Committees/Sport commitee/Rugby/About Underwater Rugby/PressRelease5
01.01.1970
photo_Suzette Střvring.jpg
This was clearly the case in Helsinki on day one, as the German women triumphed 2 – 0 over Colombia and Norwegian women nipped Sweden 1 – 0. On the men’s side Denmark went down against German 1 – 2 in a hard fought contest.
However, four of the nine day-one matches ended with the winning team in double digits while the losing opponent suffered a shutout. The most striking example of this was the Austrian men’s 50 – 0 victory over South Africa. There were, however, clear reasons for the disparity. This was not only the South African team’s first ever World Championship, but their first real competition ever in accordance with CMAS International Rules.
“We play with truck tires for goals,” explained one of the South Africans, “and in the first 15 minutes we’ll have to learn what has taken other nations 15 years.” Almost all of Cape Town based team’s practice games take place in an unheated outdoor pool, during the summer months.
The South Africans, who never stopped fighting, received a standing ovation from the poolside crowd. That evening an hour and half before the last bus back to the hotel, the South Africans received an emergency coaching clinic by volunteers from Finland and Sweden who taught them the principles of goal tending and player rotation.
South Africa - National Team
And now just in via a Facebook iPhone entry by South African player Tim Stiff: “Thanks for all the support and tips to improve our game, especially to the Finns. We managed to improve our position from 50-0 against Austria to 24-0 against Colombia.”
Davrell Tien
