28 September 2025
Hilton College was crowned the champion of the Clifton Water Polo Tournament on Sunday afternoon after edging out St John’s College 10-8 in a gripping final at the Clifton Aquatic Centre.
For Hilton coach Paul Martin, it was a triumphant return to familiar surroundings. He had previously spent a decade in charge of Clifton’s water polo programme before moving to Hilton, and Sunday’s title-winning victory marked a fitting homecoming.
Early in the contest, the Midlands’ side struck first through their talisman, Tristan Uys, whose thunderbolt from range opened the scoring. He soon doubled the lead with a coolly converted penalty.
St John’s, though, are nothing if not resilient. They hit back through Fu-Nam Chen and Christopher Chapman to level matters at 2-2 late in the opening chukka.
Hilton’s responses to setbacks proved decisive, though. Uys completed a first-quarter hat-trick from the penalty spot, while goalkeeper Trent Chubb produced a vital save to preserve a 3-2 lead at the break.
Chapman brought St John’s level again early in the second chukka, but Uys was unstoppable, winning and converting another penalty to restore Hilton’s advantage. Chubb’s second big stop of the match then kept Hilton in front.
The game decisively swung Hilton’s way early in the third period when Andrew Schnell lobbed the goalkeeper to stretch the margin, before Bradley van Loggerenberg made it 6-3. St John’s pulled one back from a penalty, but almost immediately Uys answered with a spectacular helicopter finish. He picked up a red card shortly afterwards, though, which offered St John’s a glimmer of hope.
Simon Mussett cut the deficit to 5-7, only for Nicholas Searle to rattle the post from a penalty. Hilton then made the most of their reprieve, with Mitchel Garreau (feature photo) slotting from the spot to restore a three-goal cushion at 8-5 after three chukkas.
The final period brought more twists. Mussett scored again from a penalty, but Garreau quickly cancelled that out to make it 9-6.
St John’s kept coming, with Searle and Luke Shipway netting either side of another Garreau strike. At 10-8, the Johannesburg side pressed hard in the closing minutes, but Hilton’s defence, with Garrick Phillips and Thomas Taylor making key interventions, stood tall to close out a memorable win.
The Midlands boys’ ability to answer back immediately after conceding was their trademark throughout the tournament, and, in the end, their sharper edge in attack proved decisive.
Clifton College secured third place and the bronze medals, holding off Kearsney College 9-7 in a spirited contest. Remarkably, the hosts had no matric boys in their line-up. That fact and the depth in their younger age groups suggests they will be a major force in seasons to come.
Kearsney, with a seasoned squad, might feel they left something on the table, while SACS wrapped up fifth place with a convincing 9-3 victory over Selborne. Michaelhouse claimed seventh spot after beating Reddam House Constantia 11-7.
Durban High School (DHS) finished ninth, showing their true quality with a 9-4 win over Westville Boys’ High, who had edged them 9-8 in the group stages.
Affies settled for 11th after defeating Paul Roos 12-5, Northwood ended 13th following a 14-6 win over Maritzburg College, and King Edward VII (KES) finally hit their stride with a resounding 17-3 victory over Grey College.
RESULTS
15/16: KES 17-3 Grey College
13/14: Northwood 14-6 Maritzburg College
11/12: Affies 12-5 Paul Roos Gimnasium
9/10: Durban High School 9-4 Westville Boys’ High
7/8: Michaelhouse 11-7 Reddam House Constantia
5/6: SACS 9-3 Selborne College
3/4: Clifton College 9-7 Kearsney College
1/2: Hilton College 10-8 St John’s College
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