ENGLAND OVERCOME JETLAG TO BEAT JAPAN
England's squads continuing their preparation for this month's
Commonwealth Water Polo Championships in Perth have overcome
jetlag as well as testing opposition at the Southern Cross
Cup in New Zealand.
Using the tournament as a warm-up for their Commonwealth
campaigns (23rd to 29th) both the young women's and men's
team were thrown into the action after just a few hours sleep
following their long-haul journey.
The women met hosts New Zealand seniors in their first game
and lost by a 15-8 scoreline that failed to give a true reflection
of the game.
They picked themselves up for the next encounter and beat
New Zealand juniors 12-10 before going on to beat Japan, who
took part in last year's world championships, 8-6.
New Zealand proved too much for a tired men's outfit with
the hosts winning 14-8 but again the scoreline flattered with
England putting in a good team performance.
Emerging talents dominate both young teams with only three
of the players selected to the men's squad (Figes, Thresher
and Williams) having collected bronze at the inaugural Commonwealth
Championships in Manchester in 2002.
Eight of the 13 members of the women's squad, who also took
bronze four years ago, are relative newcomers.
The squads are as follows:
England Men's Team
1. Andy Crawford (Bristol) (GK)
2. Mark Banwell (Cheltenham)
3. Scott Carpenter (Lancaster)
4. Thomas Curwen (Lancaster)
5. Craig Figes (Bristol)
6. Richard Leighton (Rotherham)
7. Alex Parsonage (Strasburg/Cheltenham)
8. Adam Scholefield (Rotherham)
9. Edward Scott (Manchester) (GK)
10. Andrew Squires (Lancaster)
11. David Taylor (Cheltenham)
12. Matthew Thresher (Bristol)
13. Daniel Williams (Bristol)
England Women's Team
1. Tara Smith (City of Sheffield) (GK)
2. Kate Lewis (City of Manchester)
3. Bernice Cowton (City of Sheffield)
4. Sarah Pimblett (City of Manchester)
5. Fiona McCaan (City of Liverpool)
6. Francis Leighton (City of Sheffield)
7. Angela Winstanley-Smith (Bordeaux, France)
8. Carol Mohan (City of Sheffield)
9. Aine Hoy (City of Manchester)
10. Hannah Wilde (City of Liverpool)
11. Chloe Wilcox (City of Sheffield)
12. Larissa Davies (City of Sheffield)
13. Rosie Morris (City of Liverpool)
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