The Australian men’s canoe polo team won’t be playing in this weekend’s semi-finals at the 2018 ICF World Championships in Canada, but coach Matthew Moore is pleased with his team’s performance.
The Australian women chalked up their first wins of the championships, coach Rebecca Jennings being rewarded with a dunking at the Welland Flatwater Canoe Centre after piloting her team to a 2-1 win over hosts Canada.
The Australian men’s team came up against two of the powerhouses of world canoe polo, losing 7-1 to Spain and then 6-1 to France.
But Moore said the scoreline was not an accurate reflection of his team’s performance.
“They showed incredible fight and had incredible intensity all the way through,” he said.
“We made a few little errors, and the French are a really good team. They’re triple world champions, and any time you give them any space or opportunity, they’ll take advantage of it.
“But I’m really happy with the fight the guys showed, we made some errors and we were punished for it.”
Moore said it was really important for his team to finish the World Championships strongly.
“We’re out of contention for the semi-finals now, and we have to accept that. But what we do have is more opportunities.
“We still have games to play and we still have fight in us. We’ve got a few things we’ll keep working on, right to the death knell, and we’ll see what we can achieve.”
The women’s team dug deep to beat hosts Canada 2-1, and then finished the day with a 5-2 win over World Championship newcomers, China.
Captain Carley Goodwin said it was good to be playing teams of a similar standard.
“It’s pretty exciting, I’m pretty happy,” Goodwin said.
“I think we’re playing better, but we’re also playing teams that are a bit more our level. Great Britain and France are amazing players, so I think we always expected to get thrashed by them.
“We’re building our confidence with every game.”
The 2018 ICF Canoe Polo World Championships continue in Welland, Canada, on Saturday.
Follow live on www.canoeicf.com
Australian 2018 World Canoe Polo Championships Results
Results Friday, 3 August 2018
Women – Australia v Canada 2-1
Women – Australia v China 5-2
Men – Australia v Spain 7-1
Men – Australia v France 6-1
Results Thursday, 2 August 2018
Women – Australia v Denmark 3-9
Men – Australia v Japan 6-3
Men – Australia v Iran 7-6
Results Wednesday, 1 August 2018
Women – Aus v Great Britain 0-17
Women – Aus v France 0 -17
Men – Aus v Italy 1-3
Men – Aus v Argentina 16-0
Follow results here https://www.canoeicf.com/canoe-polo-world-championships/welland-2018/rankings-results
