the match. As the junior members (all two of them – O and S) were to find out: it was tradition for the team to go and rack up snacks and a smorgasbord of lunch items at the grocery story before the match and (once Charlie had finally come back to the world of the woken) they were sent off. One shouldn’t mention the detour to TJ Macs that the chairman decided to make to buy socks as that would be impolite to discuss ones undergarments in a public forum. Nevertheless, once back at the residence, the mood turned slightly more serious. The Chairman conducted a team meeting to discuss strategy and make sure we all had very clean boots. Fortunately, for some team members who had a history of ambling around with dirty stains, a US based fashion brand “BeMe NYC” had provided clean embroidered whites and Seb had previously been trained as a professional boot polisher at both Hampton Court Palace and Waterloo Station. Once each member of the team had been briefed on the condition/size of the pitch and everyone knew their job – Seb playing at 1 was to both play an attacking role and also clear the way playing the man for his teammates behind him, Omar – playing at 2, was to come back to support Charlie but also play forward and was instructed never to take a full swing on such a short pitch, Charlie at 3, was to control the play and slow it down to distribute the ball as his players made runs forward and the Chairman at number 4, was to call plays and stay back in a solid defence position – everyone individually began to get mentally prepared and warmed up a bit (music and a light jog around the neighbourhood worked for some, a cigarette or two for others). Once warm and dressed, the team was filled in with the logistics of getting to the field and the pre-amble to the match. This was not going to be like any ordinary game and shortly thereafter a convoy of 4 cars departed the residence; three heading to the field and two to the heli-pad.


The Match As the cars pulled into the grounds, it was immediately noted that no one was moving. There was a massive traffic jam due to the sheer number of people and cars trying to park and get settled for the match. Luckily Lowie was able to have someone usher the team convoy up and around to the England corner. As the grounds began to fill up the cloud cover became thicker and the humidity began seeping in considerably. Cutting through those clouds, however, were Charlie and Seb in the bright red RI Heli Tour chopper that landed them grandly onto the middle of the field in front of an excited crowd. Omar and the Chairman met them at the landing spot for a photograph and then the Newport International Series Brit Team made their way over to the main spectator tents to greet some of the organizers and sponsors. As game time approached, the foursome made their way over to the corner to suit up. Horses were being tacked up and the anthems were being teed up for recital. As the team mounted and began to stick and ball, Omar managed to hit a shot and let go of his mallet flying up in front of the main grand stand, much to William’s delight in the commentary box. He was going to have to earn the right not to be made fun of…well… maybe not. After the obligatory announcements and anthems concluded, the ball was ready to be thrown in.


The US certainly began with home advantage. In the opening chukker, England couldn’t seem to get stuck into the game at all and William, despite being English, let every one of the 4000 spectators know about the team’s incompetence. The pace of the game was odd,


28 HAM POLO CLUB


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