After losing to Manchester on day one at Ponds Forge, Coventry bounced back in women's Division 1 with two victories - 12-6 against Hucknall and then 13-11 in a thriller against Otter.

The Otter match was a real see-saw affair. The London club led 7-5 after two periods but Coventry then turned the tables, scoring five times without reply through Ruby Versfelt (Picture, Trevor Hyde), Vicki Hawkins (2) and Elizabeth Kennedy (2). Otter rallied again, pulling up to 10-10 in the final quarter. But it was all in vain - Versfelt promptly bagged three more goals to ensure the points.

Manchester top the table with a perfect record from five matches followed by Liverpool Lizards - both already guaranteed places in the Super 5s.

Leeds Sharks notched their first point, recovering from 3-1 down in the first period to draw 4-4 with Sheffield Sharks.

Penguin Emperors head Division 2 with maximum points from five games. Liverpool Liver Birds dropped a point for the first time, drawing 8-8 with Tyldesley.

A goal 55 seconds from the end by Victoria Witko earned Caledonia their first women's Division 1 points with a 7-6 victory over Leeds Sharks at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, today. Leeds had held a narrow lead for much of the game.

​Manchester won 10-4 against Coventry, easing clear by scoring four times without reply in the third period. Annie Clapperton, top goal-scorer in the women's Super 5s last season, was on target with four.

​Katie's Hesketh's three goals in the opening quarter set Liverpool Lizards on the way to a comfortable 12-7 victory over Sheffield Sharks while, in Division 2, Liverpool Liver Birds remained undefeated after a 16-2 hammering of Welsh Wanderers, with Molly Boniface-Ashton (8) and Charlotte Hopwood (5) contributing most of the goals.

​Penguin Emperors also retain a 100 per cent record in Division 2, surviving a late scare against London rivals Otter Lutra to win 7-6. Otter recovered from 7-2 down late in the game.

Later, Otter outplayed Hucknall 17-1 to join Manchester at the top of the table with three wins from three matches.  
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The grand finale of the men's and women's Super Fives is heading for a new venue this season - the splendid Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School pool at Elstree, Hertfordshire.

​The dates are now confirmed as Saturday, 24 March, and Sunday 25 March.

Ealing looked set for their first victory of the season in men's Division 3 at Lancaster when, boosted by four goals from Will Rea, they led Birmingham 8-6 at the end of the third period.

​But it wasn't to be. In the final quarter, Birmingham soon levelled and, with 2.56 minutes to go, claimed a man-up winner at 9-8 scored by Ben Cartwright. Birmingham had a player excluded after that but Ealing couldn't grab the chance of an equaliser.

​Portobello retained a 100 per cent record after five matches with a 13-7 victory over Castleford, including hat-tricks for Luca Pollock and Hadrien Collineau. 

​In men's Division 4 at Grantham, Manchester Hawks made it four wins from four games, beating Cheltenham Spartans 10-3. This included three goals from Joseph Carr and two each from Conor Lynch and Tom Hadley.

​Invicta Marlins squeezed home 12-11 against Rotherham Metro, but only after the Yorkshire side had recovered from 9-5 down in the third period to trail 10-11 late into the last. Nick Caulfield's sixth goal then made the game safe for the Marlins. 

Birmingham raced into a 5-1 first quarter lead against Bridgefield in men's Division 3 at Lancaster Salt Ayre today and ultimately it was enough to ensure a 14-9 victory. Hat-tricks went to Matt Foulds and Alun Chesworth-Richards.

​Portobello hammered Cambridge 18-4, including a seven-goal haul from Neilson Rutherford, while Alex Hall contributed five in Castleford's 13-9 win against Ealing.

​In men's Division 4 at Grantham, Hucknall defeated Rotherham Metro 12-9 but only after recovering from a poor start. Rotherham led 5-1 early in the second period and 6-4 at the halfway stage. Then Hucknall took charge, scoring four times without reply in the third quarter. Hucknall's Dan Siddons, Sam Joyce and Robert Smith each claimed three goals. 

​Tyldesley chalked up their first win - 15-12. The game certainly came to life in the final period when 13 of the goals were scored. Once again, Addison Brown was the main Tyldesley goal threat - his match tally was seven.

​In the meeting of two previously undefeated teams, Manchester Hawks edged out Otter 8-7. The London side led 7-6 going into the last quarter, but James Moffat's third goal from a man-up brought the sides level - then Lewis Daly claimed the winner with 2.45 to go.

The list of venues and divisions for phase 2 is now available to download from the Info section of this website.  We will announce the venue for the Super 5s Grand Finale in the near future.

Referee Brian Pugh (pictured) is retiring from British League activity following many years' dedicated service.

​Brian, from Walsall, assisted the former men's and women's leagues before progressing to BWPL - in latter years as a delegate - and remains a stalwart of Midlands water polo.

​Everyone involved in the British League will wish him a happy retirement.

Polytechnic claimed a notable first win on their return to men's Division 1 with a deserved 13-10 victory over Cheltenham at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, today. It was the champions' second defeat of the weekend.

The London side led all the way through, although they were under pressure when Cheltenham pulled up to trail only 11-10 with 3.28 to go. The tension lifted for Poly as Federico Carucci and then Chris Icely - with his fifth goal of the match - made sure of victory.

Manchester completed their second win - 10-8 against Caledonia - but it was never straightforward against determined opponents who caught up to 9-8 near the end thanks to a man-up strike from Alasdair Campbell. A Caledonia exclusion then enabled Spilios Kaloudis to make the game safe for Manchester with 1.05 remaining.

Jordan Elliot was the star of Solihull's 15-12 victory over Invicta. And it was Chris Armstrong's sharp shooting that helped Sheffield boost their chances of a top five place with a 9-7 defeat of Lancaster. He scored the only two goals of the last period.

Close matches continued in men's Division 2 as Exeter clinched an 8-8 draw with Team Northumbria. Northumbria led 8-7 with three seconds remaining but, from a restart, the Devon side somehow managed to manufacture an equaliser through Christian Pulido (pictured, white cap - Trevor Hyde).

Sutton & Cheam won again - 8-5 against Welsh Wanderers, who could only score once against outstanding goalkeeper Matt Holland during the four minutes that Sutton played a man short following a brutality offence.

In men's Division 5, Bedford's Justin Irvine scored twice in the last 46 seconds to salvage a 12-12 draw against Sheffield Dolphins.

After beating Welsh Wanderers by a single goal on day one in men's Division 2, Penguin won again by the narrowest of margins at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, today.

This time it was in a London derby - 6-5 against Croydon Amphibians. At the end of the first period, Croydon led 3-1. But Penguin were back to 4-4 midway through the game - and moved to 6-4 by the middle of the final period with vital goals by Claudio Bagnoli and Joseph Ortiz. Steve Leathwood responded for Croydon a minute from the end.

The highly-competitive Division 2 produced another one-goal, all-action win, City of Bristol edging out Watford 12-11. Watford made the more positive start, leading 4-1 after the first period. But, once Bristol levelled, it was tight all the way through, reaching 10-10 in the final quarter - then 11-10 to Bristol as ex-Olympic captain Craig Figes scored a fine solo goal. James Warman equalised on 1.25, followed by a Tom Whiting winner for Bristol as the one-minute bell sounded. Bristol then had a player excluded but Watford couldn't convert.

Photo: Peter Pickford, Watford goalkeeper, faces Bristol's Jakob Newman.

In men's Division 5, Leeds beat Chelmsford 11-5, including four goals from George Rix and three from Connor Keeble. Coventry beat Caledonia Storm 9-8, resisting a late challenge from the Scots.