Day 6 of the Ignition Polocrosse World Cup sees 5th to 8th places decided
Day 6 of the Ignition Polocrosse World Cup say two World Cup matches to decided who would finish 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th, as well as the final two of the Barbarians versus PASA Development team.
The day started with the Barbarians Ladies versus the PASA Development team, a test series PASA already led two nil, so the Barbarians were looking for a win to end the series. They started better that they had in the previous two tests and kept the scoreline tighter from the start. However, it is a good PASA development team and they were outscoring the Barbarians in each chukka. Jenny Hiltunen was going well up the front, Stacey Wheeler was very effective in defence and players like Fiona Linn and Megan Thompson also made an impact when they appeared on the field.
Both teams were switching around players and positions a lot to ensure all eight players in each team got a good amount of game time and experience and that probably worked more to PASA’s favour, as their players looked the more versatile and it didn’t matter too much which three players they sent on. For the Barbarians Tilda Beaufils had a pretty good game up front and Anna von Schintling Horny was winning them ball in the number 3 shirt but they couldn’t always convert it into goals, with the PASA team proving too strong in defence at points and forcing turnovers. There were good moments for the Barbarians throughout the game, Katherine Gilbert won them ball fairly regularly and Cecilia Forsmann and Lissa Jarvenpa of Finland combined well in the final chukka but the PASA team always looked a little bit too strong for them, given their greater experience of playing at this level and speed and also probably their familiarity with their horses. The final score was a 22-11 win to the PASA team but undoubtedly the Barbarians team will have learnt a lot from these test matches and will take all that experience back to their own countries.
The Barbarians Mens test match was the last opportunity for the Barbarians to end with a win. They had looked the most likely to cause an upset in their first two games and they started very well, with Gael Beaufils, Max Schellerer and Syen Entjes combining to give them a handy 3-0 lead in chukka 1. Gael and Syen were the pick of the Barbarians players in the match, though there were also some good moments from Pierre Winter, Nacho Morterio and Nacho Lechardoy when they got the ball. However, as with the ladies the PASA team was stronger overall and their second section overhauled the Barbarians lead and from there the Barbarians were always chasing the game. The PASA men probably switched around a little less than the ladies team, though players like Medicine Mashindi and Mwalimu Modise switched between the shirts fairly regularly. Luke Davis was going well in their section and in the other section Ian Lynn was a constant challenge for the Barbarians, winning ball out the back and putting pressure on the number 1’s in the area. He normally had Heinrich Fortmann or Trace Price Moor as his number 1 and they converted the goals, though the Barbarians number 3’s did force a few errors from them.
Overall, the PASA men always looked like they would secure a win in the test match after the first few chukkas and sure enough by the end of the match they lead 24-12. All the test matches have been played in a great spirit and it was a great opportunity for the players from some of the smaller polocrosse nations to come and play alongside the World Cup. It is hopefully something that can be replicated more in the future, and not just at World Cup events as the only way really that a lot of the more talented players in smaller nations are going to get opportunities to play in test matches is probably through combined teams.
The first of the World Cup matches saw the UK play the USA for 7th and 8th places. When the two teams met in the pool stages it was the UK who emerged victorious so the USA were looking for a win and also wanted to improve on their 8th place ranking that they brought into the world cup. For the UK they were fighting to stay as high in the rankings as possible, 7th would be a drop on the 5th place ranking they had at the start of the competition but it was still better than 8th. It was the UK who started the better with Layla Sics and Rachael Duhig combining well for four UK goals. The USA have in their last couple of matches switched their ladies so Kat Liner is up front and Megan Swift at number 3 and that is how they started. They did get two goals in the chukka from this combination but the UK were winning more ball, with Rachael Duhig looking good out the back of the line up.
The UK men sent on Joel Sics up front for the first chukka, whereas previously they have always started with Stuart Dyson. Backed up by Jack Brown and Josh Smith, who won ball out of the line ups, Joel had a great opening chukka with seven goals against his name, and there was some good passing play between the three men. The USA men, who can be very dangerous, especially Braxton Hamlin up front, ended the chukka goalless and all of a sudden the lead was 11-2.
