Water Polo Sides Split Games in Rome

The Australian water polo sides at the FINA World Championships in Rome have had mixed results mid-week, with the women recording a win and the men a loss.

The women’s side, featuring WAIS athlete Glencora Ralph, bounced back from a disappointing draw with Canada in their opening match to completely dismantle South Africa. The Stingers notched an impressive 23-2 win, a result which included keeping the South Africans scoreless for the entire second half.

Ralph played close to half the match, scoring on her one attempted shot.

The result was just what coach Greg McFadden was looking for from his charges and keeps the Australians in the hunt for the next round, with only a match against New Zealand to come before the knockout stage.

John Fox’s men on the other hand couldn’t follow up their opening match win over Kazahkstan and went down 13-10 to Spain.

WAIS was again represented by goalkeepers James Stanton and Luke Quinlivan and field players Tim Cleland and Nick O’Halloran, who scored a single goal.

The Sharks trailed throughout the match and never looked like coming away winners, with a four goal to two final term Australia’s way reducing the Spanish winning margin.

Trailing 6-4 at half time, the Australians copped a Spanish barrage in the third, conceding five goals to two to virtually end the match.

The Sharks play their tough final round match against Serbia.