Sainte Mesme Polo Team

The final of the IX Open de France, has been held at Polo Club de Chantilly, and featured a new champion,Sainte Mesme, who defeated In the Wings Jaeger-LeCoultre.

More than 4,500 people filled the club's stands, in a bright sunny day to see In the Wings Jaeger-LeCoultre and Sainte Mesme play the final of the tournament, which was leveled at 16 goals for the second year in a row (before, it was 14 goals). Besides, the competition featured a total of ten teams, something not so easy to get due to the world crisis. But that was not enough: there are a dozen teams who want to take part of the tournament next year.

In the Wings' Tomás Goti was in charge to convert a 30 yards penalty, to give his team an early 1-0 lead, but it won't last that much. As Robert Strom to PoloLine, in a previous interview, Sainte Mesme's idea was to start strong in each game. And that's what they did in the final. With goals courtesy by Robert Strom, Christian Nordheimer and Gonzalo von Wernich, Sainte Mesme finished the first chukker with a commanding 3-1 lead.

Sainte Mesme extended their advantage to 4-2 in the second chukker, despite being hold and somewhat controlled by In the Wings' defensivework. The third chukker remained scoreless, and the match became very tight and with many fouls.

After half time, both teams rode onto the field determined to decide the match. The scoreboard read a 4-all after two penalty conversions - 30 and 60 yards - by Tomás Goti, but quickly it was Gonzalo von Wernich who scored to put Sainte Mesme back in the lead, 5-4, as In the Wings took the chukker 2-1.

The fifth chukker saw Sainte Mesme leading by one goal, and everything seemed that In the Wings would do the same as in the semifinal, when they beat La Palmeraie in the last second of play, with a goal by Tomás Goti. So, it was Goti himself who put things 5-all with two minute to go. But when there was only one minute remaining, 18-years old Robert Strom, who was playing his first important final, picked the ball and in a great personal play, he scored through a backshot to seal the final result, 6-5 and the title for Sainte Mesme.

A new edition of the Open de France has come to an end. The Club de Polo de Chantilly, 20 minutes from Paris, finished their high goal season, in a great year for the club, that featured a high competive level, great fields and a huge attendance.

Sainte Mesme 6 vs In the Wings Jaeger-LeCoultre 5

Sainte Mesme   Name  Hcp Birger Strom 1 Robert Stom 2 Christian Nordheimer 5 Gonzalo von Wernich 7  Total  15

In the Wings JLC   Name  Hcp Veronica Empain 0 Tomás Goti 7 Fernando Reynot Blanco 6 Pablo Llorente 3  Total  16

AMG - Castel 11 vs Wasabi 8

AMG - Castel   Name  Hcp Philipe Fatien 0 Valerio Zubiaurre 3 Marcos Macoroa 3 Francisco Bensadon 8  Total  14

Wasabi   Name  Hcp Karen Brink 0 Carlos Farinatti 5 Facundo Castagnola 6 Philippe Von Hoeck 1  Total  12

In The Wings 7 vs Black Polo Team 5

In The Wings   Name  Hcp  Andre Fabre (fr) 0  Juan Ruiz Zavaleta (arg) 4  Lucas Monteverde (arg) 8  Pierre Henri N'Goumou (arg) 2  Total  14

Black Polo Team   Name  Hcp  Simone Chiarella (it) 0  Lucas James (arg) 3  Pablo Jauretche (arg) 7  Vittorio Cutinelli (fr) 3  Total  13

Castel 5 vs In The Wings 2

Castel   Name  Hcp  Phillipe Fatien (fr) 0  Gaetan Charloux (fr) 3  Guillermo Willington (arg) 7  Brieuc Rigaux (arg) 3  Total  13

In The Wings   Name  Hcp  Andre Fabre (fr) 0  Faty Reynot Blanco (arg) 6  Julio Zavaleta (arg) 7  Clement Delfosse (fr) 1  Total  14

Castel 11 vs Grassfield 8

Castel   Name  Hcp  Phillipe Fatien (fr) 0  Nicolas Roze (fr) 0  Matias MacDonough (arg) 8  Guillermo Willington (arg) 6  Total  14

Grassfield   Name  Hcp  Pierre Henri N'Goumou (fr) 1  Dario Musso (arg) 6  Ramiro Guiñazu (arg) 4  Thibault Guillemin (fr) 3  Total  14

2002 Winner