South Africa Tops Field at FIP World Cup Zone D Final
NZ and South Africa Head to Mexico for World Championships

The New Zealand polo team secured a place in the FIP 2007 World Finals yesterday with a dramatic 7 all draw against arch enemies Australia. This draw combined with two previous wins gave them enough points to take the spot.

Both teams produced an exciting, fast running polo match in fantastic weather at Clevedon, in front of a crowd of 10,000.

The Australians delivered an extra strong effort after their heavy defeat by South Africa in the semi-finals on Saturday. Robert Ballard was brought into the Australian team and added a lot of strength to their defence with his ability to hit the ball long and hard.

New Zealand Captain Craig Wilson suffered a nasty cut to his forehead after coming into contact with an Australian polo mallet. This injury did not deter him, but appeared to spur him on.

A brave opening by the Australians gave them a 3-1 lead at the end of the second chukka, but by half time the New Zealanders had staged an exciting comeback to earn a 5-3 lead.

In the earlier match South Africa continued on their winning way with a 14-7½ goal victory over India. The South Africans’ young super star Nachi du Plessis was in outstanding form, scoring 5 goals and exhibiting some amazing stick-work and horsemanship. Also solid for the South Africans was Captain Gareth Evans playing at back, and the young forward duo Tom de Bruin and David du Plessis were far too quick for the Indian defence.

The Indian team fought their way back into the match late in the third chukka with three goals, but with the South Africans already ten goals up, a win was out of their reach. Undeterred, the Indian team fought on until the final moment of the game.

The strong South African win saw the team the undefeated winners of the World Cup D Zone Final. New Zealand’s second placed team will accompany the South Africans to the Federation of International Polo World Championships in Mexico in September 2007.


Sat 3rd March: Australia lost to a very strong South African side 4-10. For full match reports see www.fippolonz.com

Wed 1 March: Sadly on Tuesday afternoon Australia lost their second match to India, 7 1/2 goals to 6. The Australian Team was: Will Gilmore 2, Dirk Gould 4, Rob Ballard 4, Andrew Williams 4.

Joe Curran, Australian Polo Council Selector, gives the following report on the team's first match vs Pakistan:

It was a very close game won by Australia by a goal in the closing seconds of the 5 chukka match.

Australia started tentatively, Pakistan scoring 3 goals in the first chukka. The Australian team trailed but converted a penalty - Dirk Gould scoring a field goal. Pakistan still led and look like comfortable winners then Matt Grimes scored a brilliant goal on the near side in the 4th chukka, following by a great goal from Andrew Williams to level the scores.

In the 5th chukka Dirk Gould ran the length of the field to score a sensational goal to put Australia in front. With 5 seconds remaining Pakistan scored an open 30 yard goal and it looked like a certain draw. With the Pakistan no 2 feeling the pressure, he mis-hit the ball and hit it wide giving Australia the first game win in the World Cup Play offs. Final Score: Australia 7 Pakistan 6.



The Australian World Cup Team leave on Thursday 22 February to take part in the World Cup Zone D Playoffs in New Zealand. Play will start on Monday 26th Feb and the final day is Sunday 4th March. We wish them the best of luck.

If you would like to travel to New Zealand & join the Australian supporters, full details of the event can be found at www.fippolonz.com. Emirates has great details on fares to Auckland.

The Australian Squad is:
Dirk Gould, 4
Will Gilmore, 2
Robert Ballard, 4
Andrew Williams, 4
Matt Grimes, 4
Neil Craig, 2
Team Manager: Stuart Gilmore

Australia's match schedule is:
Australia v Pakistan Mon 26 Feb, 4.00pm
Australia v India Wed 28 Feb, 2.30pm
Australia v South Africa, Sat 3 March, 2.00pm
Australia v New Zealand, Sun 4 March, 3.30pm

Thank you to Petrol Records for their generous sponsorship of the Team.

Below is the schedule for the 2007 Polo World Championship. The Championships are held every 3 years, the last being in 2004 with the finals in Chantilly, France won by Brazil.

Zone A – North and Central America
Mexico City, Mexico
April 20 – 28, 2007

Zone B – South America
Medellín y Punta del Este Polo Club, Uruguay
February 7 – 17, 2007

Zone C – Europe
To Be Determined

Zone D – Asia, Africa, Oceania
Auckland, New Zealand
February 24 – March 4, 2007

Finals
Mexico City, Mexico
October 29 – November 11, 2007