Principality aces adapt best to horrendous weather conditions at Ayr Northfield to triumph in the Home International series for the first time in six years by Anne Dunwoodie

Widespread sunshine from early June through to the end of July saw record temperatures around the country, but Scotland set its very own record of  a miserable midsummer high of 10°C which saw gale force winds and driving rain almost drown-out the Women’s Home Internationals at Ayr Northfield.

The series started brightly enough, with defending champions Scotland sitting out the opening match and getting the opportunity to size-up their opponents and the outcome ran true to form with England crushing Ireland and Wales doing the same to Jersey.

England produced a clean sweep over Ireland, 119-71, winning on all six rinks with Pat Reynolds their top scorer. However, Ireland can take some consolation from the fact that Pauline Day, a consistent and strong performer at this level, finished just one shot off the pace, with Mary Price grabbing a double on the last for a narrow 17-16 victory and Donna McNally only finishing three shots adrift of Doreen Hankin at 16-13, after trailing 15-6 at the 13th end.

There was no surprise either that Wales beat Jersey, and the 125-89 scoreline saw Wales win on five rinks.

The heavens opened up in the later stages of the morning matches but, by the time the afternoon session was ready to start, with Jersey taking on Ireland and the eagerly-awaited England v Scotland clash, the weather had turned in dramatic fashion and thermals and wet weather gear were without a doubt the order of the day.

And, although the greens had held the water well, the greenkeeper was called and it was decided that play would be brought to a halt after only three ends in both matches.

England had gained the upper hand against the Scots and led 20-7, showing on four rinks, and it was a similar story for Jersey, with the Channel Islanders also on top on four rinks against Ireland.

Day two proved to be no better - in fact, some would say even worse - than the conditions that had brought the event to a halt the previous day.

And, while Scotland cruised home against Ireland 113-73 with wins on five rinks, the drama was happening in the England v Wales clash.

England had held sway for most of a hotly-contested match but, with the winning post in sight, Wales scored 13 shots to five over the last two ends to take a two-shot advantage with just one match left. Wales held firm to count a double and deny an English victory and keep themselves in the title hunt with a  95-91 win, posting four winning and two losing rinks.

And so the concluding day dawned but the weather didn’t relent much, with conditions remaining cold, wet and windy - more akin to a winter’s day than the middle of June.

Wales had played three and won three, and a win against the Scots would give them the title they last won in 2000. However, with the abandoned games rescheduled for play in the afternoon, Scotland had to beat Wales in their morning match and then the title would be decided in their exchange with England in the afternoon.

For most of the game, Scotland’s three-in-a-row bid looked on the cards as they gradually took a 62-48 lead at the halfway stage and maintained that advantage at the 15-end marker.

However, Wales, as they did against England, stormed back into contention over the last three ends across the board, racking up 25 shots for the loss of just 11 to bring the match to a crossroads at 96-apiece with only one rink remaining in play.

For the second time in 24 hours, the destiny of the Eve Trophy fell to Jealian Willis, Denis Molan, Ann Greenaway and skip Nina Shipperlee of Wales, and although they eventually lost  21-15 to Seona Black’s quartet, they did the important part and scored the shots that set the victory celebrations in motion with a 98-96 victory.

rnoon matches virtually meaningless, but the weather improved and play commenced in the rescheduled matches from the cut-off point on the opening day.

 It was an expensive two-shot defeat for Scotland, as they went on to overturn a 13-shot deficit into a convincing 111-84 victory against the ‘Auld Enemy’, winning on four rinks and drawing on the fifth, with Catherine Popple posting a winning scoreline of 21-15 over Dot Barr. That result saw them finish their programme with a massive +152 shots in their favour while unbeaten Wales chalked up +50.

Jersey beat Ireland for the third time in four years to avoid the wooden spoon, this time winning 104-88.

Scotland’s Joyce Lindores ended her international career on a high note – finishing as the only rink with four victories in the Series. She skipped Susan Murray, Jane Telfer and Joyce Dickey to a narrow 16-15 win over Barbara Cameron of Ireland, added a 26-5 win over Jersey’s Margaret Breen, saw off her Welsh rival Betty Morgan 21-13 and then, with a game-lie against her, kept her unbeaten record intact when she calmly took the shot on the backhand with her penultimate delivery before adding the match winner, this time on the forehand, to beat Pat Reynolds 18-14.

Amy Monkhouse also finished unbeaten, with a 16-16 draw in her match against Scotland’s Margaret Russell denying her a 100% record and was the top English skip. Kathy Peace and Nina Shipperlee topped the standings for Wales, Gina le Long led the way for Jersey and Barbara Cameron flew the flag for Ireland.

It was an emotional closing    ceremony too, with no fewer than six players calling time on their glittering international careers. Indeed, there will be big boots to fill next year for England, Wales and Scotland, with world, Commonwealth and universally-renowned stars  Mary Price, Linda Evans, Nina Shipperlee, Joyce Lindores, Dot Barr and Betty Forsyth signing-off from international duties.

 

Final Standings
1st  Wales	8pts (+50 shots)
2nd Scotland	6pts (+152 shots)
3rd England	4pts (+57 shots)
4th Jersey	2pts
5th  Ireland	0pts

 

 

 

 

England are top juniors once again!

In another closely-contested Women’s Junior Home International Series, England regained the title,  only dropping one point along the way to finish ahead of Scotland in second, Wales in third and pointless Ireland.

In the opening matches, England pipped Scotland at the post 72-65 in the opening match hosted by the Cadbury Bournville Club in Birm-ingham with both teams sharing two winning rinks apeice – Hannah McConnell and Katrina Jones for England and Lynsey McPhillips and Isla Duncan for the Scots, whilst defending champions Wales crushed Ireland 85-49 with ex-Irish junior Claire Kelly now living in and playing for Wales, producing the biggest win of the day, followed by wins for Nicola Haines and Anagharad Jones with Davina Knocker saving Ireland from a whitewash.

In their second game later in the day, Kelly this time was the villain of the piece after her rink lost ten shots over the last three ends, which included dropping five shots on the last end of her match against Jo Simmons to leave Wales all square at 62-62 against England, with Scotland inflicting a second defeat on Ireland when they won 84-45.

 With only one game remaining, the overnight standings showed Wales in top spot on +36 shots from England’s +7, and both having three points.
 However, everything went to plan with England securing the title after cuffing Ireland 78-49 and, although Scotland beat Wales 76-63, their seven-shot defeat by England proved costly and they had to be content to finish second on shots from Wales. 
          
            

Final Standings
1st England	5pts (+36 shots)
2nd  Scotland	4pts (+45 shots )
3rd Wales	3 pts (+23 shots)
4th Ireland	0pts