Bristol Rule The Pool

There was no shortage of controversy, tension and, (for the ladies’ enjoyment) young men in extremely tight Speedos in Round 1 of the BUCS Men’s Water Polo, which commenced on Saturday.

Team Bristol (at their best angle)

Following their glorious win against Manchester in last year’s national final, the boys were ready to kick start their winning streak again. Although they’ve lost some experienced players since then, the arrival of exciting new talent had the team in optimistic mood.

The day started with Bristol facing neighbours and rivals Bath, who had brought a formidable number of cheerleaders. After an unremarkable first half, a half-time talk from coach Mark Taylor was needed to inspire the lads and, sure enough, it proved fruitful, with Bristol tearing away and winning the match 5-2.

Bristol v Bath

The next opponents were Southampton, who were extremely frustrated in their earlier game against Birmingham. The game finished 6-6 after an error resulted in two of the Southampton goals not being counted.

Southampton were unable to recover from this setback, with Bristol completely annihilating the boys from down south 13-1.

By the end of the day, winning was a habit for Bristol, as they proceeded to dominate against Birmingham, crushing them 12-5.

Bristol’s defensive skills

The day also saw Bath beat Birmingham by a single goal, 6-5. Later on, the controversy from the Birmingham and Southampton match was resolved, with Southampton awarded the win 8-6.

Southampton then drew with Bath 9-9 in a tense match that had all the spectators on the edge of their seats.

Bristol’s day of domination in the pool leaves the boys in the place they know best – comfortably at the top of the league. No university water polo team has won the championship two years in a row before. Can Bristol be the first?

To follow the Water Polo team’s progress, just go to the BUCS website and hit on Fixtures and Results.