From that point onwards it always looked like it might be a challenge for the USA to get back into the match. The USA ladies lost the next chukka 3-1 to the UK. Both teams were guilty of missing chances and there was some good defence from both teams at points but overall the UK were definitely on top, with Rachael Duhig, who was born in the USA and played for them in 2011, continuing to win more ball from the line ups and Layla Sics continued to slot away the goals.
The UK men stretched it still further to 18-6, with Stuart Dyson resuming the goal scoring duties. The USA were not necessarily looking like a team who had a few big chukka in them but at the half way point it was still possible for them to pull it back, if they started winning the next few chukkas by a few goals and get themselves back within a reasonable distance. Their ladies did win chukka 5 but it was only 3-2 to cut the UK lead to 20-9 and then the UK men actually stretched it again to 12 goals to lead 24-12 by the end of chukka 6.
The UK looked like they had it under control, they were playing the better and from here they could kill off the game if they needed to. Chukkas 7 saw them stretch their lead a bit further but the USA did end with a 6 goal chukka from Braxton Hamlin to pull the gap back to eleven goals. The final score was 31-20, a comfortable UK victory. Joel and Layla Sics picked up the players of the match award for their performances for the UK.
The UK played well, there were a few errors but they converted the majority of their chances well and all their players played their part. For the USA they just didn’t get enough ball in the early stages of the match to make it a close contest and they were also guilty of not taking all their chances. Both countries will probably be disappointed with their final placings, both had originally hoped they could cause an upset in the group stages and get into the top four and they did both have some good moments in their matches against Australia and Zambia. However, both countries will feel this is a World Cup where they probably could have done better if they had played at their best throughout.
The UK will probably feel that a number of players in this World Cup team will still be looking to play the next one and this will have been useful experience for them to build on. For the USA it is less clear how many of their players would be looking to do another World Cup, with nearly all of them having played in at least one event before and so they might have a younger, less experienced team next time around.
The second World Cup match of the day was another group stage rematch with Ireland versus Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe narrowly won this match in the group stages, getting away in the final chukka against the men so Ireland were looking for revenge and also for their highest ever World Cup finish. They were ranked 6th going into this World Cup, having lost to the UK in the 5th / 6th play in 2019 and have never finished higher than that, having actually achieved 6th place three times in five world cups. So 5th place would represent a lot to them but it was also important for Zimbabwe, they finished 7th in 2019 and so wanted to try and climb as close to the top four as possible.
Both teams have some very talented players but many people thought this might be a bit of a battle between the Irish ladies and the Zimbabwean men, both who were felt overall to be stronger than their counterparts, though the Zimbabwean ladies, lead by Sophie Sargeant can really fire through the goals when they are on a run and Ireland’s men are certainly very capable of winning ball and creating chances for themselves as well. The crowd was expecting an exciting match and so it proved.
Ireland ladies got them off to a flying start with an eight goal chukka from the racquet of Joanne Lavery. She had a great game mounted up on Rebel and won a lot of ball herself. When she wasn’t winning the ball it was Dara Mangan and Debbie Harris who were coming up with it and feeding it to her for her to finish off with some great goals. Zimbabwe could only grab one goal of their own and the score line read 8-1; a nine goal chukka was a pretty good start, particularly if you were a fan of Ireland.
However, Zimbabwe’s men are very strong and they quickly got their team back into the game. Ross Shand has had a great world cup out the back particularly when mounted up on Skadadle and with Danie Swan up front and Christian Coetzee in the middle they grabbed seven goals of their own to Ireland’s one and at the end of the chukka the scoreboard read 9-8 to Ireland.
