The St John’s College flag is flying high after being crowned national champions at the U16 Durban High School water polo tournament.
The St John’s team, which qualified for the final against Clifton College, was the only unbeaten side in the tournament.
St John’s started the first chukka positively when Zak Sennett scored the first goal. They set up another goal shortly afterward, taking a 2–0 lead, however, Clifton managed to equalise in no time.
In the fourth chukka, the game was deadlocked at 3–3 but Clifton broke the tie by going one up. With little time left, St John’s equalised and forced the game into penalties.
The teams took three penalties each and Sennett, Daniel Harding and Michael Smith were the selected penalty takers for St John’s. Sennett took the first penalty and unfortunately hit the post but Harding was successful and Smith also showed great composure and calmly took the last penalty to win the penalty shootout 2–1 for St John’s.
Ethan Roets, St John’s goalkeeper, made a number of saves during the game and displayed his ability to deal with pressure. He was named man of the match. Smith was named the attacker of the tournament and teammate, Luca Allasio, defender of the tournament.
