The 1st water polo team secured a dramatic victory at the SACS Tournament on Monday, defeating St David's Marist Inanda 11-10 in extra time to claim the prestigious title for the sixth time in the tournament's 40-year history.
This win places St John's level with SACS as the most successful school in the tournament.
They started off slowly, drawing twice and losing once in their preliminary pool games on day one, and going down to Hilton early on day two. They found their form after that and progressed to the quarterfinals as the second-placed side in their pool.
They beat Paul Roos 8-3 in the quarterfinal before producing a tense semifinal against pre-tournament favourites Bishops. St John's took the lead in the final minute, then survived when Bishops had an equaliser disallowed for an illegal player in the water.
The final against St David's, who were appearing in their first SACS final, went to extra time before St John's clinched the victory.
Three players earned selection for the tournament team: Nicholas Searle (UV Nash), Simon Mussett (Head of School 2026) and Christopher Chapman (Head of Nash 2026). Nicholas Searle was also named Attacker of the Tournament.
Congratulations to the team and coaches on this outstanding achievement.
Results
Preliminary Pool Games
St John's 4 | Rondebosch 4
St John's 4 | Jeppe 4
St John's 5 | Grey High 4
St Andrew's | College 5 St John's 4
Hilton 5 | St John's 2
St John's 7 | St Benedict's 1
St John's 6 | Northwood 4
St John's 3 | Wynberg 2
St John's 5 | St Stithians 4
Knockout Stages
St John's 8 | Paul Roos 3 (Quarterfinal)
St John's 8 | Bishops 7 (Semifinal)
St John's 11 | St David's 10 (Final)
Read more about the victory at SuperSport Schools
