Day 1 at the Ignition Polocrosse World Cup 2024 saw victories for all the top four ranked sides in the world, though all of them were pushed at points before clinching victories in the latter stages of the game.

Shongweni showground was packed with fans who were treated to an excellent day of play at a great venue. The organisers have done an amazing job setting up the venue for the competition. The pitches are in good condition and there is a good amount of tiered seating around the pitch (though we imagine on finals day it may be absolutely packed). There are two large screens where the game is shown live and you can see the replays from the live stream. There is also a great team of commentators to entertain the crowd and explain the action to anyone unfamiliar with the sport. Add to the polocrosse a good range of food stands, polocrosse related trade stands, bars and VIP tents and what more could any polocrosse fan want?

The other vital component of any world cup is the horses and again in that area South Africa seem to have really delivered.  Every team we have spoken to has said they are happy with their horse pool and there are some really top quality horses on the field. As always, there are probably a couple of horses in each pool which might get reasonably limited game time and only come out when the scoreline is already heavily one sided but for the most part they look like a great set of horses and everyone seems to feel the quality of South African horses for this world cup is higher than it was in 2015.

The first game of the day saw South Africa take on Zimbabwe and the hosts actually started a bit slowly. Zimbabwe’s ladies looked strong with Kirsten Swan out the back and Sophie Sargeant out the front and they scored first. However, South Africans ladies did end the chukka ahead with Olivia King, Amy Cocker and Lauren Heynes linking up and scoring well and the men added to the lead in chukka 2, though Zimbabwe were creating them more of a challenge than many expected. When South Africa went to Zimbabwe recently apparently the test series was pretty one sided but that was not the case today. Ross Shand was having a storming game at number 3 and Danie Swan is always good in the area and with ball in racquet. However, chukka by chukka the South African lead grew and by the end of chukka five, which was actually a three all draw, the scoreline read 23-15.

However, South Africa hadn’t really hit top gear, you could sense the slight disquiet amongst their supporters. Yes they were winning but it wasn’t quite the display the home crowd were expecting. However, perhaps sensing that, the men turned it up to a higher level in chukka 6 with Chad von Benecke firing through goals and Jannie Steenkamp and Josh le Roux delivering him lots of ball. Jannie Steenkamp quite deservedly won male player of the match, with a particularly highlight being a goal saving intercept that he carried out on a Danie Swan overarm, promptly followed by a huge pass to Josh Le Roux who duly threw another great pass to Chad von Benecke who then bounced over the thirty yard line and finished off the move with a goal. The end score of 29-16 and the final chukka will have definitely satisfied the home fans a bit more and they will feel more confident heading to their next two games.

The second match of the day was the Australia vs USA and again the underdogs started well. The USA ladies were pumped up and scored first. Australia ladies took them to a 3-1 lead but the USA struck back with Kat Liner and Megan Swift winning ball and scoring two goals to make it 3 all at the end of the first. Kat Liner took best lady player for the match and she was very good in the USA number 3 shirt throughout.

However, chukka 2 was a different matter. The Australian men are a very good team and they very quickly showed that they are happy with their horse pool. Jimmy Grills was mounted up on one of Stef Harris’ best horses Cigarette, and it was a fairly phenomenal combination. By the end of the chukka it was 9-4 to Australia and you sensed that this game could rapidly disappear out of sight. The USA ladies again fought hard but Australia had brought on Sam Allen at number 2 and she made the difference, winning some balls and setting up Lindsay Doolan. Kat Liner pulled off a great block on Lindsay Doolan but the lead was 13-6 by the end of the chukka. Chukka 4 saw the USA men come out all guns blazing and Rahul Desai had a great chukka in the number 2 shirt and Braxton Hamlin always seem to deliver up front. However, even with all that effort all they could do is hold Australia to a 4 all draw in the chukka. Chukka five and six was really all Australia as their ladies found another level and the USA men couldn’t produce the heroics that had come in chukka four. Two six goal chukkas for Australia with only a couple of USA goals meant that the end score was 29-12. Given this was Australia’s first proper game on these horses it was a fairly impressive display overall and the expectation is that they will just get better as the tournament goes on, which could be a bit worrying for the other teams, though Zambia and South Africa should be able to give them a closer battle.

Game three saw Ireland and New Zealand clash, in the game that everyone expected to be close and so it duly proved. Ireland have a lot of experience but haven’t been able to play as much in recent years. New Zealand finished fourth at the last world cup (which decides the rankings) but now have quite a young and inexperienced team and their warm up matches had only involved playing Australia, which ended in heavy defeats and does make it hard to judge exactly what level they are at.

Ireland’s great hope was their ladies’ section. Debbie Harris, Dara Mangan and Joanne Lavery have a lot of World Cup appearances between them and at their best they are capable of really pumping through goals. They started the better but New Zealand were keeping firmly in touch and then end score of the chukka was 4-3. New Zealand’s hope was probably their men’s section, with their most experienced player Jarrod Richardson up front, and they duly delivered in chukka 2, getting them ahead by 8-6, though Ireland’s men were winning ball mainly through Stephen Nuzum out the back and Seb Chambers duly delivering goals in the area. However, Ireland’s ladies pegged things back in chukka 3 with Joanna Lavery having a great chukka snapping ball at the front and Harris and Mangan winning ball behind her. The New Zealand lead was just one goal at the end of the chukka, with the scoreboard reading 11-10.

