5. Pretoria Boys High
   6. Michael Mount
   7. Jeppe Boys
   8. St David’s Marist Inanda
   9. Hilton College
   10. Grey High
   11. King’s Linbro
   12. St Andrew’s College
   13. St Peter’s College
   14. Parktown Boys
   15. Redhill
   16. Sacred Heart

U15 RESULTS 

Final Placing Games 9-16

Position 9 and 10: Hilton College 38-36 Pretoria Boys
Position 11 and 12: Parktown Boys 48-24 Michael Mount
Position 13 and 14: King’s Linbro 40-24 Jeppe Boys
Position 15 and 16: St Peter’s College 32-18 Redhill

Final Placing Games 5-8

Position 5 and 6: Sacred Heart 47-46 King Edward VII School
Position 7 and 8: St Andrew’s College 30-28 St John’s College

Bronze 

St Benedict’s College 46-39 St Stithians College

Final 

St David’s 35-33 St Albans

u15 Final Standings

1. St David’s Marist Inanda
2. St Alban’s College
3. St Benedict’s College
4. St Stithians College
5. Sacred Heart
6. King Edward VII School
7. St Andrew’s College
8. St John’s College
9. Hilton College
10. Pretoria Boys High
11. Parktown Boys
12. Michael Mount
13. King’s Linbro
14. Jeppe Boys
15. St Peter’s College
16. Redhill

Kearsney College made history at the annual St Stithians Invitational Water Polo Tournament when they came from behind to clinch an impressive 17-14 win over Bishops Diocesan College in the final, played in the Olympic Pool on Sunday.

The KwaZulu-Natal outfit entered the final unbeaten after recording wins over SACS, Hilton College, Pretoria Boys High, and Jeppe High School for Boys in Group C.

In the knockout stages, coach Nick Rodda‘s team edged out St Andrew’s College 11-9 before beating a highly regarded St John’s College team 8-7 to book themselves a spot in the final against Bishops.

In Bishops, they came up against a side that had enjoyed a similar run of success after an emphatic showing during their Group B matches. Coach Jabulani Sibiya‘s team collected victories over St John’s, King Edward VII (KES), Michaelhouse, and Pearson High while finishing the group stage as the event’s highest scorers by 20 goals.

In the quarterfinals, they dealt their Cape Town rivals, SACS, a 14-10 defeat. Then, in the semi-finals, they were pushed all the way by Hilton College, but a late goal from Matt Fenn sealed a 7-6 win and a place in the title decider.

Bishops, as they had done throughout the tournament, started the final like a house on fire and, after two chukkas, they led Kearsney 8-6.

The Botha’s Hill boys were kept in the game by a brace each from Thomas Francke and Levi Thom, while captain James Pohl struck once, as did Luca Sandri.

In the third chukka, coach Rodda’s team changed the complexion of the match by scoring first from a five-metre penalty that was converted by the experienced Oliver Ludwig.

Matt Fenn, who had been deadly for Bishops throughout the tournament, inched his side ahead again, and at the end of the third chukka the Cape Town outfit was a goal to the good in a high-scoring clash by an 11-10 margin. Thomas Aylward had netted twice for Kearsney, with Sandri adding a second to his tally.

With the title on the line and one more chukka to play, Kearsney came alive and blew Bishops away as Sandri, Thom, and Aylward all completed their hattricks.

James Whatmore also struck twice, with his second coming with only four seconds remaining to seal the win by a three-goal margin for the KZN team.

Reacting to the victory, head coach Nick Rodda said he was pleased with the fighting spirit that brought his team from behind to victory and the title.

“We’ve had some slow starts and some fightbacks in some of the games,” he admitted, “but, overall, it’s been exceptional,” he told SuperSport Schools Plus.

“We were the underdogs. Having not performed here before, we came in unaware of Bishops and their talent.

“Overall, I’m incredibly happy and [we’re] looking good for the next two years. We have some great youngsters who aren’t here to join the team in the future.”

The Saints Invitational title is Kearsney’s second piece of silverware this season after they claimed top honours at the KZN Top 10 Water Polo Tournament two weeks ago.

Rodda believes the water polo programme at Kearsney will go from strength to strength. “We’ve just been working on our foundations,” he explained.

“The previous coach, Pierre Le Roux, who moved to New Zealand, did the groundwork. I’ve come through and put the pieces together, having been at Kearsney for only two years.

Kearsney’s season in KZN is almost done. In December, some of the school’s players will be in action for KZN at the annual Schools Water Polo South Africa Inter-Provincial Tournament in East London.

Rodda said he’s setting the bar high for 2015. “We have two fixtures left in KZN. Our next goal is to hopefully get an invite to the KES (King Edward VII) tournament and go for gold there next year.

“If not, we are hoping for another gold at the Reef Cup, should we not go to KES,” he concluded.

St John’s College took home the bronze medals after beating Hilton 6-5 in the third/fourth playoff match. The defending champions, SACS had to settle for sixth place after going down 3-7 to St David’s Marist Inanda.

Among the other winners on the final day were St Alban’s, Affies, Pretoria Boys High, Michaelhouse, Durban High School, St Stithians, and Rondebosch.

Day 4 Results | Boys

St Alban’s College 8-7 Grey College
Affies 10-1 Pearson
Pretoria Boys High 5-2 Grey High
Michaelhouse 9-6 Jeppe High School for Boys
Durban High School 11-6 Reddam House Constantia
St Stithians College 5-3 King Edward VII
Rondebosch Boys’ High 12-4 St Andrew’s College
St David’s Marist Inanda 7-3 SACS
St John’s College 6-5 Hilton College
Kearsney College 17-14 Bishops Diocesan College