The World Cup games slowed down to two matches a day over Thursday the 25th and Friday the 26th of July as the teams battled it out for places in the World Cup final and to decide the line ups for the play offs. However, there were also two Barbarians versus South Africa development test matches each day, as players from a number of different countries combined to take on a men and ladies team picked by the Polocrosse Association of South Africa, so there was still lots of action on the pitch.

The opening four Barbarians test matches on Thursday and Friday saw wins for the PASA teams. The men’s test match on Thursday was incredibly close, with the PASA team winning it by one goal at the very end after the scoreboard had stayed very even throughout the match, with no team getting more than a couple of goals ahead. The Barbarians lead by one goal going into the final chukka after some good work by Gael Beaufils and Syen Entjes but the PASA team came back in the final chukka and got ahead to win 16-15, with Medicine Mashindi scoring the winning goal.

On Friday the Barbarians team got away to an early lead, though the had to work hard for their goals especially when Ian Lynn was on the field. He won ball out the back of the line up and made the Barbarians number 1’s work very hard in the area. The PASA team fought back in the middle of the match and got ahead in chukka 5. They then stretched away to a seven goal lead at the end of chukka 6. However, the Barbarians reduced the gap to four goals, as again Gael Beaufils and Syen Entjes combined for some good quick goals. However, with the scoreboard reading 16-12 the PASA team sent out Mwalimu Modise, Johnathan Thornhill and Medicine Mashindi for the final chukka and they won ball and converted it well to stretch the lead to 22-12 and make it comfortable win in the end, despite the efforts of Nacho Moterio in defence.

In the Ladies test matches on both occasions the PASA team got away to an early lead and the Barbarians ladies were left chasing the match. On each occasion they scored more goals in the latter stages of the match but never looked like they could not do enough to bring it back and South Africa always kept the scoreboard ticking over well. It is a strong looking PASA team, with some good young players in it and a few more experienced ones to help support them. The Barbarians Ladies team is probably overall slightly less experienced than the men’s team and they couldn’t quite live with the pace or skills of the PASA team. Both teams switched around players a lot throughout the matches, with the PASA team showing that they had some very good versatile players who could happily play all three positions.

Both Barbarians team are on borrowed horses, kindly lent by South African players, and they first rode them on Wednesday so they are trying to get familiar with the horses fairly quickly. They also have the disadvantage that each team is made of players from a number of different countries, with players coming from Canada, Mexico. Argentina, the Netherlands, Germany, Finland and France to play. Some of these players do know each other already but many are meeting for the first time and so that inevitably leads to some challenges, with some of the first match was spent trying to work out who would go best on which position on which horse.   

The two teams play a third and final test match on Saturday and as they become more familiar with their teams and each other that should hopefully be the best chance for both Barbarians teams to show what they can do. Overall it is a great opportunity for these players from non World Cup nations of polocrosse to get more experience of test matches and a lot of credit must got to South Africa for organising this additional competition and inviting them along.           

In the World Cup competition on Thursday the 5th / 6th and 7th / 8th play offs were decided as the UK took on Ireland and the USA took on Zimbabwe. The UK versus Ireland was the first of the two matches and as a local derby it was always going to be a tough match. As they often seem to do the UK ladies started well against what is a strong and experienced Irish side. Layla Sics started off with a good chukka, scoring four goals while Ireland could only manage two of their own.

The Irish men have struggled a little bit at points in the group stages but they started off very well against the UK. They quickly levelled up the match and then crept just ahead to lead 6-5, as Seb Chambers scored the goal and Conor Doyle and Stephen Nuzum won ball behind him. Ireland’s men did apparently have a full complement of eight horses again, having only had five for their last group game, which could prove important for an eight chukka game.

Chukka 3 saw Ireland move Debbie Harris to the number 1 shirt and give Joanne Lavery a chukka off, a move they seem to adopt in most of their matches. It seemed to have the desire effect and Ireland stretched their lead to 10-7 by the end of the chukka. The UK ladies were apparently the team who were short of horse power on this occasion, with their own horse pool reduced to five, and that might cause problems for them if they were chasing the game in the final few chukkas.

Chukka 4 was when the UK ideally needed a good score to try and get themselves firmly back in the game. However it was Ireland who had the better of it, with Stephen Nuzum continuing to shine out the back and Seb Chambers finishing off the goals in the area. By the end of the chukka it was 15-9 to Ireland and they had a decent lead.