Out came the ladies again and this time Ireland’s ladies could not repeat their heroics in chukka 1. They rested Joanne Lavery and Rebel for a chukka and sent on Debbie Harris up front, something they have done in all their matches. Sophie Sargeant was starting to get a bit more ball and Ireland couldn’t convert all their chances. A two all draw in the chukka and the scoreboard read 11-10 for the men as they returned to the field. Ireland’s fan were probably fearful of another Zimbabwean onslaught but they need not have feared. Their men’s section of Seb Chambers, Conor Doyle and Stephen Nuzum were starting to win more ball, though Nuzum was having to play his absolute best to match Ross Shand out the back. Seb Chambers was converting all his chances despite a lot of Zimbabwean pressure and they actually extended the lead to two goals to make the score 15-13.
Ireland sent back out Joanne Lavery for chukka number 5 and she was having one of the matches of her life. Five more goals came in the chukka, including one scored just as the hooter sounded which at first it looked like the umpires might not award but then decided it was through the posts. The score was now 20-14 and the Irish men had a bit more of a cushion to defend, though given the rate that Danie Swan can score at, a six goal gap could be caught up in a chukka quite easily. However, again Ireland’s men managed to limit the damage. Stephen Nuzum grabbing a couple of important balls out the back to set up a couple of Ireland’s goal. Zimbabwe did score four goals though, the pick of them being a huge pass down field from Christian Coetzee. It didn’t quite find the racquet of Danie Swan but he was able to ride onto it in the area and then pop it through the posts, making it all look very easy up front when it really wasn’t.
With the score board at 22-18 the ladies came back up for what was clearly a crucial chukka. If Ireland could hold or ideally build this lead a little, they would have a decent cushion for their men to defend. Ireland’s ladies section went to work, Dara Mangan and Debbie Harris were once again winning ball in the midfield and Joanne Lavery was taking the passes and finding the posts with unerring accuracy. She is not a player who always attracts the attention of some of the other ladies’ number 1’s but here in here fourth World Cup she has been brilliantly consistent, barely missing anything all competition. The lead stretched to seven and Ireland were looking good. A chance to make the gap eight goals presented itself but for once the pass from Dara Mangan didn’t quite find the racquet of Joanne Lavery and Zimbabwe turned it over and went down the other end and scored. Sophie Sargeant now had a taste for goals again and grabbed the next ball from the line up, driving down field to score another one and make the score 26-21 at the end of the chukka.
The men came out for the final chukka. We imagine Ireland’s fans had no fingernails by this stage and certainly they wouldn’t have done after the first few minutes. Zimbabwe were getting ball and Danie Swan was doing what he always does, putting it between the posts. Stephen Nuzum was making him work though, the goals weren’t coming quite as quickly but Zimbabwe got back within a couple of goals. Then a pass from Christian Coetzee went over the head of Danie Swan and rolled out over the back line. Nuzum had the free throw from the back line and to his absolute credit he didn’t just opt to run down the clock in the area. He took a couple of turns but then set sail into midfield to take on the Zimbabwean defence. He carried the ball down field and delivered it to Chambers for a goal at the other end to stretch the lead again. Zimbabwe were still fighting hard though and Danie Swan was scoring quicker now, knowing that the clock was ticking down. Another goal sailed between the posts and the gap was down to two.
However, then the hooter sounded, which must have come as some relief Ireland’s fans and players; they had done it, they had managed to beat a very good Zimbabwe side and achieve their highest ever world ranking. It was tough on Zimbabwe, who have played vey well in this world cup and only suffered narrow defeats, including the golden goal loss to New Zealand.
However, many spectators seemed delighted for Ireland, who have won a lot of fans at the world cup with their performances. They have had a tough few years as a polocrosse playing nation, with their membership dropping dramatically during COVID and then struggling to get insurance cover to allow them to run the Irish Polocrosse Association and play in Ireland. Their team was very experienced with every member except Abbey Hamil having been at a world cup before and they have used that experience to great effect, staying calm under pressure and making sure of their chances. Stephen Nuzum and Joanne Lavery won the players of the match awards in the final match after two great performances. Both have shown what they can do at this world cup, Nuzum being very calm in the number 3 shirt and winning and carrying a lot of ball for the men and Lavery being very effective up the front for the ladies.
So with 5th to 8th places decided we now look forwards to the 3rd / 4th play offs and the final!
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