18 September 2026
(Feature photo: SACS beat Northwood by two goals and Hilton by one to top Pool D)
While Clifton College and St John’s College cruised to the top of their respective pools on Friday at the Clifton Water Polo Tournament in Durban, SACS claimed a crucial victory over defending champions Hilton College to finish first in Pool D, and Kearsney College topped Pool B, which produced one of the tournament’s biggest upsets.
The consequence of SACS beating Hilton is a quarterfinal showdown on Saturday morning between last year’s finalists, Hilton, and St John’s College.
The day’s big surprise came from Clifton 2, a youthful side comprising mainly U16 and U17 players. They had begun the day with a heavy 5-15 defeat to Kearsney, who went on to complete an unbeaten run at the top of Pool B with a hard-fought 16-13 victory over Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG).
But the young Clifton side responded in spectacular style against Michaelhouse, upsetting the Balgowan boys in a nail-biter.
Catch the action LIVE on SuperSport Schools
Michaelhouse had opened their Friday campaign with a 5-3 victory over PRG and appeared well organised, but Clifton 2 threw the formbook out of the window, edging out the Balgowan side 5-4.
It was a significant result for a talented but inexperienced Clifton 2 team that had struggled to find its best form in their opening two matches. Against Michaelhouse, however, they finally showed what they are capable of.
Clifton’s senior side, meanwhile, dominated Pool A, producing a commanding 12-6 victory over Reddam House Constantia.
Reddam’s challenge was weakened when they lost Adam Brown to a hand injury. Brown had caused Clifton problems throughout the contest with his accurate shooting, and his departure changed the complexion of the match.
Clifton coach Pierre le Roux was pleased with his side’s performance. They defended well, moved the ball confidently and effectively on attack, and functioned well as a unit.
It was an impressive all-round team effort, with Jamie Nicolau particularly prominent with an outstanding display in the hole.
Clifton later wrapped up top spot in Pool A with an emphatic 11-3 victory over Selborne College, who had earlier suffered a 6-8 defeat to Durban High School (DHS).
That was a tough setback for the East London side after they had opened their campaign with an impressive 13-9 win over Reddam House.
Reddam bounced back strongly, however, beating DHS 17-7.
St John’s was equally commanding in Pool C, although they were made to work harder than expected by Maritzburg College early in their clash. College was well in the game, trailing only 4-5, but St John’s stayed composed, flicked a switch, and raced clear to an emphatic 18-7 victory.
They later defeated Westville Boys’ High 14-5 to confirm their position at the top of the pool and, alongside Clifton, emerged as the most dominant sides in the group stage.
Westville was also involved in one of Friday’s most entertaining contests. In a crucial clash against Affies, the Pretoria side snatched a dramatic 9-8 victory.
Drew Hollingsworth gave the Griffins a late lead, and it looked as though the goal might prove decisive, but Affies’ Gunther Taute quickly restored parity before Joshua Bergh fired in the winner late in the final minute of the game.
Affies later secured second place in the pool with a 12-7 victory over Maritzburg College, setting up a Saturday morning playoff against the Pool D winners, SACS.
Pool D proved to be the most competitive of the groups.
On Friday, SACS produced a pair of crucial victories. They first downed nuggetty Northwood 9-7 before edging out the defending champions Hilton 6-5 in the afternoon. The latter result had major consequences.
Hilton’s defeat consigned them to a challenging clash with St John’s in a repeat of the 2025 final. SACS, meanwhile, will tackle Affies, who lost 7-12 to St John’s on Thursday.
Hilton had earlier beaten King Edward VII (KES) 15-9, while KES edged out Northwood 11-10 in their second match.
It was a particularly cruel group-stage campaign for the Knights, who lost all three of their matches, twice by a single goal and once by two, underlining just how tight the competition was in Pool D.
RESULTS
Pool A
Clifton 12-6 Reddam House Constantia
DHS 8-6 Selborne
Clifton 11-3 Selborne
Reddam 17-7 DHS
Pool B
Kearsney 15-5 Clifton 2
Michaelhouse 5-3 Paul Roos
Kearsney 16-13 Paul Roos
Clifton 2 5-4 Michaelhouse
Pool C
St John’s 18-7 Maritzburg College
Affies 9-8 Westville
St John’s 14-5 Westville
Affies 12-7 Maritzburg College
Pool D
SACS 9-7 Northwood
Hilton 15-9 KES
SACS 6-5 Hilton
KES 11-10 Northwood
FIXTURES
Saturday, 19 September
07:30 – DPHS vs Highbury (Prep)
Playoffs
Game 26: 08:00 – 1st A vs 2nd B, QF 1
Game 27: 08:50 – 1st B vs 2nd A, QF 2
Game 28: 09:40 – 1st C vs 2nd D, QF 3
Game 29: 10:30 – 1st D vs 2nd C, QF 4
Game 30: 11:30 – 3rd A vs 4th B
Game 31: 12:20 – 3rd B vs 4th A
Game 32: 13:10 – 3rd C vs 4th D
Game 33: 14:00 – 3rd D vs 4th C
Game 35: 15:40 – Loser 25 vs Loser 26
16:30 – Chelsea vs DPHS (Prep)
Game 36: 17:20 – Winner 26 vs Winner 27, SF1
Game 37: 18:10 – Winner 28 vs Winner 29, SF2
19:00/19:30 – Parents Social
Sunday, 20 September
Game 38: 07:00 – Winner 30 vs Winner 31
Game 39: 07:50 – Winner 32 vs Winner 33
Game 40: 08:40 – Loser 30 vs Loser 31
Game 41: 09:30 – Loser 32 vs Loser 33
Game 42: 10:20 – Winner 38 vs Winner 39 (9th/10th)
Game 43: 11:10 – Loser 38 vs Loser 39 (11th/12th)
Game 44: 12:00 – Winner 40 vs Winner 41 (13th/14th)
Game 45: 12:50 – Loser 40 vs Loser 41 (15th/16th)
Game 46: 13:40 – Winner 34 vs Winner 35 (5th/6th)
Game 47: 14:30 – Loser 34 vs Loser 35 (7th/8th)
Game 48: 15:20 – Loser 36 vs Loser 37 (3rd/4th)
Game 49: 16:10 – Winner 36 vs winner 37 (1st/2nd)