Resurgent Samurai retain Polo crown

Resurgent team Samurai on Sunday retained their title in the Kenya International 14-Goal Polo tournament after beating belligerent ‘Four of a Kind’ 8.5-4 at the Nairobi Polo club.

Until Sunday, 'Four of a Kind' were the only unbeaten team in the competition, and needed only one more victory against the defending champions to clinch the coveted crown.

A couple of mistakes in shooting wide from open play however saw them fall behind especially in the last three chukkas, where they managed only one goal against Samurai’s six.

Samurai and 'Four of a Kind' both walked out of the competition with two wins and a loss, and the winner was hence decided by goal difference.

“Of course I am delighted. My team came very close to losing this title and for me that would have been a disaster. I am happy that we have retained the title and I am even happier that the opponents’ determination made it such an entertaining final game for the spectators,” said Samurai captain Raphael Nzomo, whose horse Jessica was named the Best Playing Pony.

Handicap 2.5 Mbu Ngugi won the prestigious Most Valuable Player award, making it the first time in two years that the MVP award remained on Kenyan soil.

In the final game that was umpired by Charles Seavile and veteran Dom Grammaticas, Samurai went off to a brilliants start with South African Lance Watson (5) scoring two goals in the first chukka.

'Four of a Kind' came alive in the second chukka with three goals, one from Craig Millar (3.5) and two from Jamie Murray (5), who is Kenya’s most highly ranked polo player.

It was however downhill for 'Four of a Kind' in the subsequent chukkas, where they scored only one goal as Samurai’s George McCorkel, Mbu Ngugi, Watson and captain Nzomo combined to deliver six goals.

In the other match played, South African handicap seven Chris McKenzie went head-to-head with his father Buster McKenzie (4) as the two captained team White Cap and team Space and Style respectively.

Chris, who boasted the highest handicap in this year’s competition, carried the day as he guided team White Cap to a 10-7.5 victory, which was their first in the four-team round-robin tournament.

The international Polo Tournament is an annual event which marks the climax of the Kenyan polo season.

The tournament is usually organized over two weekends, with the first weekend being the 6-goal tournament (for teams with a collective handicap of six), which curtain raises for the mouth watering 14-goal tournament which is open for elite players whose collective handicap must reach 14.