South Africa crowned the 2024 Ignition Group Polocrosse World Cup champions
In a nail-biting 2024 Ignition Group Polocrosse World Cup final on Sunday, South Africa narrowly beat reigning champions, Australia 29-28 – earning them a third World Cup title.
Sunday’s final concluded a fantastic competition which ran from 17 to 28 July at the Durban Shongweni Club in the Valley of 1000 Hills.
Spectators were kept on the edge of their seats during what turned out to be one of the closest finals in the history of the Polocrosse World Cup. South Africa came out of the first chukka 5 goals down, with the men coming in to close that gap, building the momentum from there. Chukka 4 to 7, it was one goal in and in Chukka 8, Australia went up by 2, followed by 2 goals from South Africa to equalise, followed by the winning goal in the final seconds before the bell rang.
Man of the Match, South Africa’s Chad von Beneke commented: “It was a tight game all the way through, but our team pulled through in the end. We started a couple of goals down, and Australia came out firing, but it was an unbelievable performance by the South African team. We can’t thank South Africa enough for the support!”
Speaking at the prizegiving, the SA team captain and four-time South Africa World Cup player, Jan-Albert commented: “For me, personally, it is the pinnacle of polocrosse to come up against a side as good as [the Australians] are, I feel it brings out the best in players and it was an honour playing against you today. It’s been an unbelievable day for me, as I come to the end of my international career, I couldn’t have scripted it better.”
Before handing over the winner’s trophy, Sean Bergsma, Group CEO, Ignition Group, the title sponsors of the event congratulated everyone from the players to the organisers on an ‘outstanding event’: “This is one that we are suitably humbled and really appreciative to be a part of. It was about bringing people together, building new connections, and building new friendships. It was an inspiring day to be watching, not only the players, but also seeing so many of the local communities, visitors coming from all over South Africa, and visitors coming from around the world to see our wonderful country. To Team South Africa, you did an amazing job! I’ve been honoured to spend some time with them and from the leadership and coaches to the players, they’re an amazing team!”
Dr Manfred Rohwer, President of The Polocrosse Association of South Africa, commented: “Thank you very much to the SA team for pulling it off, to the South African supporters for coming out, and to all of the organisers over the last year, this has been a fantastic achievement. I’m so proud!”
The SA Men’s Coach James Hackland said: “Amazing final today, against all odds we won. I’m super proud of my team. They are the World Champions!”
Visitors to the Durban Shongweni Club have enjoyed the world-class polocrosse action, which started with a round-robin format and culminated in this home-side win. There was also great action as the South African Development side took on a Rest of the World Barbarian side, featuring players from South America, Canada, and Europe, among others. There were also great pop-up stalls selling handcrafted goods, great live entertainment, and live broadcasts by East Coast Radio.
2024 Ignition Group Polocrosse World Cup Rankings
1. South Africa
2. Australia
3. Zambia
4. New Zealand
5. Ireland
6. Zimbabwe
7. United Kingdom
8. United States of America
