The St Andrew’s College 1st and 2nd teams took part in the Port Rex Knockout Water Polo Tournament in East London on Friday and Saturday, with the 1st Team defending the trophy they won in 2009.
As one of only two 2nd teams in the tournament, the St Andrew’s 2nd team was faced with a tough opening fixture against Selborne’s 1st team, and despite a strong showing, they lost the match 3 – 1. They bounced back with an 8 – 2 win over Hudson Park, before losing 8 – 4 to Kingswood’s 1st Team. In their final match they beat Hudson Park again, this time 8 – 4, to finish the tournament in 7th place.
The College 1st Team opened the tournament with a comprehensive 13 – 1 win over Hudson Park, which as top seeds put them directly into a semi-final against Selborne. St Andrew’s College played some excellent water polo in the first chukka to take a 6 – 1 lead into the break, and despite some lax defending in the second chukka, they recorded a comfortable 10 – 5 victory over Selborne to set up a final clash with Grey High School.
After their exciting pre-season game the previous week in Port Elizabeth which St Andrew’s won 13 – 10, there was much anticipation from the large crowd ahead of the final. However St Andrew’s took control of the game from the start, and led Grey 5 – 0 at half time. They continued to dominate the game after the break, eventually winning the match 8 – 1, and thereby retained the Breetzke Trophy for the Port Rex Knockout Tournament for the second consecutive year.
Starting the season with a tournament victory was a good confidence boost for St Andrew’s College ahead of the demanding Grey Bloem tournament this coming weekend and bodes well for a successful 2010 season.
G Creese
