October 2018 - A Performance Analysis of King Power Foxes 2017 Gold Cup winning run
As Polo continues to grow in popularity globally, it intrigues more and more people as to what it is exactly about the sport that attracts such an elite dedicated following, enabling it to earn the nickname the sport of kings. We have been lucky enough at Ainsley Polo to be approached by two sports scientists from Wintec, the Waikato institute of Technology who are interested in studying the science behind the sport. They have begun their research studying videos of the game online with their first research paper answering the question ‘How do you win at Polo?’ We can’t wait to work with them in a practical sense to get to the nitty gritty of every detail behind the science of the sport! So watch this space for future developments on the science behind the game we all love so much
With the combination of both human and equine athletes, the largest pitch in professional sport, and a high-paced, yet extremely technical style of play, it would be safe to assume that Polo and sport science would be a natural coupling. Despite this seemingly organic fit, there is no academic sports science literature discussing the performance of Polo! Several researchers have investigated concussion and injury statistics within general equestrian sports; however, from speaking to Polo players in NZ and the UK it was obvious there was a niche requiring someone to answer the global question ‘How do you win at Polo?’
We aimed to answer this question by analysing the performance of King Power Foxes through their group games and the knockout stages (seven games; five wins, two losses) of the 2017 Jaeger le Coultre Gold Cup. We chose King Power Foxes, not just because they won in 2017, but because they had been so dominant over three years and presented a nice contrast within their 22-goal handicap, with Hugo Taylor and James ‘Jimbo’ Fewster both playing off 1-goal, and the Pieres brothers as two 10-goalers.
We viewed the games online through Pololine, and analysed their performances using a customised matrix that we devised with input from Polo players here in New Zealand, and in the UK. This allowed us to quantitively measure both successful and unsuccessful aspects of gameplay such as forehand and backhand shots (of differing lengths), penalties (for and against), melees (the coming together of two or more players), ride-offs, and turnovers (won and lost). We used a combination of both raw values and percentage differences to describe what likely led to KPF winning or losing games throughout this tournament.
In games won, KPF typically conceded three fewer turnovers, and were awarded 1.5 more penalties than their opposition. The importance of these findings was supported by the high conversion values of long (Penalty 60) and short (Penalty 30 or 40) penalties, which suggests penalties present clear advantageous attacking and goal scoring opportunities. Counterintuitively, more melees were won in games lost (+4 per game) than in games won (-0.6 per game). We suspect this may be because the more players a team commits to the ball, the further it can open-up the rest of the pitch for the opposition, potentially making counterattacking easier.
Forehand success rates were similar between wins and losses, as were ride-offs. Backhands were more unsuccessful in games lost and were the most variable of all shot types. An increase in backhand variability and a decrease in backhand success rates were identified as shot length increased.
From this analysis of such a successful team, we recommend Polo players and teams aim to develop their backhand success rates, especially in regard to longer shot play. The team should also aim to concede fewer penalties than the opposition. This may sound obvious, but by doing so teams both limit the opposition’s time on the ball and increase your own chances of scoring. It is advised that teams consider the number of players they commit to a melee, as it may lead to prime counter-attacking opportunities for the opposing team.
We have since dug deeper into the numbers and have calculated individual player statistics, which we look forward to sharing soon. In our future research, we want to look more closely at contested actions, especially ride-offs that take place off the ball as these may encourage and allow more attacking play by other team members, much like blocking plays in American football or basketball.
Authors: Russ Best & Regan Standing; Waikato Institute of Technology
Twitter: @SimplyRussBest Email: [email protected]
Link to research: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326369501_Quantitative_Analysis_of_High_Goal_Polo_A_Pilot_Study
With the combination of both human and equine athletes, the largest pitch in professional sport, and a high-paced, yet extremely technical style of play, it would be safe to assume that Polo and sport science would be a natural coupling. Despite this seemingly organic fit, there is no academic sports science literature discussing the performance of Polo! Several researchers have investigated concussion and injury statistics within general equestrian sports; however, from speaking to Polo players in NZ and the UK it was obvious there was a niche requiring someone to answer the global question ‘How do you win at Polo?’
We aimed to answer this question by analysing the performance of King Power Foxes through their group games and the knockout stages (seven games; five wins, two losses) of the 2017 Jaeger le Coultre Gold Cup. We chose King Power Foxes, not just because they won in 2017, but because they had been so dominant over three years and presented a nice contrast within their 22-goal handicap, with Hugo Taylor and James ‘Jimbo’ Fewster both playing off 1-goal, and the Pieres brothers as two 10-goalers.
We viewed the games online through Pololine, and analysed their performances using a customised matrix that we devised with input from Polo players here in New Zealand, and in the UK. This allowed us to quantitively measure both successful and unsuccessful aspects of gameplay such as forehand and backhand shots (of differing lengths), penalties (for and against), melees (the coming together of two or more players), ride-offs, and turnovers (won and lost). We used a combination of both raw values and percentage differences to describe what likely led to KPF winning or losing games throughout this tournament.
In games won, KPF typically conceded three fewer turnovers, and were awarded 1.5 more penalties than their opposition. The importance of these findings was supported by the high conversion values of long (Penalty 60) and short (Penalty 30 or 40) penalties, which suggests penalties present clear advantageous attacking and goal scoring opportunities. Counterintuitively, more melees were won in games lost (+4 per game) than in games won (-0.6 per game). We suspect this may be because the more players a team commits to the ball, the further it can open-up the rest of the pitch for the opposition, potentially making counterattacking easier.
Forehand success rates were similar between wins and losses, as were ride-offs. Backhands were more unsuccessful in games lost and were the most variable of all shot types. An increase in backhand variability and a decrease in backhand success rates were identified as shot length increased.
From this analysis of such a successful team, we recommend Polo players and teams aim to develop their backhand success rates, especially in regard to longer shot play. The team should also aim to concede fewer penalties than the opposition. This may sound obvious, but by doing so teams both limit the opposition’s time on the ball and increase your own chances of scoring. It is advised that teams consider the number of players they commit to a melee, as it may lead to prime counter-attacking opportunities for the opposing team.
We have since dug deeper into the numbers and have calculated individual player statistics, which we look forward to sharing soon. In our future research, we want to look more closely at contested actions, especially ride-offs that take place off the ball as these may encourage and allow more attacking play by other team members, much like blocking plays in American football or basketball.
Authors: Russ Best & Regan Standing; Waikato Institute of Technology
Twitter: @SimplyRussBest Email: [email protected]
Link to research: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326369501_Quantitative_Analysis_of_High_Goal_Polo_A_Pilot_Study