England claimed a 11-9 win over Uruguay, and claimed the historical Coronation Cup, the annual international contest, that was played for the first time in two years at Guards Polo Club, on Saturday July 23, on the club’s main ground. Although England lifted the massive trophy, they had to struggle against a fierce “charrúa” foursome who certainly were up to the task.
The Coronation Cup was first played in 1911, when the Roehampton Club presented the trophy to celebrate the coronation of His Majesty King George V, the grandfather of the current monarch, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. A team representing India were the first winners, and up next was played for the winners of the Hurlingham Open, Ranelagh Open, Roehampton Open and the Inter-Regimental Tournament. This format remained until 1939; following the break caused by the Second World War, the Coronation Cup was back again in 1951. From 1971 onwards, the Coronation Cup has been an annual international match played between England and a variety of different invited countres and teams.
The clash between England and Uruguay was a very leveled contest, that started with a 1-all in the first chukka. England took a slight lead in the two following chukkas, reaching a 5-4 advantage by half time. Up next, a hard fought fourth chukka would follow, when Uruguay tied at 5-all through a 40 yards penalty conversion by Juan Curubelo; England replied quickly thorugh Tomás Beresford to re-take the lead, but it was Curubelo again who produced another goal to tie the scores once again (6-6). In the last minutes within that fourth chukka, a great play by Louis Hine ended in a goal to mark a 7-6 lead for the local lineup.
Halfway the fifth chukka, Tomás Beresford scored to widen England’s lead to two goals, but it was short-lived – a penalty conversion by Ignacio Viana closed the gap to one goal once again. England bounced back and re-claimed the two goal advantage once again (9-7), following a goal by James Harper who earned England a 9-7 lead. But it was indeed anyone’s game. The fierce Uruguayan boys were far from giving up; they scored a couple of times in the last chukka, but the efforts didn’t pay off. At the end of the day, it was Tomás Beresford who scored twice to secure the 11-9 win for England.
CORONATION CUP – SATURDAY JULY 23 – GUARDS POLO CLUB
INGLATERRA 11-9 URUGUAY
England: Tomás Beresford 7, James Harper 7, James Beim 7, Louis Hine 4. Total: 25.
Uruguay: Jejo Taranco 7, Santiago Stirling 5, Ignacio Viana 4, Juan Enrique Curubelo 6. Total: 22.
Score England: 1-1, 3-2, 5-4, 7-6, 9-7, 11-9.
MVP: Tomás Beresford.
BPP: Maserati (Oriental Breed), ridden by Ignacio Viana.
Best racing horse in polo: Lobster, ridden by James Harper.
BPP UK: Casola (Casa x Livingston), owned by Nicolás Pieres, bred by Casa Livingston & ridden by James Harper.
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