The UK desperately needed a response from their ladies and switched around players and pushed Tegan Bristow up front and gave Layla Sics a chukka off. However, again it was Ireland who had the stronger chukka. Joanne Lavery was back at number 1 and with Dara Mangan going very well at number 3 aboard Firestorm, winning ball and forcing turnovers, and Debbie Harris continuing to win ball in the middle and disrupts play, the Irish goals flowed. There were five Irish goals in the chukka while the UK could only get one of their own and the score board suddenly looked a fairly ominous 20-10.

However, chukka 6 gave the UK and glimmer of hope. Ireland seemed slightly unsure what to do now they were ten goals ahead. They got ball but lost it on a few occasions during the chukka, as they tried to play a slower game and then would suddenly end up in a sticky situation and have to rush. The UK meanwhile were very clear what they had to do and they did duly pump through six unanswered goals from the racquet of Stuart Dyson. The UK were back within four goals and Irish nerves were starting to increase, while the UK fans were suddenly hopeful of a great escape.

In Chukka 7 the UK brought back Layla Sics, with Tegan Bristow and Katie Woodward behind her. Ireland sent back out Lavery, Harris and Mangan and they really put the UK hopes to bed. They combined very well again and just won more ball and never missed an opportunity. The UK ladies fought hard and they did score three goals of their own but Ireland added five of their own and by the end of the chukka it was 25-18 to Ireland.

The UK could have pulled off a big final chukka, seven goals is not beyond them. Ireland did not start well, they got the first ball but Chambers, who has normally been very reliable, missed his opening shot at goal and the UK went down the other end and scored. However after a couple of UK goals Ireland got more ball and Chambers again headed into the area. His first shot hit the post but he calmly followed the ball back across the area, mopped it up and found his way back round Josh Smith to score on his second shot. After that the Irish nerves did settle as they won more ball and traded goals with the UK team. The final score was 28-22 to Ireland and they were into their second consecutive, 5th / 6th play off, having lost the 2019 one to the UK. They had hoped for more originally but if they could end 5th then that would still be an improvement on their 2019 result. The UK were headed for the 7th / 8th play off, a result they will be bitterly disappointed with and will definitely be their worse result since 2003, possibly their worse ever if they lose that match.

Debbie Harris and Seb Chambers took home the two players of the match award, making it Debbie Harris’ second such award at this world cup having never previously won one (a fact that still slightly amazes us).

The second of the Thursday matches saw Zimababwe take on the USA. The USA have had some good moments in this World Cup but ultimately their group games all just slipped away from them. They have also at points switched around players a lot so it was going to be interesting to see if they continued with that approach as they took on Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe have looked very sharp in this world cup and were slightly unlucky to be in the bottom half of the draw, after their golden goal defeat to New Zealand in the group stages.

Zimbabwe’s ladies got them ahead in the first chukka but it was the narrowest of leads, ending the chukka 2-1 ahead. Sophie Sargeant managed to hit the goal post three times in the chukka between her two goals but despite this the USA could only grab one goal of her own. However the USA men started the better and levelled the score up in chukka 2. They had Braxton Hamlin up front with Karl Balogh and Rahul Desai behind him and they fired through four goals. Zimbabwe scored three of their own and at the end of the chukka it was five all.

However, that was the closest the USA got to leading this match. Sophie Sargeant, Polly Michael and Kirsten Swan, who was winning quite a lot of ball out the back of line ups, got them back ahead by a goal to lead 8-7. Chukka 4 saw Ross Shand appear on Skadadle, who has been great out the back for Zimbabwe and sure enough when the ball came through the line out Skadadle was faster to it and Shand could pluck up the ball for Zimbabwe. He would deliver it to Danie Swan who would head down field to the area aboard Treasure to guide the ball through the posts. The USA did grab a couple of goals but the lead was 13-9 to Zimbabwe by the end of the chukka.

From there Zimbabwe grew the lead chukka by chukka despite the best efforts of the USA team. While the USA ladies struggled to convert all their chances and looked like they might be struggling for horse power a little Zimbabwe were ruthless. Sophie Sargeant fired through goals after Kirsten Swan or Michaela Dodd won her ball and by the end of chukka 5 the gap was seven goals, with the scoreboard reading 17-10.

The Zimbabwe men saw their lead extend further in chukka 6 despite some great play by the USA. Rahul Desai threw one brilliant long pass to Braxton Hamil but Danie Swan continued to tick the scoreboard over for Zimbabwe and the scoreboard was now 21-12.

