Young England and Young New Zealand came face-to-face again to play for the Buckmaster Trophy on a glorious afternoon at the Gloucestershire Festival of Polo. The home side had a score to settle, having lost this match in the final moments in 2023, while Young New Zealand set off keen to keep the Kiwi wave going following the senior team’s victory in the Golden Jubilee.
For Young England, captain Toby Bradshaw (3) led a team of Archie Heseltine (1), Ed Morris (2), and Milly Hine (2) against a Young New Zealand team of Oscar Power (2), Tom Turner (2), Zoe Reader (1), and captain Lachie Appleby (2).
The game started with both teams grappling for possession, and the whistle was quickly blown for a foul in favour of England. Ed Morris, representing his country for the first time, fired home an unwavering penalty to get his international career off to a good start and make it 1-0 on the board.
Tom Turner made a brilliant nearside backhand save on the goal line, but Toby Bradshaw blazed through to send the ball through the posts and give England an early 2-0 lead. Archie Heseltine, perfectly reading a hit from Toby Bradshaw, made a great break through the New Zealand block to take the ball towards the goal, where a foul in the goal mouth by New Zealand handed a penalty to England, quickly sent home by a confident Ed Morris. In the next play, captain Toby Bradshaw then broke free from the pack to fly down the field unchallenged towards the goal, just missing the final hit which was picked up by Ed Morris and sent forward again to Toby, who battled through the crowd to bounce the ball through the posts in the air for a superb goal that extended the lead to 4-0.
Oscar Power made a fantastic effort to break through the England defence and take the ball to goal, but a great save by Ed Morris saw him bring the ball around on the nearside and back towards the home end, with the whistle blowing for the end of the first chukka and the game going firmly England’s way.
The second chukka opened with a quick-thinking Toby Bradshaw sending the ball forward to the waiting Milly Hine, who won a huge ride-off against Oscar Power with a spectacular nearside forehand shot to extend the lead to 5-0.
In a great display of teamwork for England, Milly Hine stole possession of the ball to let Toby Bradshaw sweep it forwards to Ed Morris, who took the ball towards the goal and back to Toby, who fired the ball over on the nearside to give England an incredible 6-0 lead.
A glimpse of New Zealand brilliance appeared as Lachie Appleby kicked his game into gear with a brilliant cut shot that just went slightly wide of the goal, but this clearly gave the New Zealand number 3 the confidence boost needed, as the next play saw him gallop flat-out towards the goal, with teammate Zoe Reader clearing the space behind for Lachie to bounce the ball off the post and through the goal to get a score on the board for New Zealand at last.
Young England were quick to return, with Toby Brashaw keeping possession of the ball under strong pressure from Tom Turner, driving it forward to Milly Hine who fought off a determined Zoe Reader to send home another goal for England, with a superb nearside shot from some distance off the goal with seconds to go in the first half of the game.
Attacking play by both sides in the third chukka saw some agonising chances slip away for New Zealand, but the team undoubtedly began to find their rhythm in this second half. Oscar Power at last got away from the England defence with a great gallop towards the goal, firing the ball from the 30-yard line to make it 7-2. A brilliant defensive play by Lachie Appleby scuppered the next shot towards goal from Milly Hine, and Lachie kept possession of the ball to streak down the field and find Tom Turner at the goal to put the ball through and leave the score 7-3 as the bell rang at the end of the third chukka.
New Zealand came out brimming with confidence into the final chukka, with Oscar Power sending a super neck shot down to Lachie Appleby, who fell foul of an unlucky bounce before Zoe Reader swept through from behind to put another goal on the board for New Zealand and bring the score to 7-4. Just as the England lead looked catchable, a foul from Tom Turner, crossing in front of Toby Bradshaw, gave England another penalty which was smoothly put away by Ed Morris once again.
New Zealand then made the most of the next chance as Zoe Reader, answering a bold neck shot from Tom Turner, outstripped Milly Hine to make a great run to goal, only for the ball to bounce off the post. Just when it looked lost, Lachie Appleby swooped through the goal-mouth confusion to score an unexpected goal and shorten England’s lead to 8-5 with minutes left in the game.
The final goal of the game came from New Zealand’s Oscar Power, making an unbelievable gallop from the opposition’s half and leaving three England players trailing in his wake to take the score to 8-6, with tensions rising around the sidelines as the packed crowd started to fear whether England would hold off this incredible Kiwi comeback. Unfortunately for New Zealand, there was just too much to do to close the early gap and the bell rang just as Lachie Appleby made a valiant but fruitless gallop towards the goal. The home crowd had good reason to celebrate after the disappointment of the Golden Jubilee, and it was a victorious Young England team who stepped forward to claim the Buckmaster Trophy in a reversal of fortunes from 2023.
Most Valuable Player was awarded to England’s Milly Hine, with her lovely chestnut Bonita also picking up the KBIS Best Playing Pony award for her efforts in the opening chukka.
Former racehorse Tiny, owned by Edgeworth Polo, who made such a fantastic gallop to score the last goal of the game under Oscar Power, was awarded the Best Playing ROR rug sponsored by Retraining of Racehorses.
