EURO TROPHY PROVIDES PERFECT POLO CHALLENGE
Great Britain captain Craig Figes is relishing the challenge
of the LEN European Nations Trophy which starts at the Manchester
Aquatics Centre on Sunday (8 July) and predicts his side "might
surprise a few people".
Figes - Britain's most celebrated player in recent times
- is the most experienced member of a squad in its early stages
of preparation for the London Olympics in 2012, having first
represented his country at the age of 15 in 1993.
The 28-year-old is well qualified to assess the host nation's
standing among the world's elite. He has twice been named
in the Commonwealth's all-star team and now plays semi-professionally
for CN Metropole in the Spanish Premier Division alongside
stars of the global game. He previously plied his trade in
the Australian National Water Polo League for four seasons.
He believes the squad is full of potential. He said: "Most
of the squad have been training in Manchester for around nine
months now and we've spent the last month preparing as a full
squad.
"It's been going really well so far and personally,
I'm really excited about the progress we've made. We've got
a great team of players and I think we might surprise some
people. Everyone's really positive and we can't wait for the
tournament to start."
The competition is an opportunity for Britain to gauge their
progress. "As a championship it gives everyone in the
UK - not just the players - a chance to see where we are,"
said Figes, who plays for Bristol Central in the UK.
Great Britain have been drawn in Group B alongside France,
Poland, Ukraine, Israel and Ireland, having been fortunate
to avoid tournament favourites Montenegro, who recently split
from Serbia - Serbia and Montenegro won the World Championship
in 2005. Montenegro will play in Group A for the 12-team competition.
Europe is the world epicentre of water polo - the game is
the national sport in Hungary, who are the men's Olympic champions,
while Croatia won the World Championship gold medal in Melbourne
in March - and Figes is cautious on predicting how far Britain
will go in the competition.
"Europe is so strong in the sport at the moment compared
to the rest of the world. There are no real expectations on
us, which is good. We're fielding a very young, highly inexperienced
team and we haven't played a lot at this level before,"
he added.
Figes and Bristol Central team-mate Matthew Thresher won
a bronze medal with England in the inaugural Commonwealth
Water Polo Championships in Manchester in 2002, while nine
of the team were in the England team for the Second Commonwealth
Championships in Perth, Australia, in January 2006.
Four others have been promoted from the youth ranks and Figes
believes the competition is the start of a new era for the
Great Britain side.
He said: "Britain hasn't been involved in a European
competition for a long time so it's a marker to see where
we're starting from.
"We haven't seen many of the other teams in competition
for a while so it's difficult to know where we're at. But
out of the few teams we have played against we've got real
potential to beat them and it would be great if we could finish
top three in our group."
Figes predicts cross-Channel neighbours France will be the
toughest opponent in Group B. "France played in this
year's World League final, so I'm expecting them to be the
toughest team in the group."
And Figes hopes the home support can propel his side to perform
to their best. "Playing at home definitely carries huge
positives and we're looking forward to a supportive crowd
cheering us on."
The LEN European Nations Trophy kicks off on Sunday with
six matches played from 1pm - Britain's opening match is against
Israel at 7pm.
Day tickets cost as little as £5 per adult (£3
concessions) and can be purchased on the door.
For further details and full programme information log onto
www.manchester2007.com
ATHLETE CLUB BORN LIVES
Ed Scott City of Manchester Leeds Bolton
Scott Carpenter Sedgefield & District Darlington Manchester
Andrew Squires Lancaster City Lancaster Withington, Manchester
Tom Curwen Lancaster City Lancaster Withington, Manchester
Matthew Thresher Bristol Central Bristol Withington, Manchester
Mark Banwell Cheltenham Cheltenham Withington, Manchester
Sean Ryder City of Manchester Nottingham Manchester
Chris Gilbertson Tyldesley Northallerton Manchester
Rob Rae City of Manchester Manchester Bolton
Rob Parker Cheltenham Cheltenham Manchester
Craig Figes CN Metropole, Spain Bristol Spain
Alex Parsonage Brierly Hill Dudley Dudley
Adam Scholefield Rotherham Metro Leeds Leeds
Matthew Birch Rotherham Metro Rotherham Altrincham
Mike Bourne City of Manchester Birmingham Birmingham
Andy Crawford Bristol Central Newport, Isle of Wight Bath
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