After our Great Britain junior women’s sensational sixth-place finish at the European Championships, we caught up with head coach Nick Hume to get his views on what was an extremely successful tournament…

“Reflecting back over the tournament, there were several moments that stand out, but the overriding feeling is pure joy at having worked with such a group of fabulous young people.

“Jim Caulfield must be praised as he initiated and embedded the culture in this group of players four years ago. We took over the coaching responsibilities two years ago and they have been a pleasure to work with ever since.

“Within the team there has always been a strong bond and a deep resolve to fight for each other. This was evident in our first international tournament in Slovakia, coming back from six goals down in the final to win the game (and the tournament) in the last few seconds. That spirit has been there throughout our training and was evident in the European Championships.

“The clearest example of this was against Serbia, needing to win to secure GB’s best ever result, and with the whole crowd booing and jeering our every attack, the girls managed to find a way to score 90 seconds from the end and take the game to penalties.

“In the shootout, some of the girls were so nervous they couldn’t look, one had her left arm so badly bent backwards she couldn’t actually move it, but yet she still found a way to score her penalty. The look of elation and joy when we won is testament to how hard they worked and a fitting reward for all the effort they put in. It really was a massive team effort.

“Looking forward, it shows once again that talent and ability does exist in the UK. We have always had talented players, we now have a talented team. London 2012 showed that we can improve rapidly and perform competitively on a world stage.

“The challenge now is can we continue to support this young generation of girls’ and boys’ teams (the men’s and women’s student teams also performed very creditably in Taipei) and continue on this upward trajectory?

“Clearly, more funding is needed, but it will also take a collaborative effort by players, parents, coaches, clubs and administrators if we are to create a conveyor-belt of success.

“These are exciting times for Great Britain water polo and the girls are already looking forward to next year. Let’s hope it’s as good if not better than this one.”

To relive the glory, check out all the videos and the pictures of the GBR junior women from the 2017 LEN European Junior Championships in Novi Sad HERE!

Thanks to Richard Clapperton for his outstanding photography.

Head Coach Nick Hume, TM Eileen Selvey, S&C Coach Glen Robinson, Assistant Coach Sue Webb, thanks guys!