The polo year has started with a flourish on the other side of the world. England have won the 2014 FIP Snow Polo World Cup, beating hosts and defending champions Hong Kong China 6-5 in the final at the Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club in Tianjin. It is England’s first title in the event, and a very welcome one for British polo.
A twelve-team field on snow
This was the third edition of the tournament, run by the Federation of International Polo. Twelve nations took part, starting on 8 January: Hong Kong China, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, England, France, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain and the USA. Sides play three a side on snow, and matches are short, four chukkas each, so there is very little room for a slow start.
England’s trio of captain Max Charlton, Jack Richardson and Max Routledge opened with a 5-1 win over a Mexico side that included Carlos and Julio Gracida. They also beat Australia, but lost 5-3 to Hong Kong China in the group stage, a defeat that still left them through to the quarter-finals.
Survival in the quarter-final
The knockout rounds were far from comfortable. Against France the score stood at 4-4 after regulation, and Routledge had already left the field after being struck by a stick and losing some teeth. Richard Le Poer came on in his place. The tie went to a sudden-death penalty shootout, which England took when Richardson saved the French shot. A 6-4 semi-final win over Chile, a side that had itself edged New Zealand on penalties, put them into the final.
The final
Hong Kong China, with Guillermo Terrera, Facundo Fernández Llorente and John Fisher, were in their third consecutive final and scored first. England kept their noses in front for the rest of the match, though, and marked the eight-goaler Terrera closely enough to stop him dictating play. Richardson, a five-goaler, was named most valuable player of the tournament. Earlier on the final day Chile beat Brazil in another penalty shootout to take third place.
Tianjin has become a regular fixture on the winter calendar, and a group of young English players has now put their names on its trophy. St. Moritz is next, with the Polo World Cup on Snow starting at the end of the month.
Sources: Polo Times: England wins Snow Polo World Cup, Polo Times: England win sudden death penalty shootout, Australian Polo Federation: Results FIP Snow Polo World Cup 2014
