Sam and Pat O’Neill (2016-20) and Conor Crosbie (2019-23) are old boys representing New Zealand on the world stage at the Water Polo World Championships overseas, writes Mike Fraher (1984-1988).

Sam and Pat made the New Zealand men’s team in 2022, they played in Australia for a season in 2023 and then went to the Division 2 World Cup in Germany in 2023. Further opportunities followed with contracts to play for Krefeld SVK in Germany.

Both are back in Christchurch representing Canterbury while they plan their next move of their water polo development with the ultimate goal of making the Olympics in Australia 2032.

Conor Crosbie has had a busy 2023, making the born in 2006 men’s squad who travelled to Barcelona to prepare for the world championships. After that the team went to the World Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The hard work paid off with the team achieving 12 place, the best result for a men’s age group team.

Sam and Pat coached Conor (among others) at Christ the King and St Bede’s for 6 years. When Sam and Pat were juniors at St Bede’s if you signed up for water polo you automatically made the Senior A team. Whereas now you must be an excellent player to make the Senior A team in year 11. The water polo club has developed massively and the titles have followed as these boys have become senior players. Below is a summary of the success of the club in recent years.

It was my pleasure to write this article about 3 fine Bedeans, who I have known since primary school. Special mention should also go to Conor’s older brother Ryan who made the New Zealand Under 18 team in 2019. We also wish Angus Nevin good luck as he is currently going for the born in 2005 New Zealand squad.

Club Chair

– Mike Fraher

Below is a Q&A covering Sam, Pat and Conor’s thoughts on playing water polo for their schools, Canterbury and New Zealand.

How did you get into water polo?

Sam O’Neill

I was watching Jack and Anabel (older brother and sister) play at Christ the King and they were short on numbers so Mr Hopkins asked the younger brothers who were good swimmers to play. After that he asked to come back, we were in year six.

Pat O’Neill

Our Christ the King teacher Mr Hopkins asked one day if anyone wanted to fill in, me and Sam both put our hands up. Anabel and Jack were in that team, there were 4 O’Neil kids in one team

Conor Crosbie

My older brother Ryan was playing on Friday nights with his friends, I thought it looked cool and started playing

What do you enjoy most about water polo?

Sam O’Neill

I enjoy obviously playing but just the friendships involved in it, being able to catchup with mates every night at the pool

Pat O’Neill

The mental side of it, trying to figure out your opponent. You don’t have to be the biggest, fastest or strongest. You can use your mind to beat your opponent with skill and tactics rather than strength speed or bulk.

Conor Crosbie

Really enjoy the social aspect, going to training with your friends. Unlike other sports, in water polo you train with different players across different age groups

What are your highlights from the following time periods?

Primary School

Sam O’Neill

Winning south islands in Dunedin, against John McGlashan with my brother in the team

Pat O’Neill

Winning south islands with Christ The King. On the coaching side I really enjoyed coaching a lot of the younger players. Then ending up playing with them and seeing them grow up and continue to play and enjoy water polo.

Conor Crosbie

We started in half pool with Peri Marks (Christ the King Teacher) and then moved to full pool, that was a big deal at the time! We had a rivalry with Cobham that gave us lots of hard games, the years before us had won South Island Champs, so we wanted to keep this tradition going.

High School

Sam O’Neill

Winning South Islands 3 years in a row for seniors and competing at Nationals. I got capped and there was something special about playing for the school and comradery that we felt

Pat O’Neill

Winning South Island with St Bede’s 3 years in a row, going to Nationals in year 12 and getting 8th

Conor Crosbie

Years 10-13 were pretty dominant and were great years. I remember in year 13 Boys High were training really hard trying to topple us but we still prevailed and won South Islands. I was injured during that whole season but still trained because it meant so much. At Nationals we could actually compete with the North Island teams which was a great feeling. Even though we didn’t get the position we wanted our draw with Hamilton Boys (who got 3rd in the North Island) was a great moment for the team.

Post High School

Sam O’Neill

Going to compete for New Zealand at the Division 2 World Cup in Berlin. Playing a professional season in Germany for Krefeld and playing a professional season in Adelaide. I learnt a lot life wise living a new country which doesn’t speaks English, a great experience

Pat O’Neill

Playing for New Zealand in the Division 2 World Cup in Berlin alongside my brother and playing professionally in Germany for a whole season. We played each week with a competition game on a Saturday and a training game on a Tuesday.

Conor Crosbie

Playing in the New Zealand Age Group and Senior Men’s Canterbury Teams are highlights. Getting to play with the absolute top players on a regular basis like Matt Bryant. In the senior teams everyone gets to add something to the team environment, even the junior players.

Who was your most influential coach or mentor and why?

Sam O’Neill

Matt Bryant. He was our Canterbury Water Polo coach who stayed with us through the age groups Under 16 to Under 21 and we won a Nationals Gold Medal at Under 21. Matt was a big part in me growing my love of water polo. As both a coach and player, I always looked up to him and he was the captain of the New Zealand men’s team. So, it was a great when I ended up playing with him for Canterbury.

Pat O’Neill

Matt Bryant because he taught me a lot of the skills I have today and what it takes to play water polo at the highest level. He was my coach from Under 16 to Under 21. He really taught me the mental side of competing and was/is a mentor to me

Conor Crosbie

Sam and Pat O’Neill because after they left Christ the King, they stuck around coached us for years. This repeated when they became the Head Coaches for St Bede’s. When we’d go on trips during those years, they would hang out with us in the rooms like at the Alcala Motel in Dunedin. Because of their status we wanted to listen to them and follow in their lead, try and be like them. They became friends away from the pool and were also our touch rugby coaches.

What are your favourite or memorable trip away

Sam O’Neill

For NZ Team we did two trips playing in the Sydney super league. We also did a Tour of America and played games against the American Universities like California Berkley, Stanford, San Hose. On the way back from Germany we stopped in Doha and played beach water polo against Qatar’s national team.

Pat O’Neill

The Division 2 World Cup in Berlin with my brother.  Also, the New Zealand trip to USA for a development tour against US universities where we got to do things outside of water polo and see America. In the Australian national league in 2023, we played for Adelaide Jets and lived there for 4 months, playing professionally

Conor Crosbie

Great memories of CTK trips to Dunedin for South Island Champs, the whole team staying in rooms together at the Alcala. With the New Zealand team travelling the world with a real purpose to do a job, playing a game a day at the world champs.

I travelled to Spain for a development tour in April which was fantastic playing in different pools, a lot of them being outside. Then heading to Argentina for the Fina World Championships was incredible

What are your future goals in water polo?

Sam O’Neill

To continue to be in the mens team for all tournaments and go to the Olympics in Australia in 2032.

Pat O’Neill

To make the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane and to keep playing for NZ in between

Conor Crosbie

I’d like to continue to play do well with the Canterbury men’s team. Further down the track it would be great to make the New Zealand men’s team and go to the Olympic games.