Congratulations to the SA U18 Water Polo men’s water polo team, who found a way to win the kind of match their group stage never allowed them to have.
At the World Aquatics Men’s U18 Water Polo Championships in Rio Maior, Portugal, the young Proteas were drawn into a brutal group alongside Greece and Australia. They left that phase without a win, on the wrong end of some heavy scorelines against nations with far deeper junior water polo pedigree. It was the kind of group stage that can shake belief heading into the placement rounds.
Argentina gave them the chance to answer that question. The SA U18 Water Polo team took it, grinding out an 11-10 win in a match that had nothing in common with the one-sided contests of the group phase.
The numbers show exactly how tight this one was. The SA U18 Water Polo squad fired 30 shots to Argentina’s 22 but converted at a lower rate, 36 percent against the South Americans’ 45. This was not a clinical performance. It was a stubborn one, built on volume and persistence rather than precision.
Where the Proteas found their edge was in the water itself. Ten steals to Argentina’s seven. Three assists to two. It was a team that hunted the ball relentlessly, even as the physicality of the contest showed up in the foul count, 13 personal fouls to Argentina’s nine.
Timothy Young was the standout with ball in hand, scoring five times to match Argentina’s top marksman, Bruno Massa, goal for goal. Young has been one of the most consistent attacking threats in this SA U18 Water Polo side all tournament, and against Argentina his finishing was the difference between a gutsy loss and a famous win.
JAY | JPS SAYS: “After the beating they took in the group stage, this is the response you want to see from a young team. No panic, no capitulation, just composure when it mattered most against a side that had them on the ropes right to the final whistle. That’s the kind of result that builds a squad’s identity.”
Cooper Haworth walked away with the individual honours, named Player of the Match despite finishing with two goals rather than the headline tally. Given the SA U18 Water Polo squad’s dominance in steals and their willingness to work through a low-efficiency shooting day, Haworth’s contribution clearly went beyond the scoresheet.
The scoring was shared around for the SA U18 Water squad, with Connor McJannet, Bradley van Loggerenberg, D. Latilla Campbell and T. Mwekassa each adding a goal. Argentina’s response was similarly spread beyond Massa, with Adler, Ramb, Lopez, Picatto and Pusch all finding the net once, and Argentina actually edging the blocks count, five to South Africa’s two.
Neither side controlled this game convincingly. South Africa shot more, Argentina shot better. Argentina blocked more, South Africa stole more. It came down to which team could find one more goal than the other, and on this occasion, that team wore green and gold.
For a squad still absorbing the lessons of a difficult group stage, this was the result that resets belief heading into the closing days in Rio Maior.
It is not a medal, and it is not a statement win over one of the traditional heavyweights. But against a determined Argentina side, in a match that went right to the wire, the Sa U18 Water Polo boys showed they can win the close ones too.
📸 Images via Swimming South Africa
