Cartier to defend title against Ralph Lauren
St. Moritz snow polo report from Ebe Sievwright
It was with great relief and excitement that St. Moritz Polo AG staged the first of the weekend games of snow polo as the previous days cancellations had everyone wondering if the games would be possible. And as fun as the penalty shoot-outs ended up being, no-one wanted to sit through them for a second day! Bernhard Poellinger’s team toiled all night long ploughing and flattening the snow and when Cartier and Ralph Lauren arrived on the field they had almost perfect white turf to play on.
It’s no secret that Cartier had the most menacing team on paper, and so too it proves, on the field. Chris Hyde has won more than five titles, and all for Cartier. He is comfortable playing at this tournament. Hyde knows exactly what he’s doing, on attack and defense; from the back line knock-ins to the penalties. Hyde’s a hustler and a bruiser and is one of the most powerful hitters in the game. This, combined with renewed vigor from Hissam Ali Hyder really put them in the driver’s seat in today’s game.
Hyder had the goal of the day when he stole the ball from Ralph Lauren’s Ruki Baillieu, and after a medley of off-side and near-side taps, thrust it through the posts putting Cartier into and early lead, a lead that they never relinquished.
Nacho Figueras, Ruki Baillieu, Jamie Morrison and Michael Bickford all fought gallantly throughout the match, but things didn’t go their way. And with Hyde at the top of his game, there was nothing they could do.
Max Charlton had some impressive runs and attempted ambitious neck shots, but the extra effort wasn’t necessary. With Hyde on cue, Cartier had already sewn up a finalist berth, and despite of the outcome, Ralph Lauren would play in the tournament finals as well.
Even though Ralph Lauren had qualified for the tournament finals, there was no let-up. With a 2-0 record, they had already sewn up a title shot as Figueras converted three penalty shots with his usual finesse. Hyde, however, ended up as top scorer in the game with three penalty conversions and a field goal to boot. At the end of the match Cartier looked invincible, as they handed Ralph Lauren a 5-3 loss.
Sunday’s final will feature the same teams, but the pressure remains high. Each team has had the opportunity to play against one another, and on Sunday, it will be for all the marbles.
BMW 4, Deutsch Bank -3
In the fastest and most exciting game of the tournament, to date, neither team deserved to come away without the trophy. The passing was by far and away the most coordinated and accurate we’ve seen yet. Both teams excelled on both offense and defense. Even the two patrons had great games with Karan Thapar making bold runs down the sidelines. Richard Davis scored the goal of the match after a divine curled pass delivered from the stick of the snow polo maestro Jean-Paul Clarkin (imperative to You Tube ‘Best Snow Goal Ever’ at this point to be reminded of what this man can do).
Premble and Oliver Hipwood did everything in their power to make a path for team captain Glen Gilmore with his urgent offensive bursts, but the slightest slip and any one of the three BMW pros immediately pounced and caused havoc for the Deutsche Bank defense.
The field, so firm and flat in the morning, had started to really tear up. All the protagonists still managed to time their backhands to perfection, stretching themselves beyond credulity to intercept a passes and rebounds and hustle the ball out from under horses or in the mini drifts. The low score (BMW 4Deutsche Bank) betrays the ferocity of the match, and the thousand plus spectators were enthralled by some of the Southwell/Clarkin combo runs.