ENGLAND SPLIT OPENING GAMES WITH SOUTH AFRICA

PERTH, Australia. January 23. ENGLAND and South Africa split their opening games at the Commonwealth Water Polo Championships at Challenge Stadium in Perth.

South Africa started slowly in the men's game before beating England 11-8
while the English women were never troubled in winning 10-2 on the opening day of competition on Sunday.

Bernice Cowden led the English charge in the women's encounter with most
players having their first experience of an outdoor pool, something that
unsettled the team, according to captain Frances Leighton.

England shot to a 3-0 lead at the quarter, were 5-1 up at halftime and 7-2
up heading into the final quarter.

Megan Schooling kept South Africa's hopes alive with both goals, including a lob from beyond halfway.

South Africa men's recent experience in playing the Tom Hoad Cup tournament
in Perth last month proved the telling factor as England struggled to come to terms with cohesive play in the glaring sun.

South Africa led 3-2, 7-3 and 10-5 at the breaks before stepping off the
accelerator in the final quarter.

Today's action saw more smiles than tears despite some wild discrepancies in morning-session matches.

For Singapore it was a celebration of the country's first senior women's
international but the cheering was muted as the young, smaller women failed
to score a goal in the 33-0 rout by England.

An identical score followed when the Scottish women felt the full wrath of
World Championship bronze medallists Canada, fresh from a week-long camp
with Commonwealth champions Australia.

The trend continued in the fourth match of the day when Wales men struggled
against Canada, trailing 25-0 before lifting the crowd with two goals in the final quarter, eventually losing 29-2.

The increased length of play time brought in late last year means more goals but also increases the gulf between the leading and lesser nations.

Things were closer in the opening game when England met Singapore men.
England led 6-5 heading into the final quarter before swimming away to a
13-6 victory.

-ends-

Commonwealth Water Polo Championships, Challenge Stadium, Perth, results:
Day One
Men: South Africa 11 (D Stewart 3, P Le Roux 2, S Daley, B Manson, A
Stewart, R Bell, E Le Roux, D Woods) England 8 (C Figes, T Curwen 3, M
Banwell, R Leighton).

Women: England 10 (B Cowden 3, C Mohan, A Winstanley-Smith 2, K Lewis, L
Davies, F Leighton) South Africa 2 (M Schooling 2).

Day Two
Men: England 13 (T Curwen 5, S Carpenter, C Figes, R Leighton 2, A Squires,
D Taylor) Singapore 6 (B Sim, P Tan, N Luo, K Wee, R Yip, K Lam), Canada 29
(D Stein 5, K Graham, K Mitchell, T Marks, J Sayegh 4, N Miller 3, A
Feltham, N Miller 2, C Kudaba) Wales 2 (C Taylor, D Laxton).

Women: England 33 (A Winstanley-Smith 10, L Davies 6, C Mohan 5, K Lewis 4,
F McCann, C Wilcox, C Bardecki 2, F Leighton, H Wild) Singapore 0, Canada 33
(V Dionne 7, S Gardiner 5, A Braden, J Bekhazi 4, W Genoway, R Tomiuk, K
Monton 3, C Robinon 2, T Campbell, D Perrault) Scotland 0.

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