Page 15 - SMI Spring 2017 Revised

Page 15:Layout 1 26-Apr-17 10:01 AM Page 1

The second round again saw the Scots in trouble, although a last but one end four helped 15
improve the scoreline with the Irish squad winning 21 - 10. The anticipated battle between
England and Wales, saw England leading 10 - 9 with just two ends to go and once again
the England four struggled at the end losing a two and then a four to leave Wales winning 15 - 10.
The third and final round saw the English four take some consolation with a 22 - 6 result
over Scotland. In the Ireland v Wales game it was winner takes all and a really hard fought match
ensued. With just one end to go the Irish looked comfortable at 9 - 5 with the Welsh needing a
four to draw or a five to win, with the latter being a tall order against the Irish. In the event the
Welsh four got mighty close finishing off with a three to go down 8 - 9. Thus the Irish were cham-
pions and Wales second.
Ireland do the double up in the team events
Ireland do the double up in the team events
The Irish rattled out a warning to the other Nations with an opening 88 - 18 blast against Scotland.
Included in this was a 27 - 4 from Mark Sproule, Jal Richardson, Lisa Douglas & Mark McCullagh,
followed by a 22 - 3 from Norman Rutledge, Malachy OG Trainor, Fiona McDermott & Adam
Rankin and a 24 - 5 from Ronnie Stubbs, Terry Crawford, William Boggs & Esther Forster.
England’s opening match with Wales ended in a 52 - 32 win for England, which in a way
was somewhat flattering as the overall score does not tell the full story. Wales actually won three
of the four rinks but lost the fourth 26 - 2 leaving a relieved England with their victory thanks to
Luke Jolly, Karen Watson, Del Johns & Ollie Hipkiss.
England’s next match was a much more comfortable affair with England charging home 63
- 26 against Scotland. Best for England was the 24 - 1 victory from Peter Hore, Peter Roberts,
Jamie Forster & Peter Fautley. A 20 - 7 result from Callum Beale’s rink helped the scoreline but
Scotland drew one rink at 9 all thanks to David Scott, John Black, Jim Marchbank & Scott Stephen.
Ireland’s second match was a very one sided 78 - 26 victory over Wales. Ireland’s best win came
from Ronnie Stubbs, Terry Crawford, William Boggs & Esther Foster.
Ireland then faced England and this was a very close affair with both sides winning two rinks
each but Ireland edged the result 40 - 37. Irelands best rink was a 14 - 4 from Norman Rutledge,
Malachy OG Trainor, Fiona McDermott & Adam Rankin. For England Peter Hore, Peter Roberts,
Jamie Forster & Peter Fautley won 14 - 6. Wales faced Scotland and won 74 - 29, particularly
helped by an absolutely stunning 33 - 3 game by Craig Evans, Chris Davies, Tim Thomas & Moira
Griffiths, which also included a full house 8 on one end. Scotland’s lone win on the four rinks was
a 9 - 8 from Robert Lenza, Chris MacKinnon, Rosemary Finne & Jill MacKinnon. This finished the
first round of matches and all was set for the second run.
Scotland put a better battle against Ireland in their second match but Ireland still won 68 -
28, with a large part of the plus coming from a 22 - 3 win by Norman Rutledge, Malachy OG
Trainor, Fiona McDermott & Adam Rankin. Scotland did win a rink, 13 - 11 from Robert Lenza,
Chris MacKinnon, Rosemary Finne & Jill MacKinnon, who came back from 9 - 11 with two ends
to go. Once again Wales won two of their four rinks against England but were undone overall by
Peter Hore, Peter Roberts, Jamie Forster & Peter Fautley who’s 20 - 4 helped make the overall
score 47 - 28 in England’s favour.
The second England v Scotland match ended up with a romping 71 - 27 win for England, in-
cluding a superb 27 - 3 from Callum Beale, Steve Holdsworth, Nicky Bartlett & Tom Westlake. In
their return match, Wales made Ireland work hard for their 45 - 31 victory. For Ireland Ronnie
Stubbs, Terry Crawford, William Boggs & Esther Foster won 17 - 4 and for Wales Craig Evans,
Chris Davies, Tim Thomas & Moira Griffiths were the only winners in a 16 - 7 game.
The final repeat matches saw England facing Ireland who were undefeated and remained
so after 49 - 73 win. Callum Beale, Steve Holdsworth, Nicky Bartlett & Tom Westlake were the
only rink to hold the Irish with a 9 all draw, although Peter Hore’s rink were only edged out 10 - 9.
Wales last return match was with Scotland and they recorded a 54 - 36 win with Robert Evans,
Martin Harries, Gavin Matthews & Fiona Jones weighing in with a 19 - 10 game. This left an un-
defeated Ireland in first place with England second.