Name: Joe O’Regan
Age: 28
Height: 6ft 8in
Weight: 110kg
Home base: Oldham
Day job: Primary School Teacher
Club: City of Manchester
Also played for: Royton and PVSK Fuszert (Hungary)
My start in water polo – and early years: Believe it or not I used to swim at my local club Royton and the water polo coach of the club asked me to come and try it out. From there my love for the sport started. After a few years mixing it with local league polo I joined Manchester where I was able to play nationally and then join the GB junior set ups and didn’t really look back after that.
Representative honours: International debut aged 18 in Georgia at the Tbilisi international tournament. Last appearance - the 2014 Commonwealth games. Major Competitions: World League 2011/12 (Groups), Olympics 2012 (Groups), Commonwealths 2014 (1st).
Best player played with: Really tough question as I have played with some great players – Craig Figes, Adam Schofield, Rob Parker – but I think the two that probably stand out are Tom Curwen and Ed Scott. Tom could single-handedly win you a game, which he still does for Lancaster now, giving goalkeepers nightmares in the process. I loved playing with Tom and would love to have played with him more. Ed, just like Tom, can win you a game – he is so cool and calm about any situation and makes some saves look easy. My favourite Ed moment was him saving four penalties in one game.
Best player played against: I’ve played against some great players over the years but the best would have to be Boris Zlokovic (Montenegrin centre-forward). The man was an animal. It was a very difficult game trying to mark him and I received possibly the hardest kick of my life from him. Honourable mention must also go to Cosmin Radu (Romanian centre forward) who is also a great player and one I have had many battles with and really enjoyed playing against.
Most influential coach: Had some brilliant coaches over the years from Tim Dunsbee to Theo Nousis but the most influential has to be Andrei Iosep. His knowledge and understanding of the game are amazing. What he managed to do with our GB squad with little training in comparison to the teams we were playing against was fantastic. He made you want to die in the water for him. His leaving the programme was a huge loss for the sport in this country.
Most memorable match/incident: My favourite match for me was a league game in Hungary playing for PVSK against Szentes. It was a must win game for us and it was the game where I really felt I was capable of playing at that level. Everything I did worked and, if I don’t say so myself, I scored some absolute screamers. Other memorable matches are the first game of the Olympics, playing at the highest level. Then my last international game for England against Malta in the Commonwealth final. Winning that game and finishing what was unfortunately my last international game with a gold medal is something I will never forget.
Age: 28
Height: 6ft 8in
Weight: 110kg
Home base: Oldham
Day job: Primary School Teacher
Club: City of Manchester
Also played for: Royton and PVSK Fuszert (Hungary)
My start in water polo – and early years: Believe it or not I used to swim at my local club Royton and the water polo coach of the club asked me to come and try it out. From there my love for the sport started. After a few years mixing it with local league polo I joined Manchester where I was able to play nationally and then join the GB junior set ups and didn’t really look back after that.
Representative honours: International debut aged 18 in Georgia at the Tbilisi international tournament. Last appearance - the 2014 Commonwealth games. Major Competitions: World League 2011/12 (Groups), Olympics 2012 (Groups), Commonwealths 2014 (1st).
Best player played with: Really tough question as I have played with some great players – Craig Figes, Adam Schofield, Rob Parker – but I think the two that probably stand out are Tom Curwen and Ed Scott. Tom could single-handedly win you a game, which he still does for Lancaster now, giving goalkeepers nightmares in the process. I loved playing with Tom and would love to have played with him more. Ed, just like Tom, can win you a game – he is so cool and calm about any situation and makes some saves look easy. My favourite Ed moment was him saving four penalties in one game.
Best player played against: I’ve played against some great players over the years but the best would have to be Boris Zlokovic (Montenegrin centre-forward). The man was an animal. It was a very difficult game trying to mark him and I received possibly the hardest kick of my life from him. Honourable mention must also go to Cosmin Radu (Romanian centre forward) who is also a great player and one I have had many battles with and really enjoyed playing against.
Most influential coach: Had some brilliant coaches over the years from Tim Dunsbee to Theo Nousis but the most influential has to be Andrei Iosep. His knowledge and understanding of the game are amazing. What he managed to do with our GB squad with little training in comparison to the teams we were playing against was fantastic. He made you want to die in the water for him. His leaving the programme was a huge loss for the sport in this country.
Most memorable match/incident: My favourite match for me was a league game in Hungary playing for PVSK against Szentes. It was a must win game for us and it was the game where I really felt I was capable of playing at that level. Everything I did worked and, if I don’t say so myself, I scored some absolute screamers. Other memorable matches are the first game of the Olympics, playing at the highest level. Then my last international game for England against Malta in the Commonwealth final. Winning that game and finishing what was unfortunately my last international game with a gold medal is something I will never forget.
RSS Feed
