Scotland have named a strong side for the BWPL-hosted international against England at Ponds Forge on Sunday, 11 February.

​Inevitably, there is strong representation from the Caledonia and Portobello clubs, augmented by Callum Bailey (pictured in white cap, Trevor Hyde), a consistent marksman for Invicta over a number of years, and Team Northumbria's Josh Brown.

​Scotland team: Bojan Donevski (Portobello), Callum Bailey (Invicta), Josh Brown (Team Northumbria), Chris Campbell (Caledonia), Neilson Rutherford (Portobello), Darren Campbell (Caledonia), Ben Scott, Mario Alvarez, Lorcan Morgan (Portobello), Mathew Crighton, Finlay Nesbitt, Ali Campbell (Caledonia), Fraser Rutherford (Portobello). 

The England-Scotland clash at Ponds Forge on 11 February will revive the oldest international fixture in the history of water polo.

The first meeting was at Kensington Baths, London, on 28 July 1890 - some 20 years after a very crude version of the sport had been introduced in this country in the 1870s with no printed rules. Scotland won 4-0.

​It was quite an achievement by the visitors because the fixture was played under English rules. Scotland had their own version, one of the key differences being that keepers guarded the goal by standing on the side!

​According to a contemporary report of the inaugural international, the Scots were "far smarter in playing the ball . . . in the shallow  end, the Englishmen repeatedly infringed the rule prohibiting standing when playing.

​"It is of course hard to avoid standing in the shallow end of a bath, but the leaping from the bottom at the ball was so palpable an infringement that the onlookers quickly acknowledged that the Scotch game was better than that in vogue in England."

​Scotland also won the return fixture, played under Scottish rules in Glasgow in October 1891. It was that occasion which brought the two countries together to create an accepted set of rules, establishing that teams would comprise seven players (changed to 11 in the first year of the former men's National League in 1963 before increasing to 13) and games would be played over two halves each of seven minutes (four periods were also introduced in 1963).

​Picture: No, not from an early England-Scotland encounter, but the 1904 Olympics. How did a single referee manage to control that lot?

England have today announced their team for the international against Scotland at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, on Sunday, 11 February (3.15pm).

The match is being hosted by the British League as a climax to a full programme of games on Saturday and Sunday in the men's and women's Super 5s and women's Championship 1.

​England have selected a good mix of experienced players - including 2012 GB Olympic "veterans" Rob Parker and Jake Vincent and many-times BWPL top marksman Tom Curwen - and some of the country's most talented youngsters. England team:

​Peter Pickford (Watford), Dan Paddon (City of Manchester), Chris Armstrong (City of Sheffield), Aaron Winstanley (Manchester), Joel Leighton (Manchester), Jordan Elliot (Solihull), Lewis Daly (Manchester), Tom Curwen (Lancaster), Rob Parker (Cheltenham), Jake Vincent (Solihull), Ryan Padbury (Solihull), Joel Abbot (Sheffield), Tom Manley (City of Bristol).

​Photo (Trevor Hyde): Tom Curwen (white cap) in action for Lancaster.

After wins against Birmingham and Ealing on day one at Aldershot, Cheltenham Spartans completed a hat-trick in men's Championship 3, beating Bridgefield 12-7.

Manchester Hawks also enjoyed a successful weekend, winning both their games. Otter proved tough opposition, Pier Spagna's powerful shooting from distance helping the London side recover from 3-2 down to lead 6-3 at one stage. Left-hander Lewis Daly proved just as efficient with shots from the arc as the Hawks hit back to level at 6-6 at the end of the third period. 

Goals by Joe Carr and Daly took the Manchester team to an 8-6 victory in the final quarter of a hard-fought match.

Ealing beat Rotherham Metro 13-9, dominating a spell in which they hit back from 4-2 down to lead 7-5.

At Haberdashers, Caledonia Storm stay top of the table despite dropped a point for the first time in a 10-10 draw with Tyldesley. The Scots led 10-8 when Sam Mair netted with less than two minutes to go. Tyldesley equalised through Adam Toone (47 seconds to go) and Addison Brown (21 seconds). 

​Photo (Trevor Hyde): Eyes shut . . . Otter defenders under heavy pressure at Aldershot.

Otter edged out Ealing 11-10 in a tense men's Championship 3 derby at the Garrison Sports Centre in Aldershot today.

During the early action, Otter were always ahead. But then Ealing scored three quick goals by Mehmet Arat, Rumen Kurtev and Lukas Dambrauskas to recover from 7-6 down to lead 9-7.

The advantage didn't last long. Otter levelled at 9-9 - and again at 10-10 - before Nicholas Corjon netted a last-ditch winner for Otter.

