Team GB water polo captain Izzy Dean insisted the Brits’ could be proud of their Baku 2015 European Games campaign after finishing 11th overall.

The Brits defeated Isreal 10-5 in their last match of the Games to finish their challenge on a high after seven matches in as many days. Defeat to Serbia in their penultimate game ultimately cost the Brits a top 10 place – their target going into the tournament, having snuck through the qualifiers on goal difference earlier in the year.

Dean was adamant the team would only take positives from their experience in Baku, having played three of the top six European water polo nations in the form of Greece, the Netherlands and Hungary, for the first time in the careers of all but one of the squad. “We learned so much,’’ said Dean. “It was just an invaluable experience for us all. “It was our first time competing in such a high multi-sport event, and only one of us had ever competed in a European Water Polo Championships before. So it was definitely a great start for our water polo careers.”