An epic battle was on the cards for the Inspired Arena Test Match for the Bryan Morrison Trophy, and the clash between England and Ireland did not disappoint, going down to an extra chukka before Ireland took a well-deserved win from a 15-yard penalty. 

Following a great morning of British Junior talent, the feature game of the day took place in the winter sun at The All-England Polo Club, Hickstead, thanks to fantastic work from the grounds team ensuring that the pitch was in top form despite freezing temperatures in the lead-up to the match.

For the 14th running of the match, England, led by captain Jack Hyde (8) with Matias Amaya (7) and England newcomber Sebastian Hancock (5) were coached by Max Charlton. The Irish team of captain Richard Tyrone (8), Mikey Henderson (7), and Niall Donnelly (5) were coached by Richard Blake Thomas, with two evenly-handicapped teams making for an unmissable day of international polo.

The first chukka saw plenty of open, end-to-end play, and it was some time before a goal went on the board, opening with a 15-yard penalty for each team to keep an even score of 1-1. Ireland captain Richard Tyrone started the play proper with a fantastic field goal, before England equalled with another penalty. Niall Donnelly put another field goal on the board, followed by a 25-yard penalty for Tyrone, before England’s captain Jack Hyde made it 3/3 penalties and brought the score at the end of the first chukka to 4-3 in favour of Ireland. 

A scrappy second chukka saw fouls coming thick and fast, with Ireland playing strong team polo and the England team just taking some time to knit together, with frozen ground having put paid to any team practices in the lead-up to the match. The highlights of this battling chukka were fantastic field goals from Mikey Henderson and Donnelly, with the score at half time 7-5 to Ireland, with tensions hotting up. 

Matias Amaya put England back into the mix in the third chukka, opening with a huge goal, answered immediately by the players in green. A dribbling goal from Hyde saw the score reach 8-8, before a great 2-pointer from England newcomer Sebastian Hancock put England ahead for the first time on a score of 10-8. It was all penalties for the remainder of the chukka, with fast ponies and play the name of the game to bring the score to 11-11 heading into the fourth chukka. 

“Sit tight, hold on,” was the advice from commentator Seb Baker as the fourth chukka got underway, and the action started straight away with a penalty for Ireland, before Hyde ran the length of the field to answer and bring the score back to 12-12, then swiftly inched England’s nose back in front with a 25-yard penalty. 

Donnelly equalised with a stunning steal on the goal line, as fortunes began to sway once again into Ireland’s favour, taking them to 16-13 with just a few minutes to go. England clawed their way back to 16-15, and when Ireland fumbled a hit from the back line, it was England captain Hyde who swooped in to steal the ball and force an extra chukka on a score of 16-16.

The tension was palpable as the crowd awaited the final chukka and the ‘Golden Goal’ that would end the match as it went into sudden-death format. The game wrapped up quickly when an early foul from England gave a 15-yard undefended penalty to Ireland, which was put home by a confident Henderson to seal Ireland’s first ever victory in the Bryan Morrison.

Speaking after the presentation, Ireland’s captain Richard Tyrone was all smiles. “It was a great game,” he said. “We did feel like the underdogs coming in, England have some incredible, very experienced players and all of us lacked a bit of mileage in the arena this season, but Mikey and Niall played fantastically, and Mikey’s horses made a big difference, he had a lot of power. The luck went our way when we needed it, and you need that in the arena – that’s probably why we won the game!”

A rueful Jack Hyde said, “We had a slow start, the Irish team came out firing! They’re all tough players and they played very well, so even though in the second half we came back and kept fighting, unfortunately it just wasn’t our day. The arena was in fantastic condition, it’s held up very well, and it’s been a great day.”

There could have been no doubt that Mikey Henderson, playing out of his skin throughout the match, would be awarded MVP, kindly supported by Equine Management Ltd., while Jack Hyde’s Graphic was awarded the coveted Polo Times Best Playing Pony rug.

A huge thanks to all of the supporters who faced the cold and came to support these brilliant teams on a great day for international polo, and to everyone at the AEPC, Hickstead for putting on a fantastic day. 

Photos by Images of Polo/Tony Ramirez

ENGLAND

1 Sebastian Hancock (5)

2 Matias Amaya (7)

3 Jack Hyde (8)

IRELAND

1 Niall Donnelly (5)

2 Mikey Henderson (7)

3 Richard Tyrone (8)