SA Polo

South Africa

Australia

1. Sbu Duma

1. Jack Archibald

2. Chris MacKenzie

2. Rob Archibald

3. Nachi du Plessis

3. Ruki Baillieu

4. Tom de Bruin

4. Wil Gilmore

There are few places in the world where nature paints a landscape of such exquisite beauty as it does around Plettenberg Bay.

Lying on the shores of a bay so lovely it was called Bahia Formosa (meaning beautiful bay) by the first Portuguese explorers, Plettenberg Bay is the destination for the discerning polo player/tourist in search of spectacular polo facilities, scenery and excitement.

The polo patrons owning the above properties have brought a new dimension to Plett with foreign investment and tourism. With the growth of polo and its related facilities they recently employed the services of a full time Polo Director, Clive Peddle, to administer and organize polo in Plettenberg Bay.

Plett offer a wide range of other activities such as the highest bungy jump in the world at the Bloukrans Bridge, boat trips to see the majestic Southern Right whales, forest wagon trails, Monkeyland, the Knysna elephant park, sea kayaking, abseiling, glider trips and scenic walks to name a few.

The Plett polo season extends from the beginning of December through to the end of April with the main emphasis being over December/January and Easter. In between these periods weekend tournaments take place over two weekends affording business men the opportunity of taking part without interrupting their work schedules. Alternatively, a family can take a ten day holiday in Plett with the added pleasure of participating in a polo tournament.

MATCH REPORT – KURLAND INTERNATIONAL 2009

South Africa vs Australia

Both countries fielded changed line ups from the 2008 encounter. The South Africans were a young and inexperienced quartet with the remainder of the team making their debut for South Africa on home soil. Particularly pleasing was the inclusion of Sbu Duma who was the first development player to come through the SAPA coaching academy.

The match started at a cracking pace with both teams sizing each other and settling the nerves. Du Plessis opened the scoring for SA with an accurate long range shot. Chris MacKenzie scored his first soon thereafter whilst Sbu Duma settled his nerves to put through two quick goals leaving SA up 4 to nil at the end of the first chukka..

Australia were quick to reply in the second with a superb goal from Jack Archibald – and then another from his brother Robbie. Duma scored again for South Africa and it was clear at this stage that he was proving a real handful for Australia. He was clearly relishing his responsibilities and was “playing out of his boots”. For Australia Ruki Baillieu and Rob Archibald kept the local team on their toes forever dangerous and a menace to South Africa’s cause.

Chukka three was a good one for South Africa with goals coming from MacKenzie (2) , du Plessis and Duma. Australia piled on the pressure but couldn’t find the posts leaving the half time score at 9 to 2 in South Africa’s favour. Although this was a healthy lead and the game very much South Africa’s to this point SA fans were apprehensive having seen the outcome of the 2008 International where Australia rallied to win the match in extra time.

South Africa had a “quiet” fourth chukka without adding to their score whilst Ruki Baillieu scored two for Australia. The fifth chukka produced five exciting goals – three from Australia and two for South Africa narrowing the deficit for the Aussies to 4 goals. Fans were still on the edge of their seats as South Africa’s ascendancy seemed to wane with Australia fighting hard.

The sixth produced some really exciting polo with the Australians scoring three goals (two from Ruki Baillieu and one from Rob Archibald) bringing them within a goal’s difference to South Africa. With the score board reading 11-10 people were beginning to fear that South Africa would choke and experience the pain of 2008?? However, Nachi du Plessis took control and although the team was young and inexperienced they held their resolve refusing to panic. Du Plessis broke and scored from far out burying the Australians with a final tally of 12 goals to 10.

Victory was sweet after the 2008 disappointment and to make it sweeter it was South Africa’s first win on the Pavilion field (Kurland) in nine years. Sbu Duma won the man of the match award whilst he also shared the “most goals scored” with Ruki Baillieu both bisecting the posts five times each. The BMW award for best playing pony went to “Just an Orphan” ridden by Tom de Bruin and owned by Stonefield Polo.

Kurland Polo (Pty) Ltd extends its sincere thanks to the primary sponsors BMW South Africa and to Rand Merchant Bank, Kurland Brik and Jameson’s Gold for their generous sponsorship of this prestigious event.