Hot on the heels of a historic double appearance at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, South African water polo was given another massive boost with both the SA women’s and men’s under-17 teams returning victorious from the EU Nations tournament in Europe.
The two tournaments took place in the Czech Republic a few weeks apart. First up was the women’s event in which the South African team recorded victories over Lithuania, Czech Republic, Austria, England and Slovakia to take top honours.
With very little time to prepare, and for the teams and coaches to get to know each other, those involved were unsure what to expect going in.
“I don’t think we went in with any expectations. We went there to learn and grow,” explained assistant coach and team manager Masi Namba. “For all the girls it was their first international experience so I think from that perspective, we were just there to grow as a team because we hadn’t played together as a team before. The first time we played was when we got there. So our thoughts were – if we do well, wonderful, but we’re learning and growing at the same time.”
Coach Etienne le Roux added: “Initially I wasn’t quite sure how the team would react because we hadn’t worked together. The girls were meeting each other at the airport in all honesty.”
But what happened when the team arrived in the Czech Republic had the coaching duo excited.
“I was wondering how they were all going to be as one team because they’re used to competing against each other, never with each other. So it was so beautiful to see all the girls from Cape Town, and from the Eastern Cape and Durban – even from Gauteng all gelling and doing so well as a team,” said Namba. “I think Etienne and I were really excited just to see how, even though they have different individual styles, they came together and they played the way we wanted them to play.
They grew in that and they understood. These girls are always willing to learn.
“We had a lot of fun in and out the pool. I think it just started from the flights and even in the room allocations. We saw on the first night, they all ended up in one room and they were all playing games. They decided to bond themselves it wasn’t like we said maybe you guys should have some team time. They naturally did that.”
While the coaches were hoping their team would do well once they got in the pool, they didn’t quite expect the massive margins of their victories.
First up was an impressive 32-3 win over Lithuania. That was followed by a 20-7 victory against the hosts, before the SA side beat Austria 29-4, England 19-4, and finally Slovakia 15-5.
At the end of their final match, SA’s Olufunke Gando was named goalkeeper of the tournament.
“Winning goalkeeper of the tournament was – wow – it was really, really, incredible. It was a great reflection of what I can do and it makes me want to strive towards achieving even more in the future,” said Olufunke. “It was an absolute honour being awarded that, especially in a European tournament.
“I just feel like I have achieved the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year. It was a great experience, a great opportunity for me and I wouldn’t take a single moment back.”
Namba was full of praise for the talented keeper: “She works really, really hard and she’s naturally talented. That’s the thing – she has natural talent but she couples it with hard work and determination. I think she had a wonderful tournament. There were times when she didn’t get any balls because our defence was really strong and she was just sitting in the goals. But when it was time, she was alert and awake, she speaks to the girls. She’s just an asset to whatever team she’s in.”
While hailing the performances of his players, coach Le Roux knows there’s a bigger picture than the EU Nations tournament.
“EU Nations isn’t massive level – it’s not world champs – we were using this as a building block to world champs next year,” he said. “So to go there and see how well the team very quickly got to know each other, got to play, listened to the direction from myself and Masi – that was a pleasant surprise but also shows how much talent and potential they actually have. And individual ability – in the last two years when we haven’t had much sport, they’ve obviously done their own work and their own gym and swimming and they’re a very strong group. They are definitely one of the strongest I’ve seen at SA level for a junior team so if we can now just keep this momentum going, I think we can be quite successful”.
Speaking about the Under-18 World Championships in Brisbane next year, which will be the next target for this group, Namba added: “I don’t think we can put pressure on ourselves and go there aiming to be top five. We need to go there aiming to do our best. As long as we playing the best water polo, it doesn’t mean we have to be winning every single time. As long as our game plan is working, we’re playing well, we’re driving, doing everything that we need, I don’t really think the scoreboard matters. We’ll get to the point where obviously the scoreboard will reflect all the work we’re doing but I think we need to go in very humble and knowing that in every aspect of this game, we are learning and growing.”