The USA ladies drew chukka 7 with Zimbabwe three all, to make the score board 24-15. They were switching players by this stage and Kat Liner got her first run up front in the number 1 shirt with Dori Johnson at number 3. Liner showed she can score goals pretty well but she could not narrow the gap and there was a comfortable lead for the Zimbabwe men going into chukka 8.

Ross Shand had a horse change for the final chukka, he came out aboard Pixel but the result was very similar. Zimbabwe stretched their lead to 28-17 by the end of the chukka and they were fairly comfortably into the 5th / 6th play off. Kirsten Swan and Danie Swan achieved a husband and wife double as they won the player of the match awards.     

Friday saw the two semi finals take place. One was an all African affair between South Africa and Zambia and one was an Anzac derby between Australia and New Zealand. South Africa and Zambia were first up and for the first chukka it was fairly close, though Kelly Krynauw was uncharacteristically missing shots at goal as two went wide in the opening chukka. Zambia still lead 3-2 at the end of the chukka though and their men quickly built on that lead, with Mikey Krynauw grabbing ball at the start of chukka 2 and powering his way to the goal posts. With South Africa and Zambia on the field the goals come pretty fast and sure enough there were eight in  total in the chukka but more of them went to Zambia and at the end of chukka they lead 8-5.

Chukka 3 saw Zambia make a very rare switch. Kelley Krynauw was not on the field and Audrey Logan would take over the goal scoring duties. For Zambia to rest their star number 1 was a sign that something probably wasn’t right. They had looked below par in their final group game against Australia and again chances had been missed in that match. There is some form of sickness bug going around the World Cup, with a number of players and supporters affected. The UK team and their supporters have had a number of people come down with it and apparently Zambia and Australia also have players who are suffering from something similar, with there apparently being some doubt whether they would even be able to play. However, ill or not, Zambia battled on but South Africa were beginning to get into their rhythm and get on top. Jacquie Minnaar was in the number 1 shirt aboard Rumba and she was able to slot through four good goals, firing big high over arms over the top of Lauren Summers, while Zambia could only add one of their own and suddenly the scoreline was tied up at 9 all.

The men came back out and the South Africans had made their normal fourth chukka switch with Stef Harris handing over the number 1 shirt to Chad von Benecke. Von Benecke always seems to make an impact as number 1 and riding Celtic he got South Africa ahead, though Damien Harris was winning a bit more ball at the back of the line up and combining well with Mikey Krynuaw. The Zambia men were definitely looking better than they had against Australia and they were still firmly in touch with the scoreboard 14-12 to South Africa.

South Africa stuck with Jacquie Minnaar up front for chukka five and she continued to score good goals, with Olivia King and Amy Cocker winning ball and working hard behind her. Zambia’s ladies were not having the best of days, they were battling hard but luck seemed to be against them. Kelly Krynauw’s first effort on goal went wide as the ball hooked in her stick. This was at the Pierre Cardin end of the field, the same end she had missed at earlier and Sophie Sargeant had hit the post at three times the day before; it was starting to look a bit cursed. She did slot two more goals after that but South Africa stretched the lead to three goals at 17-14.

It always felt like at some point a team would have a big chukka and it was starting to feel like that team would be South Africa. Sure enough it came in chukka 6. Chad von Benecke remained in the number 1 shirt and he was clearly pumped up as he scored seven goals in the chukka, though one of them was a free goal for a head hit. South Africa weren’t rushing too much either, even at the start of the chukka when the lead was only three goals they took their time. Even when they are moving slowly it is still pretty fast by most player’s standards and the goals came pretty regularly. Zambia also got two goals in the chukka, again one was a penalty goal, this time against von Benecke as he rode straight into Phillip Chalcraft as they were waiting to line up, something the umpire clearly judged to either be deliberate or reckless and so awarded a free goal.

With the scoreboard now reading 24-16, South Africa were in control and could take their time whenever they had the ball. Minnaar carried on up front for the ladies and whenever she got in the area she just slowed things down a little and then fired through another goal for South Africa. Kelly Krynauw was firing through quick goals at the other end whenever they got the ball but more possession was going to South Africa. At the end of the chukka it was 27-18 and Zambia would need a very big last chukka to pull it back. In the end it was actually South Africa who had the stronger last chukka, scoring five goals to Zambia’s three and the lead extended to 32-21. Zambia’s dream of making their second ever World Cup final was over while South Africa marched on to their fourth.

