ENGLAND SPLIT OPENING GAMES WITH SOUTH AFRICA
England and South Africa split their opening games at the
Commonwealth Water Polo Championships at Challenge Stadium
in Perth.
South Africa started slowly in the men's game before beating
England 11-8 while the English women were never troubled in
winning 10-2 on the opening day of competition on Sunday.
Bernice Cowden led the English charge in the women's encounter
with most players having their first experience of an outdoor
pool, something that unsettled the team, according to captain
Frances Leighton.
England shot to a 3-0 lead at the quarter, were 5-1 up at
halftime and 7-2 up heading into the final quarter.
Megan Schooling kept South Africa's hopes alive with both
goals, including a lob from beyond halfway.
South Africa men's recent experience in playing the Tom Hoad
Cup tournament in Perth last month proved the telling factor
as England struggled to come to terms with cohesive play in
the glaring sun.
South Africa led 3-2, 7-3 and 10-5 at the breaks before stepping
off the accelerator in the final quarter.
Today's action saw more smiles than tears despite some wild
discrepancies in morning-session matches.
For Singapore it was a celebration of the country's first
senior women's international but the cheering was muted as
the young, smaller women failed to score a goal in the 33-0
rout by England.
An identical score followed when the Scottish women felt
the full wrath of World Championship bronze medallists Canada,
fresh from a week-long camp with Commonwealth champions Australia.
The trend continued in the fourth match of the day when Wales
men struggled against Canada, trailing 25-0 before lifting
the crowd with two goals in the final quarter, eventually
losing 29-2.
The increased length of play time brought in late last year
means more goals but also increases the gulf between the leading
and lesser nations.
Things were closer in the opening game when England met Singapore
men. England led 6-5 heading into the final quarter before
swimming away to a 13-6 victory.
Commonwealth Water Polo Championships, Challenge
Stadium, Perth, results:
Day One
Men: South Africa 11 (D Stewart 3, P Le
Roux 2, S Daley, B Manson, A Stewart, R Bell, E Le Roux, D
Woods) England 8 (C Figes, T Curwen 3, M Banwell, R Leighton).
Women: England 10 (B Cowden 3, C Mohan,
A Winstanley-Smith 2, K Lewis, L Davies, F Leighton) South
Africa 2 (M Schooling 2).
Day Two
Men: England 13 (T Curwen 5, S Carpenter,
C Figes, R Leighton 2, A Squires, D Taylor) Singapore 6 (B
Sim, P Tan, N Luo, K Wee, R Yip, K Lam), Canada 29 (D Stein
5, K Graham, K Mitchell, T Marks, J Sayegh 4, N Miller 3,
A Feltham, N Miller 2, C Kudaba) Wales 2 (C Taylor, D Laxton).
Women: England 33 (A Winstanley-Smith 10,
L Davies 6, C Mohan 5, K Lewis 4, F McCann, C Wilcox, C Bardecki
2, F Leighton, H Wild) Singapore 0, Canada 33 (V Dionne 7,
S Gardiner 5, A Braden, J Bekhazi 4, W Genoway, R Tomiuk,
K Monton 3, C Robinson 2, T Campbell, D Perrault) Scotland
0.
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