French Horseball stars off to a good start

The crowd in Saint-Lô was treated to two heavily-anticipated clashes between France and Spain…and that was just the first day of Horseball action! The matches between the two countries always seem to be tight affairs but the French national team, undefeated in international competition, confirmed its status as the discipline’s leading nation by winning both encounters with their Spanish rivals. To get the evening started, the French women easily won by the score of 11 to 6. That was followed by a more hard-fought victory by the mixed team. The French got off to a good start and padded their 3-goal lead as the match wore on. At the final bell, the score was 11 to 6. It should be mentioned that Spain’s Gil Carbonés played exceptionally well, scoring four of his team’s goals. Italy also stood out on the first day, pulling out a draw, 7-7, in the women’s match and recording a victory by the score of 8-5 in mixed competition against Belgium.

What did Raphael Dubois, coach of the French national Horseball team, have to say?

“On the whole, I’m quite pleased with the results for both the men and the women. We always have tight contests against the Spanish that really heat up in the second half. For both games tonight, the scenario was identical. We came out guns blazing before losing concentration a bit and letting some sloppy play creep into our game. This allowed Spain to keep the score close.”

Women’s matches:

France/Spain: 9-3
Italy/Belgium: 7-7

Mixed matches:

Spain/France: 6-11
Italy/Belgium: 8-5

Provisional women’s ranking:

1. France 3pts (+6)
2. Belgium 2pts (00)
2. Italy 2pts (00)
4. Spain 1pt (-6)

Provisional mixed ranking:

1. France 3pts (+5)
2. Italy 3pts (+3)
3. Belgium 1pt (-3)     
4. Spain 1pt (-5)