Gloucester County ASA

A weekend of mixed fortunes saw triumph and disappointment for Gloucestershire water polo players.

The U15 squad secured an impressive victory in their South West inter-county tournament held in Exeter but the U18 team managed to gain only third place in their SW county tournament at Barnstaple.

Both squads drew heavily on players from Cheltenham Swimming and Water Polo Club with other youngsters coming from Bristol Harlequinsand Bristol Central. Injury, illness and a clash with an international match meant the U19 squad was missing several key players, a factor that undoubtedly contributed to their weak performance.

The U15s beat Devon, 20-12, and Dorset, 20-10, to take the gold medals and tournament trophy.

Coach John Spicer said: recent friendly games we have been having gave us and edge in preparing for this tournament .The team work was excellent in attack and defence and the younger members of the the team stepped up to the challenge when we  needed to rest our older players during our second full game

The U19 squad lost 9-5 to Devon in a closely fought match, lost 7-4 to Dorset and narrowly won 5 - 4 against Somerset, eventually losing out on the second place only through goal difference.

Squad members U15 team : Andy Boulton, Will Strachan, Ben Brophy, Jacob Barnfield, Will Rayson, Rudi Polster, Calum Bradshaw, Dan Atkins, Ed Hambidge (all Cheltenham) Harriet Sampson (Bristol Harlequins)

Squad members U19 team :  Woody Bayliss, Tom Howells, Nathan Lewis, Jake Polster, Tim Hatton, Tristan Bradshaw, Miles Thompson, Dan Wright, Will Odham ,Rhys Edwards (all Cheltenham) Jacob Newman (Bristol Halequins) Peter Jennings (Bristol Central).