As they were against Australia, Zambia were not at their best, possibly due to a sickness bug and possibly due to a slightly weakened horse pool, though we have not heard they had a number of horses out. However, none of that should detract from South Africa’s victory, they played very well and fully deserved their spot in the final. Jacquie Minnaar and Chad von Benecke picked up the players of the match awards.

The second semi final saw Australia take on New Zealand. Australia were the comfortable favourites to go through to the final and they started well, with their ladies section scoring three goals in the opening chukka to lead 3-0. Lindsay Doolan is having a very good world cup up the front and Lucy Grills always wins ball out of the line up. New Zealand couldn’t really get much ball in the first chukka and when they did get it the Australian defence was strong and forced  a turnover to keep the scoreboard 3-0 at the end of the chukka.

However, in the men’s section New Zealand started better. They put Jack Kinder to number 1 and had Josh Sims Fowler and Ty Murray behind him, opting to rest Jarrod Richardson for the opening chukka. It had been suggested before the game that New Zealand might switch things around a bit and given players more chances in other positions and so it would prove. Australia grabbed two goals in the chukka but New Zealand scored four of their own, one of which was a great passing move involving all three players, with Jack Kinder taking a good catch in midfield and charging to the area to score the goal. The scoreboard read 6-4 to Australia at the end of chukka 2 and it looked like New Zealand might create more challenged for them than expected. The New Zealand ladies carried on the work that their men had started. Again there was a switch in their line up, with Mellissa Marlow getting her first run out at number 3 for the World Cup, in the place of Kayla Murry who went to number 2. Mirren Tye is a permanent fixture in the number 1 shirt and she was going well up front aboard French Kiss. Australia also switched around, they gave Sam Allen a chukka at number 1 and she slotted three goals in the chukka. However New Zealand got five in the chukka and all of a sudden the scoreboard was level at nine all. New Zealand were playing like a team without a care in the world, perhaps knowing that they were the underdogs was working in their favour.

However, that was actually as close as it got, the following chukka the Australian men pushed through five unanswered goals as Jimmy Grills, Tom O’Neil and Matt Davison combined to good effect. New Zealand had made changes, Jarrod Richardson was on at number 1 and Josh Sims Fowler had gone to number 3 but Australia would have probably have scored a similar number regardless of who was in the New Zealand shirts. When they got the ball their passing is incredibly accurate and Jimmy Grills was mounted up on Cigarette, who is lightning quick to get Jimmy to the ball and then to the area to put him in front of the posts.

New Zealand’s ladies came back out and battled hard and they were keeping their score lines more even but the scoreboard was creeping away from them, reading 19-12 at the end of chukka 5 as Lucy Grills grabbed more ball at the back of the line up and Lindsay Doolan converted it to goals. Australia’s men stretched it further, taking the lead out to 23-14 with four more goals. Again, there was some great, quick passing with Corey Buys and Matt Davison pushing the ball in the direction of Jimmy Grills almost as soon as it hit an Australian racquet and he made it look very easy to ride under and catch a number of high, looping passes and then carry on to the area to score the goals. Jack Kinder was back at number 1 for New Zealand and when he got the ball he also scored some good goals but Australia now lead 23-14.

Australia wrapped it up in chukka 7 with Lindsay Doolan having one of her best chukkas yet. The ball seemed to be attracted to her racquet and she slotted through six goals in the chukka. New Zealand grabbed two of their own in what was becoming a pretty high scoring match but the scoreboard read 29-16. The final chukka also proved to be a goal feast with eight more goals coming.  Tom O’Neil was in the number 2 shirt for Australia and he won a number of balls in the middle and worked hard to ensure Jimmy Grills could head to the area easily and pop the ball through the posts for five more Australian goals. New Zealand slotted three goals, though they could have had four but Jarrod Richardson’s last minute backwards shot at the posts drifted wide, as he tried to end with a crowd pleasing goal.

As the hooter went Australia had achieved a comfortable victory of 34-19, despite New Zealand’s early promise in the match. However, New Zealand were probably expecting a scoreline of that nature, given the two countries recent test match results, and they will probably be happy if they have managed to keep all their horses sound for the 3rd / 4th play off for New Zealand. New Zealand also had the satisfaction of seeing Mirren Tye pick up the lady player of the match, while the male player of the match went to Jimmy Grills.

Australis will now need to prepare for their second successive World Cup Final against South Africa, this time not in their own country or on their own horses but instead on South African soil and horses. However, they seem to be coping very well with those factors so far and the final on Sunday could be an absolutely brilliant match to watch!