Wales at the World Cup 2005

by Cath Ash

In lacrosse, as in most sports, the World Cup is the most prestigious tournament in which to take part. It is the only occasion where all lacrosse-playing nations compete together and given the constraints of a truly amateur game, a rare opportunity to play against countries from across the globe. The tournament is played once every four years and the summer of 2005 brought it to the eastern shores of the United States of America.The tournament has been in existence for 23 years and Wales have been competing from the start, the best performance being in 1997 in Japan when we came 4th. The USA has been dominant throughout, winning each event except in 1986 when the Australians beat them into second place.This year Wales' preparation has been the most professional ever, thanks to the commitment of the players and the knowledge and attitude of the coaching and management staff. In particular the endurance, speed and strength of the players, all vital ingredients in an athletes performance, have improved dramatically. Also Wales entered the World Cup on the back of one of our most successful seasons. We are current European Champions and defeated Scotland and the visiting Japanese squad in the home international series a matter of weeks before the tournament began. Expectations were high.The US Lacrosse Association hosted the tournament in the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The sporting facilities certainly lived up to expectation: pristine pitches and so many of them, spacious well equipped changing rooms, photographs and trophies from previous successes, inspiring quotes on the walls. As stoical Brits we may sigh and look heavenward at the jingoism of the Americans, but on the sporting field I believe this attitude has a lot to commend it and this cannot be refuted with their history of success across the sporting arena.The tournament schedule had Wales in the most difficult section. There were 12 teams competing and these were split into two groups according to the country's ranking after the last world cup. Wales came 6th on that occasion and therefore had group matches against the top 5 countries in the world. We were expecting it to be tough. The match rota was gruelling. Eleven days of play with matches every day and only one or two rest days per team. Each day was timetabled around the match, with more hours spent in preparation and recovery as actually on the pitch. However, every player realised that off pitch performance was vital to maintain performance on the pitch.Thus, having spent many hours running at the track, lifting weights, practising stick skills, after waiting so long, suddenly the tournament begins. Our first match was against Canada; this was a team we believed we could beat. But we didn't. It would be fair to say that we didn't have a great game. We had moments of greatness, both in physical and mental skill. We came back at the Canadians twice, but therein lay the problem; we were always just coming back. A disappointing start, one, which we could build on.And build on it we did. Next came the Americans, the World Champions, and Wales stepped up to the mark. It was an awesome team game for Wales. In attack Wales showed incredible discipline and we held the majority of possession in the first half. We were controlled and calm. In defence we were solid and determined. At half time there were only 2 goals in it, yes, the US were in the lead, but they had had to fight hard for it. The end result was a defeat for Wales, but it was an elite Welsh performance of which everybody was proud.Against England, we lost. We performed well, not consistently, but certainly enough to make every player and that's not just those in the Wales' camp, believe that should we face England again in the tournament we could win. Then came Australia and it certainly felt as though we were playing the best team in the world. This Australian team exemplified everything a championship side should. There was no compromise, anywhere. Wales played well, but were beaten by a better side.Having completed the pool stage of the competition, having played four matches and lost four matches, Wales faced Japan in the crossover match. Japan had not only won all of their pool matches, but also won them convincingly, beating all teams by a margin of more than ten goals. We knew we couldn't underestimate this side, but we put in our worst first half performance of the competition. We faced a barrage of attacks from the Japanese and failed to withstand the pressure. By half time we were about 10 goals down. Our second half was so much better, but we couldn't make up the difference and were defeated again. However this match hurt, we lost because we didn't play as well as we could.That defeat however, gave us the opportunity to face our archenemies England once again. The rivalry shared by home nations is like no other. Through lacrosse history Wales have always been the underdog. We have never beaten England in a World Cup and, if we are being honest, our defeats have usually been heavy. Everyone believed that this match could change all that. The match lived up to expectations. It was the most exciting, closest fought contest in the whole competition. I have, so far, specifically avoided praising individual performances, but the performance of one player exemplifies the Welsh spirit and commitment to team performance. With a tireless work rate through out the match combined the composure required to net the equalising goal in the final fifteen seconds of normal time, Laura Warren was world class. Full time, therefore, finished with a draw, a moment that was probably the highlight for many Wales players and one that all the Wales players should try to remember. Especially as extra time did not go our way. England came out victorious with a controversial goal at the end of time. Whilst that moment will be remembered by everyone as the moment that decided the whole match and also, as one dependant on an umpire's decision, we must also remember that this was the sort of moment that epitomises competitive sport and unlike the movies, victory doesn't always go to those who deserve it. Wales ended the World Cup competition with another match against Japan in the 5th 6th playoff and unfortunately couldn't pull a last victory out of the hat.Competing in a World Cup is a truly awesome experience, not just because of the honour of competing for your country at the top tournament in the world, but also because of the journey that you go through to get there. The fact is that the pain and hardship and the joy and success are shared by such a special group of people, for whom and with whom you give so much, and get back so much more.This particular World Cup is fraught with irony. Wales gave some of the best performances they have ever given, yet came away without a victory. Whoever said it doesn't matter if you win or lose, its how you play the game, either never played competitive sport or at least never on the winning side. It does matter, and that is why we keep playing and why Wales will come back victorious in 2009.

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