Aravali celebrates victory in Duke of Cornwall Cup

Overcast, grey and foreboding. Luckily it was only the clouds that loomed over The Duke of Cornwall Trophy on Sunday. With moral remaining high and the ever immaculate crowd gathered at Guards, those who did brave the weather in the stands got the most from the 16 goal final between Lost boys and Aravali.

Roles were established early on in the game, with dominant players such as Nacho Gonzales from Lost Boys, who was later awarded Best player and Peter Webb from Aravali rarely letting up throughout the game. Pancho Moreno chose a tactical approach, using every opportunity to seize the ball with a swift backhand hit. The Hipwood duo, Howard and his son Oliver formed a solid defence for Aravali to play off, consequently securing a strong presence on the field.

The first goal was scored by Webb, shortly followed by Oliver Hipwood. This two goal lead for Aravali seemed like a dose of reality for Nacho, who had been keeping a sure distance in the first Chukka.

It was at this point that Nacho turned on the aggression and made it his mission to teach the Aravali boys a thing or two about polo, Scoring the first goal for the Lost Boys and another three goals later on in the game. The match was upheld by these three players, dominating the goals throughout the match, Stefan Sund of the Lost Boys being the only other to score a goal.

The third chukka became heated, with tempers flaring occasionally and the umpires bearing the brunt of the tension. Unfortunately this meant a slow chukka with much time being spent by the two umpires deliberating the frequent fouls, some of which were surprising to see at this level of polo.

Oliver Hipwood took a penalty, which was promptly re-taken due to a defence foul by The Lost Boys, but this was of no consequence as he scored a goal on the second attempt.

There were surprisingly few changes of horse for the duration of the game, with Nacho changing mid-chukka when one of his mounts became lame.

The fourth chukka was frantic and tense with spacious play and textbook marking replaced at times by crowded and desperate shots. By this point, Aravali were pushing forward and it didn’t seem like The Lost Boys were going to regain possession of the game despite the closeness of the scores. Much time was wasted arguing with the two umpires and eventually the third man was called from the stands. Ultimately it was Nacho who scored the final goal for the Lost Boys but it was not enough to secure a win and Aravali took the Duke of Cornwall Cup, in a game that was only really decided at the eleventh hour.

By Isamaya ffrench, LivingPolo UK, and Leah Ludlow