It was almost a fairytale finish for Hawke's Bay polo player Phil "Curly" Thompson at the Dewar Cup tournament which ended in Hastings yesterday.
Forty-five years after playing in his first Dewar Cup division final at the Bayleys Hawke's Bay Open at Elwood Park, No4, Thompson, 67, played for the Hawke's Bay A team which lost 9-7 to Rangitikei A in yesterday's final.
"We let it slip in that third chukka ... it could have been pretty special for Curly," Hawke's Bay A No3 and Kiwi professional Johnny Coddington said.
After leading 4-3 at halftime Bayleys Hawke's Bay A lost the third chukka 4-2. Apart from this period the hosts were more than competitive with Rangitikei A who had a commanding figure in No4, regular New Zealand representative Angus McKelvie, who scored eight of his team's goals.
"Considering it was our first time playing together and we hadn't even trained together we did well.