Flannels edge African Ladies at Cirencester International

The 2018 Ladies International has been accorded all the pomp and prestige this exciting event deserves at the final polo instalment of the Cotswold International Day at Cirencester Park Polo Club.

The ladies’ teams were welcomed onto the field by a thousand-strong crowd of polo fans from across the region.

Prior to the match, the buzz around the stands was in Flannels England’s favour, but as play commenced, it was clear the All Africa Ladies were in for the win.

Nina Clarkin secured the first goal for the Flannels England Ladies with an under-the-neck shot, but the Africa Ladies quickly took control, focusing their attention on shutting Clarkin’s plays down.

The play became very close and ferocious, which pushed the Africa Ladies to give away a penalty, putting Flannels England ahead 2-0 at the end of the first chukka. The second chukka saw the Africa Ladies really pool together, forming stronger and stronger plays. Their determination was palpable and following a penalty conversion from number three Sally Jenkins, they were back in the game, with the score at 2-1.

Flannels England continued to dominate with another field goal off Rosanna Turk’s stick going into the half-time break, but following what must have been some stern words from coach Tamara Fox during the break, Tiva Gross came thundering out of the first throw-in, scoring a blinding goal for the Africa Ladies.

With the clock ticking down, the scores rested at 3-3, but Tiki Brown saw another opportunity and put the Africa Ladies ahead 4-3 going into the final chukka.

The crowd was on the edge of their seats as the ladies came out for the final hurrah. The Africa Ladies converted a penalty, 5-5, with the minutes literally falling away, so it was all to play for in the final, tense moments of the Ladies International.

As if by magic, Lottie Lamacraft broke away from the pack, racing towards the posts, with a determined Africa pack flying up the field behind her, but as she found the goal it was all over for the visiting team as Flannels England secured the trophy at this year’s International.