Nachi Viana’s overtime goal for Uruguay seals the season at NPC
Nachi Viana ended his polo season in Wellington on a patriotic high with an overtime goal to give Uruguay an 11-10 win over USA in the final game of the season at the National Polo Center [NPC].
“We wanted to enjoy playing for our country – it is something unique. And it doesn’t happen every year,” said Nachi. “So we just wanted to have fun.”
Uruguay took an early 4-0 lead in the international match, thanks to a goal on handicap, a penalty from Nachi and two goals from Santiago “Santi” Stirling as the pair demonstrated the potential of their partnership on the U.S. Polo Assn. Field One in the first chukker.
“We started very well and then we knew that it was going to be really tough because obviously they have an amazing team and they’re really, really well-mounted,” said Santi of the home team, led by Wellington favorite Nic Roldan, lining up alongside Grant Ganzi, Matias González and Tommy Collingwood. “We knew in a way that the 4-0 was a little bit of a fake, a bit of a lie. So we knew that it was going to be close all the way up to the end. But we knew that if by the last chukker we were still close, we had a chance and that’s what happened. We went into extra time and the extra chukker is for anyone, really.”
The USA began to level the playing field in the second chukker and closed a halftime 6-4 deficit to a goal entering the final chukker of regulation time. A penalty one and a goal apiece from Nic and Matias González could have spelled victory for the home crowd, had Nachi not saved Uruguay’s chances with a late goal to push the match into overtime.
Uruguay was on a slight learning curve coming into the international match. Matias Carrique, Nachi and Santi had all played together in the FIP World Polo Championship at NPC in 2022, but 16-year old Benicio Laguarda was new, added to the lineup when they finalized the team two weeks prior to the match. In addition all four players were riding horses supplied by Argentine polo player, Matias Magrini and his breeding operation, Don Ercole S.A., for the occasion – a purposeful strategy to compensate for the extenuating circumstances facing an ‘away’ team, with Nachi, the only player Uruguayan player based in Wellington. “It’s very difficult when you’re not playing the season here in America and you only come to play one game,” Santi said. “Matias [Magrini] has a good organization, so we decided to talk to him and rent horses for the whole team.”
Nachi got the most out of his horsepower not least Don Ercole S.A.’s Panamera, who he played in the second, fifth and critical overtime chukker to warrant Best Playing Pony for the effort. “We practiced them once, we didn’t really know them so today was very tricky because it’s always hard to play on a horse that you don’t know,” said Nachi. “That’s why I feel the second half we did a little better because the first half we got to play all of them one time and we got to know them so the second half you know what you can get from every horse.”
Nic, who has represented the USA on the world stage on several occasions, showed pride coupled with humility, in defeat. “It’s always an honor to play for your country,” he said. “We win or lose as a team. We had our chances and Uruguay had an amazing effort. They played great and at the end of the day, they were the stronger team today.”
Santi, whose brother is former ten-goal player David “Pelon” Stirling, has been instrumental in building Uruguay’s presence on the world polo stage. “I mean, this is a huge win. It’s not normal that Uruguay can come up to this field one and win against this amazing American team,” he said. “We’ve been working very hard the past three, four years. It’s a whole process. We did the Coronation Cup in England, we did the FIP World Cup – we did alright. Uruguay before that never did really well. So, I think it’s a lot of people putting a lot of effort into it and, you know, it’s good to see that it pays off.”
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