College Sport: Sacred Heart scoops water polo

The victorious Sacred Heart team: back row (from left) David Unger, Isaac Orchard, Nick Bone, Conrad Smith, Max Phillips-Rudowski, Jordie Smeets, Nick Gibbons, Sam Reade, Matthew Duncan and Vinnie Ferigo. Front row, Ryan Pike, Connor Paterson, Denzel Niuelua (c), Liam Paterson and Andrew French.

Talented young school team raise future hopes after bringing Transtasman Shield home from Canberra.

A stellar 2013 for Sacred Heart College water polo was capped off with victory for the second year straight in the transtasman water polo championships in Canberra just before Christmas.

Sacred Heart are the defending Auckland and New Zealand champions (though they placed third at the North Island champs) and team manager Chris Hayward says this is one of the finest water polo sides the school has produced, if not quite in the all-round class of the 1990 team. That side did not contest the transtasman competition, but cleaned up domestically and included players of the ilk of Clarke Tamariki, Matt Filipo and Quentin Smith, all of whom subsequently represented New Zealand.

"This [2013] side is right up there because they won the Auckland title, nationals and the transtasman tournament. The only other SHC team that has won the nationals and the transtasman was in 2004 with the Afeakis [Ben and Frank]," says Hayward, who has driven the game at Sacred Heart for the last 30 years.

Sacred Heart had to work hard in Canberra in the 12-school tournament. On day one they defeated Sydney's St Aloysius 14-7 and Newington College B 8-2 before a 9-8 nail-biter over Rangitoto College, one of four invited Kiwi teams. Rangitoto was again beaten in the semifinal, 6-3.

The final against Newington College A was a titanic struggle. Played for the Chris Hayward Shield, the ledger was squared at 2-2 with Sacred Heart's 9-8 victory after a tussle that saw the lead change several times. Liam Paterson scored two key goals in the final quarter to help Sacred Heart clinch the victory.

The victory, for the Transtasman Shield, was especially gratifying for outgoing Sacred Heart premier coach Jonathon Ware, a former New Zealand player. He was assisted by another national rep, Josh Campbell, who has now assumed the reins of the Sacred Heart Sharks, one of two SHC teams in the Auckland premier division.

Hayward says most sides who played in Canberra did not send their Year 13 school-leaving players, so they could build into their 2014 campaigns. Sacred Heart took 15 players to the tournament, and missed a couple of key seniors such as holeman/centre forward Ben Casey, an outstanding sportsman who was in Australia but playing for the First XI cricket side in Perth.

Back-up goalkeeper Andrew French says the youngish side had to really step up in Canberra.

"We managed to score three goals ... to pull off a miraculous comeback in the final. Being such a young team, this was a fantastic win and a great trophy to bring home for the premier squad. This pits our squad in good stead for the coming year."

Unusually, no less than 11 of the 2013 roster have returned to school and are already showing the benefits of their Australian experience, with some decisive wins in the early rounds of the Auckland premier championship. Among key players are Ryan Pike and the Paterson twins, both strong shooters and swimmers.

•Last month, captain Denzel Niuelua and driver/outside shooter Chris Cormack, who did not play in Canberra, were selected in the New Zealand Youth Men's side which will travel to the August world championships in Istanbul.