Meanwhile, just a few weeks after their female counterparts, the men’s under-17 team headed in the same direction, to the Czech city of Brno, with the pressure now on to emulate their compatriots.
“We have won this previously with the boys before so obviously we wanted to do that again,” said men’s coach Jason Sileno. “With the girls winning the girls division of this tournament a couple of weeks earlier, it did put the pressure on a little. But to be honest, we just went out there and decided to take it one game at a time and just focus on our own development and processes.
“Obviously we did want to win and that was the end game but we didn’t really overthink things too early on. We just knew that we had to go out there and do a good job in each match.”
That they did, winning all their group games and the final against the hosts.
First up was a 15-5 victory over Switzerland before they beat Scotland 26-5 and then came a group game against the Czech Republic.
“We knew we had our work cut out for us in terms of what they brought to the table. They were a very fit team and they are a very fast team with a counterattack-based style and mobile driving game,” said Sileno.
“In that encounter, it was pretty hard fought and the game swung back and forth in terms of which team was controlling the momentum and we managed to get ourselves a couple of goals ahead before the end where the Czech Republic had a final sort of last-ditch effort to bring the game back and we managed to hold on for a pretty narrow 8-7 victory.
“What that meant was that we finished at the top of our group and automatically earned a place in the semifinal. By finishing top it meant we would play the second-placed team in the other group.”
That turned out to be Lithuania, who the SA side comfortably beat 14-7 to book a rematch against the Czech Republic in the final.
“We were quite happy with the way we managed to control the game on both attack and defence and we pretty much dominated in the final which was really nice to see. By this stage the team had started to become quite familiar with the combinations and strategies and we were quite happy with the final result when we eventually won 11 goals to 6 in the final match so that meant we won the trophy and took home the gold medal,” said Sileno.
It was also a case of having to come together as a team very quickly for the men’s team.
“In terms of what gave us the edge, we went into the tournament at a disadvantage to be fair. We’d only had two practices together as a team before we departed and one practice when we arrived in the Czech Republic, and us coaches working with the guys for the first time, as a team it had its challenges but in terms of what gave us the edge, the number one thing for me was the togetherness of the group,” said Sileno, also giving much credit to his assistant coach Temba Bungane.
“They gelled very quickly and they were very positive in terms of their approach to everything that they did and they knew that they were up against it. But there was a huge amount of national pride amongst these young men and they were determined to give their best.
“In terms of standout players it’s always very difficult to single out individuals in what was pretty much a really good group performance across the board. In every game everybody brought something to the table and as they progressed through the tournament, each player kind of found their groove and their space within the group and was able to settle on the combinations and strategies.
“As a coach when you drive the team philosophy you don’t want to single out anybody. We were just really proud of the way the whole team played. But we do feel we need to give a shoutout to the captain, Ross van Breda and his vice-captain Jared Shapiro for their excellent leadership of the group and also to Tigran Sennett, who was selected as the player of the tournament by the organisers, so all in all a great team performance from everyone.”
Just as it was for the women’s team, this victory was a first step towards a much bigger goal.
“It’s a huge boost for this group of guys. It’s the first step in the process for this group. The second step will be the African qualifiers early next year. Obviously the final step would be the under 18 world champs. We’re under no illusions that the under 18 world champs is a step up from this particular tournament that we went to in terms of where we’re at, but what it does do is, it does put everybody in the space of having a good platform to work from and for the guys to get some international experience under their belts and to identify areas we need to work on moving forward.
“This victory in terms of the bigger picture is awesome, it’s amazing, it’s huge. International tournaments are always very difficult to win and having been able to do that is a huge confidence-booster for this group of gents.
“Obviously international polo is a cut above and also a different style and a different level of intensity compared to what we play at a school level here so in terms of growth for the team, it’s massive. When we go to the world champs there will be much tougher opposition and we’re well aware of this. It’s great because the guys have an idea of where they fit in in the global game. Now that they have some international experience in terms of what the game is like at that level, they understand what is required and what they have to put into their own personal game as we move forward and we target the world championships next year.”
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