It?s one of the most popular sports in South Africa schools. Physical, skillful and action- packed, waterpolo has thousands of participants across the country. iafrica.com?s Rob Peters got back into the pool for a tutorial and one-on-one with SA national captain Duncan Woods.

I have not played waterpolo since leaving school. I have threatened to make my return for years, but the thought of squeezing myself into a speedo and blinding everybody with my translucent skin tone keeps me in check. It was only fitting to make my return at SACS, my Alma Mater, and home of the SACS Old Boys waterpolo team.

Duncan Woods has been playing waterpolo for South Africa since 1999; he is the captain of the national team and has won the SA Waterpolo Player of the Year twice. Last year he led the side to the FINA World Championships in Roma, where the side finished 15th ? an amateur side playing against professionals from powerhouse countries like the USA and Serbia.

In short, he is SA waterpolo?s equivalent of John Smit and Graeme Smith, yet you probably haven?t heard much about him.

That is the lot of sportsmen/women who participate in the less ?fashionable? sports. Yet, in my experience, they are generally the most passionate. You have to train like a professional, while holding down a job and paying your own way at the same time?

Duncan, of course, is no different. When we asked him to meet with us for a practical lesson on the game he did not hesitate, eager to provide the game with some much-needed coverage. The thought of shooting at an untrained goalkeeper ? me ? had nothing to do with it I am sure.

Incidentally, Duncan is married to SA hockey star Kate Woods, who I also faced up to in goal recently. You can imagine what their kids will be like!

Now, if you have never played waterpolo, I have some advice for you before giving it bash: Spend plenty of time in the pool treading water because whether you play offense or defence, you need powerful legs with plenty of gas to burn.

After a brief tutorial on passing and shooting, in which Duncan re-iterates this advice, I take my place in goal. He surges towards me like a barracuda, cutting through water with an ease usually reserved for fish, the ball seemingly attached to his right hand by glue. He stops, rears up in the water and launches the ball into the back of the net? I barely have time to move.

It continues like this for the next five minutes, with me collecting the ball from behind me and lobbing it back for another lesson in humility. One of the balls bounces off the post? that?s a save if you ask me. Nobody does.

I expected nothing less, of course, but I was hoping to get a hand on one.

It?s easy to understand why waterpolo is so popular. It has all the right elements for both participants and spectators. So why does it struggle for exposure? For Duncan?s views on this, take a look at page two!