The Holden White Cup Final took place on Sunday 2nd August on Lawns 1, with Peer Polo taking on White Crane for the prestigious 8-goal title.
Riding out at number 1 for Peer Polo was Ralph Robson (0), with Antonio Sorzana (1) at 2, Pierandrea Mueller (3) at 3, and 4-goaler Tom Brodie at Back. Lining up for White Crane were Brigitte Boher (0) at 1, Alexie Calvert-Ansari (0) at 2, Justo Del Carril (3) at 3, and 5-goaler Michel Del Carril at Back.
The opening chukka was a tightly contested, low-scoring affair, with both teams producing unbreakable defensive displays. A mistake by Peer Polo, however, handed White Crane the opportunity to convert a 40-yard penalty, giving them a narrow 1-0 advantage heading into the second chukka.
The pace began to build in the second as White Crane extended their lead. Justo Del Carril opened the scoring with another successful 40-yard penalty before adding an impressive goal under heavy pressure. Peer Polo swiftly replied, with a shot far out from goal by Sorzana, before Brodie finished a skilled run to goal to bring the score back to 3-2. White Crane had the final say of the half, though, as Michel Del Carril struck in the closing moments to restore their two-goal lead, sending White Crane into half-time leading 4-2.
The third chukka saw very little goal scoring action, with neither side breaking through each other’s strong defence, leaving White Crane ahead 4-2 going into the last.
The final chukka delivered all the drama. Peer Polo mounted an impressive comeback, with Mueller converting a 30-yard penalty to reduce the deficit to a single goal. Moments later, Brodie capitalised straight from the line-out to level the scores at 4-4 and send the match into an extra chukka.
With the crowd watching in near silence, both teams created chances in extra time, but neither could find the decisive breakthrough until Michel Del Carril broke through heavy traffic and scored the golden goal to seal the win for White Crane 5-4.
The Holden White Cup was presented to Alexie Calvert-Ansari by Anthony Coupland, founder of Yerba Spirit, who also kindly provided the prizes. The Gusbourne Most Valuable Player Award was presented to Justo Del Carril in recognition of his outstanding goalscoring performance, while the Polo Times Best Playing Pony Rug was awarded to Bindi, played and owned by Tom Brodie.
