The under-14 South African polocrosse team brought victory home after winning their test series against Zambia; the team were overjoyed by the win.
Lusaka, Zambia (25 August 2022) – The under-14 polocrosse team ventured to Lusaka, Zambia, to take part in a polocrosse test series. The team managed to win all three of their matches. The event took place at Leopards Hill Polocrosse Club.
The test series took place in mid-August, with the South African team arriving in Zambia on the 16th of August 2022. The team was made up of young athletes from around South Africa. Nic King was the captain, and his team consisted of Morgan Du Toit, Hannah van Wyk, Christopher Thornhill, Thomas Lyn, Tristan van der Walt and Emmy Lou de Jong.
Each of the riders got a chance to bond with their horses, which were supplied by the Zambian side. Coach Jean Hackland, joined by Sarah van Wyk and manager Mel King helped the young team select their horses. During the bonding and walking sessions, one of the young team members was kicked by a horse and badly injured. She spent the rest of the series in the ICU after it was discovered she had a haematoma on her liver.
On the day of the event, coach Hackland shared that the team missed Morgan, their teammate. Without her, they needed to make a few adjustments, and thankfully, they still came out as the winners.
“The children played so well even though it was really the first time actually playing those horses and we had had to change our game plan a bit to make up for the fact that Morgan was not there. The final score was 22 – 13. Our MVP for that game was Nic King who calmly slots the goals away like an experienced adult player. Emmy-Lou and Christopher also need a mention for how well they played in this game.”
“The second day started with national anthems on foot which enabled the team to get a hold of the microphone and send a shout out to Morgan in the hospital. The game ended in our favour again with the final score being 24 – 13. Our MVP for that game was Hannah van Wyk who couldn’t seem to make a mistake. Tristan and Chris deserve a mention for their outstanding play here too.”
“The third game had an early start and we had to get up early to pack for the airport as we left from the fields straight after prizegiving. The third game had much less pressure as we had already won the series and the children had worked out how to ride their borrowed horses. The final score was 38-10. Nic won MVP again after scoring 24 of the goals himself! However, his backup of Hannah and Emmy-Lou were outstanding, with both girls not missing pick ups and shining in their positions. The other section of Chris, Thomas and Tristan flew as well.
Tristan was phenomenal out the back of the line out and her work on defence was outstanding. Thomas played out of his normal position most of the game and managed to shine never the less. His riding and ball control was a reflection of the effort he puts in at home. Chris managed to score a 6 goal chukka and played out of his boots. He was smiling from ear to ear and I think could go very far in this sport if he carries on like this.” – Coach Jean Hackland
Coach Hackland shared that the children thanked the grooms who helped them, the horse lenders and the opposition before they all set off home.
“With talent like this coming through the ranks we have a lot to look forward to in SA polocrosse. Nic and Tristy were at home for 1 day and then hopped back on a plane to Zimbabwe where they are playing for the SA U16 team! I am sure they had another fantastic tour and shone as future stars of SA polocrosse.”
The under-16 team has landed in Zimbabwe, where they will compete and hopefully bring home yet another victory. You can follow their efforts via Facebook here.
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