Water polo warriors

Think water polo's a soft touch? Think again. BBC Sport's Jonathon Moore travels to Sydney's Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre to witness one of the most aggressive sports on the planet.

"Fancy a swim?" Sounds pleasant doesn't it?

And particularly so when the person asking you is Dutch water polo captain Ellen Van Der Weijden-Bast.

The offer was made when I asked her just what goes on underneath the surface.

After a brief description of all manner of violent acts that can be perpetrated - often to the ignorance of the referees - I politely declined, citing a now long-forgotten back injury.

I was relieved to have escaped, though not, perhaps, as relieved as Ellen herself.

There are many sports which come under the tag of 'physical' and though water polo may not have the profile of other more obvious examples, it is as equally demanding on the body.

Most people, at the very least, have attempted 90 minutes of football, or 80 minutes of rugby union. But just how many have experienced the difficulties of treading water for 70?

To put it simply, the sport is tough and few teams are tougher than women's gold-medal hopefuls, the Netherlands.

In an impressive performance, rightly dubbed the 'clash of the titans', the Dutch have achieved what many thought impossible - beaten the Aussies on their home patch 5-4.

"We take each game as it comes," said Australian hat-trick hero Yvette Higgins.

"It was a good game, the Netherlands are a good team to play against. It was rough though."

Those last few words are music to the ears of any Dutch supporter.

Coming into the Games, Australia were the overwhelming favourites, but the Netherlands' victory has thrown the whole competition wide open.

For the uninitiated, water polo may come some way down a list of energetic sporting activities. But as Higgins' statement demonstrates, to dismiss the sport as leisurely would be wrong.

The similarities with football are, indeed, greater than many imagine. The ball is exactly the same size and the aim is to get it into the back of your opponents' net.

While the hand is taboo in football, water polo more specifically outlaws the clenched fist. Otherwise, there are the same plays at work and the ebb and flow of the game matches football almost precisely.

Veteran Dutch player Marcel Van Lieshort admits water polo struggles to attract a large number of fans. But he hopes Dutch success can go someway to changing the sport's public perception, at least in the Netherlands.

"This team came to Sydney for one reason," he said. "To win gold. They declared that publicly before they left.

"Waterpolo does not have a large following. But as you can see, those who do follow it are very vocal indeed.

"There's no doubt these girls are now a huge medal chance. And if they do win, the whole of the Netherlands will applaud.

"It's the same in Great Britain surely. The Olympics are special - every medal is vital. If they win gold they will be dancing on the streets of Amsterdam."

Van Der Weijden-Bast admitted she was relieved to have won: "We are so happy. We're delighted with the result," she said.

"We knew we could play better after our first two games, but now we have managed to hit form."

She admitted the remaining games would be tough, but she dismissed the idea that the burden of defeating the Australians would weigh heavily on her team's shoulders.

"There were a number of possible winners before the Games began," she said. "Of course the Australians were favourites. But now we are and we deserve to be.

"It's not hard to cope with it. We expect to win. We're going to win gold."