1 November 2023
The past month-plus of tournaments, featuring many of the province’s and South Africa’s best water-polo-playing schools, has been fascinating, with two schools, Hilton College and Clifton College, leading the way in KZN, while Kearsney College has made a big push to match them.
Recent weeks have been memorable for Kearsney’s water polo teams, with their 1st team winning the Northwood Stayers Tournament, their under-16 side finishing as runners-up to Selborne College at the DHS Nick Rey Tournament, and their under-14 team placing second at the Northwood Tournament this past weekend.
Hilton’s excellence
One school, though, has had a better run! Step forward, Hilton College. While their 1st team couldn’t quite crack the Clifton puzzle, Hilton’s under-14A and under-15A teams won the KZN Top 10 titles, and their 1st team was not far off, finishing as the runner-up to Clifton.
They, incredibly, also finished one spot behind the Durban school in the Clifton Water Polo Tournament, the Hussar Grill SACS Water Polo Tournament and, recently, with the stayers’ teams in action, at the St Stithians Invitational.
Hosts’ third as SACS win Clifton Water Polo Tournament | Pinnacle Schools (pinnacle-schools.com)
Clifton down Hilton to capture KZN Top 10 Water Polo title | Pinnacle Schools (pinnacle-schools.com)
Kearsney unbeaten, win Northwood Stayers Tournament | Pinnacle Schools (pinnacle-schools.com)
Northwood under-14 Tournament
However, at the Northwood Stayers Under-14 Tournament, which was also contested over the weekend, Hilton took the title. Kearsney, who finished fourth in the KZN Top 10, improved to second place.
Clifton, third in the KZN Top 10, ensured Hilton didn’t emerge with a completely clean slate, handing the black and white a narrow 3-4 loss. The Hilton side was, however, imperious in the remainder of their games, comfortably dealing with the challenges of Michaelhouse, Glenwood, Maritzburg College, Northwood, DHS, and Kearsney.
Kearsney, meanwhile, recorded a convincing 7-4 win over Clifton, the team that beat Hilton. But they were twice defeated by their Midlands rivals, who won 4-1 the first time out, and then cruised to an 8-2 victory in the final.
St Stithians Invitational
While there has been significant turnover in the Clifton College 1st team, they were, once again, the top KZN performers when many of the country’s best teams met this past weekend at the St Stithians Invitational Water Polo Tournament.
There, for the fourth tournament in succession, Clifton and Hilton met in the playoffs. The Durbanites, with KZN supremacy on the line, produced their best performance of the event to record a solid 5-2 victory.
With significant turnover happening in the Clifton ranks, in Johannesburg they lacked the outstanding consistency of the outgoing 2023 team, but they will undoubtedly grow as team, and they showed enough to suggest that they will be the team to beat at 1st team level in KZN in 2024.
The other team in action at the Saints Invitational was Michaelhouse, who went down 6-9 to Hilton in the playoffs. House, though, enjoyed a good tournament and they appear to be a team that is ascending.
Top 10 Table
The overall table, after the KZN Top 10, had Hilton top of the standings with a cumulative 32 points, while Clifton were just three points adrift, on 29 points, and Kearsney came in third, with 23 points.
It looks as if those three schools will battle it out for the top spot next year, and it might be even closer than those figures show, given Kearsney’s excellent recent results.
While Kearsney might give Clifton and Hilton headaches in 2024, there is sufficient talent spread throughout the KZN schools for that trio to be challenged. Tight competition will make KZN schoolboys’ water polo the winner.
KZN TOP 10 POINTS TABLES
Overall
Hilton 32
Clifton 29
Kearsney 23
Westville 20
Northwood 18
Michaelhouse 15
Maritzburg College 14
DHS 11
Glenwood 5
KZN Invitation 4
u14
Hilton 11
Westville 10
Clifton 8
Kearsney 7
Northwood 6
Michaelhouse 5
Maritzburg College 4
DHS 3
Glenwood 2
KZN Invitation 1
u15
Hilton 11
Clifton 10
Kearsney 8
Maritzburg College 7
Michaelhouse 6
Northwood 5
Westville 4
DHS 3
KZN Invitation 2
Glenwood 1
1st
Clifton 11
Hilton 10
Kearsney 8
Northwood 7
Westville 6
DHS 5
Michaelhouse 4
Maritzburg College 3
Glenwood 2
KZN Invitation 1
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