Ireland’s men then kept the momentum moving in chukka 4 and by the end of the chukka they had made it level at 13 all. New Zealand had switched around so Jarrod Richardson was the number two and Jack Kinder up front. Jarrod had won quite a lot of ball in chukka 1 whereas now his main job was chasing ball and riding off Stephen Nuzum in a battle which seemed to become quite physical (and maybe slightly illegal) at points. New Zealand did have a chance at the death to go ahead but Jack Kinder couldn’t get the shot away before the hooter as Nuzum made him work the area.

Ireland were praying that their ladies could have another big chukka and get them ahead but it was not to be. Mirren Tye came out up front for New Zealand on a pony called Cupcake. She had been on a good pony in chukka 2 but on this occasion she also got more ball and the goals duly flowed, five of them in total in the chukka. Ireland grabbed three of their own but they were 18-16 down at the end of chukka 5.

New Zealand put Jarrod Richardson back up front for chukka 6 but initially it seemed to make no difference as Ireland actually scored two goals and levelled it up at 18 all. However, after that Jarrod did have a storming last chukka, snapping balls at the front and charging towards the goal. Ty Murray also had a good chukka out the back after quite a quiet game, winning a few balls and setting up more goals. The end score of 24-18 felt slightly hard on an Ireland team who had battled very well throughout but New Zealand did deserve their win and ultimately the difference was one big chukka.

The final game of the day was UK versus Zambia. The UK knew that to make the semi finals they really would have to pull off a win against either Zambia or Australia and probably felt Zambia was very slightly the lesser of the two evils. They started the better, scoring first and matching the highly regarded Zambian Ladies in chukka 1 with three goals a piece, albeit there were a couple of uncharacteristic mistakes from Zambia. The UK men then went one better, with Stuart Dyson having a great chukka up front and Josh Smith mixing it with Damien Harris out back and Joe Sics battling away in the middle. They had gained a one goal lead at the end of chukka 2 with a scoreline reading 7-6 and it looked like this might be a closer game than most expected. However, chukka 3 saw the Zambia ladies step up a gear and Kelly Krynauw, backed up by Celicia Jacobs and Audrey Logan, was starting to find the goals posts with a bit more ease. The scoreboard lead 12-8 at the end of the chukka and the UK men now had to try and find a way back into the game.

The men’s chukka was pretty close but with the scoreline reading 2-1 in Zambia’s favour Josh Smith won ball out the back and set off towards the area. Andrew Hall went to ride him off at pace and the end result was Josh Smith’s horse falling hard, Josh exiting the saddle and nearly ending up underneath it. Luckily, he got to his feet after a few minutes, as had the horse. After some discussion the umpires simply awarded a free throw to Zambia, which did seem a strange decision as regardless of which player was at fault (and there is quite a lot of contention as to who was to blame both from people who saw it live and also watching the video replay) a dangerous foul that brings down a horse and rider surely has to be punished with at very least a free goal and potentially a sending off. There were a few incidents during the day where the umpiring seemed a bit inconsistent in terms of fouls being blown and level of penalties awarded but hopefully that should improve as the umpiring team discuss matters further (and we know it is always easier sat on the side line than in the umpire’s saddle).   

Even though Josh Smith was back up after the fall, the horse could not continue (though we do not believe it is seriously hurt) and possibly Josh also needed some time to recover, so on came Stuart Dyson, who was the impact player for this chukka after the UK had switched Joel Sics to number 1, and Jack Brown dropped to number 3 (as for all his considerable skills Stuart Dyson is not really a number 3).

The rest of the chukka passed without incident but the Zambia men did creep slightly further ahead. Mikey Krynauw is a master of winning ball and then just very calmly making progress down field, seemingly never really turning hard and just using changes of speed and slight variations of direction to make his way through to the area. Once in the area he is a very tough man to stop scoring. It is incredibly impressive to watch, though probably very frustrating for UK fans. At the end of the chukka it was16-10 to Zambia.

Chukka 5 was all Zambia. Kelly Krynauw we think might have had a horse change (editor’s note: it’s hard to know as there is no information on the horse pools in the public domain – though we might just beg all the teams to send us a picture of their horse pool lists so we can play “Spot the Horse”) and she was on fire, again very well backed up by Celicia Jacobs and Lauren Summers. The UK ladies tried to live with them but the Zambia ladies seem to miss hardly anything on the floor and very rarely make mistakes in their passing. We are not sure any team is going to be able to stop the Zambia ladies when they are going all guns blazing and by the end of that chukka the UK knew they were not winning this one. They did send back out Josh Smith on a different horse and pushed Stuart Dyson back up front and they did create a couple more UK goals. However, Mikey Krynauw scores at a deceptively fast rate despite the steady progress he makes down the field at times and Zambia’s men outscored the UK 4-2 in the chukka to make the end score 26-12. The UK team now need to pick themselves up and try and find a way to stop Australia if they are going to keep their dream of a semi final place alive. Zambia will be alert to an upset against the USA tomorrow but will probably be feeling quietly confident they can make it two wins in a row. Their main challenge will probably be Australia on Monday which could be a group winner decider.

So at the end of day 1 the favourites have all won their opening games and are still on track for the semi finals. It was an excellent day of polocrosse, with some amazing action from the teams and we look forwards to seeing what day two brings.