Lewis Daly scored four in Manchester Hawks' 9-6 victory over Bridgefield. There were also four goals each for Neil Swainson and Craig Mellors as Rotherham Metro outplayed Hucknall 16-8.

Cheltenham Spartans' 12-8 success against Birmingham featured three goals each for youngster Tom Hunt and experienced ex-first team regular David Taylor. Taylor bagged six later on as the Spartans rounded off a good day with a 14-12 defeat of Ealing. Nathan Wilkes inspired Birmingham's 12-11 victory over Otter, scoring seven.

​Photo (Trevor Hyde): Talking heads . . . referees Vicki Hawkins (left) and Claire Walmsley, who both play for Coventry in the women's Super 5s, meet up while reffing the game between Bridgefield and Manchester Hawks.

Sheffield Dolphins left it late to steal a 14-13 victory over Tyldesley in men's Championship 4 at Haberdashers today.

With two minutes remaining Tyldesley were leading 13-12. Then a man-up chance enabled Chris Howard to complete a hat-trick with 1.28 to go. And just 52 seconds remained when Howard struck again to grab the points.

It was also 14-13 in the next game - this time in favour of Caledonia Storm against Coventry. The teams were tied at 12-12 two minutes from the end; then goals by Nicola Fenu and Ben Parsons took Caledonia clear, retaining the Scots' 100 per cent record after four games. Another Coventry goal was scored too late to change the result. 

In yet another very close match, late goals by Matt Bottomley and Connor Keeble earned Leeds a 12-11 victory over Invicta Marlins. Coventry won 17-16 against Tyldesley, including seven goals from Steve Blassberg.

Caledonia and Leeds Sharks had little difficult completing the first weekend of women's Championship 1 at Newport as the only teams with two wins.

Hannah Edwards (5) and Alison Tate (3) led the scorers in a 14-6 defeat of Liverpool Liver Birds while Leeds scored six times without reply in the third period on their way to an 11-2 success against Hucknall.

In one of the closest games of the weekend, Tyldesley defeated Otter Lutra 8-7, including four goals from young Lucy Mills.

​Picture (Trevor Hyde): Hannah Edwards, white cap, challenged by Emily Bowater, of the Liver Birds.

Polytechnic launched their Super 5s debut with a hard-fought 9-8 victory over Lancaster at Luton today.

The London side led 6-3 after two quarters and 8-5 after three before Lancaster staged a late recovery. Main scorers for Poly were Chris Icely (4), Ciacomo Cupido (2) and Chris Brown (2).

In their second match, Poly led Manchester 4-2 in the third period but eventually settled for a point in a 6-6 draw. Aaron Winstanley scored the final goal for Manchester a minute from the end.

Solihull underlined their potential as title challengers, beating champions Cheltenham 7-3. The match was tied at 3-3 after three periods, then Solihull raced clear with goals by Ryan Padbury, Jordan Elliot, Jake Vincent and Matt Madden.

In men's Championship 1, a Chris Armstrong hat-trick in the third period helped Sheffield defeat Team Northumbria 13-9. Sheffield had drawn two previous games - four in all so far this season. Caledonia scored five without reply in the opening period on course to an 11-7 victory over City of Bristol.

Picture (Trevor Hyde): Chris Icely in action for Polytechnic.

Solihull made a storming start to the men's Super 5s at Luton today, outplaying Lancaster 11-6.

By the middle part of the first period, the Midlands side were already 4-0 up and they remained in control, easing to 9-2 towards the end of the third. Pawal Wielogorski, Ryan Padbury, Jordan Elliot, Peter Farkas and Jake Vincent contributed two goals each and Matt Madden one.

Champions Cheltenham and City of Manchester fought out a 13-13 draw - a real seesaw match. It was 11-11 at the end of third period. Then goals by Dan Padden and Aaron Winstanley edged Manchester into a 13-11 lead. Cian Mulcahy reduced the gap to 13-12; then Adam Legge converted a man-up chance for his fourth goal of the match and the final equaliser. Manchester had a man-up chance in the last few seconds and couldn't find the net.

Men's Championship 1 produced its usual tense finishes at Luton today, Chris Armstrong rescuing a point for Sheffield with just 12 seconds remaining of the opening match against City of Bristol. It ended 11-11.

Sheffield led 4-2 early in the second period but Bristol were 6-5 up at the start of the third - and went to 9-7 and then 11-9 before Sheffield staged a very late recovery.

It was almost as close as Team Northumbria edged an 11-10 victory over Caledonia thanks to Zach White's fifth goal 1.48 from the end. Northumbria had led 8-4 and then 10-7 at the start of the last quarter before the Scots countered with goals from Alasdair Campbell, Matt Crighton and Darren Campbell.