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Tough opener at FINA Water Polo World League
The FINA Men's Water Polo World League gets under way in Nis, Serbia, on Tuesday and South Africa could not have asked for a tougher opening round - the hosts, Serbia.
Serbia won the competition in 2007 and 2008 and finished third in 2009. In fact the Balkan countries are once again odds on favourites to clinch the title after their clean sweep of the medals in 2009.
The eight teams are split into two groups of four who will play each other on a round robin basis from 13-15 July. South Africa find themselves in Group B with Australia, Croatia (2009 Silver Medalists) and Serbia who won Bronze in 2009. Group A consists of USA, Montenegro, China and Spain. Montenegro won the title in 2009 while Spain were 2009 World Championship Silver medalists.
The battle for the medals is expected to be fought out once again by Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia, but the Americans cannot be written off either after winning the silver medal at the 2008 Olympic Games. The prize at stake; berths at the 2011 FINA World Championships in Shanghai, China.
The South African Team is vastly different to the one that went to the tournament in 2009. Only four players of that team are in the 2010 team and they will be ones upon whom the management team will rely on. Bevan Manson, the captain, will have a big responsibility on his shoulders as the team will look to him not only for guidance but also inspiration. The other remaining team members from 2009 are Grant Belcher, Don Stewart and Ryan Bell.
South Africa's first match opposition, Serbia, have quite a formidable track record. As part of the former Serbia and Montenegro, the team finished second in 2004, won the tournament in 2003, 2005 and 2006 and then went on to win again in 2007 and 2008. Considering that the FINA Men's World League Super Final has only been going since 2002, this is indeed an impressive record.
South Africa play Australia on Wednesday, 14th July, and Croatia on Thursday, 15th July. The playoffs to see who will be in the semifinals will take place on Friday, 16th July. The semifinal will take place on Saturday, the 17th July, as the finals will occur on the Sunday, 18th July, including the matches to determine the minor placings.
The full South African team is:
Grant Belcher
Matt Kemp
Bevan Manson
Don Stewart
Mark Spencer
Patrick McCarthy
Richard Downes
William Naidoo
Devon Card
Nicholas Molyneux
Ryan Bell
Gavin Kyte
Gareth Samuels
Brad Rowe - Coach
Ryan Weideman - Assistant coach
Guy Pinker- Official
