Four wins and one defeat left the Ireland Letter Post team in a comfortable eighth place as the Generali European Bridge Championships entered their second week at the weekend.
The Irish began the weekend with two good wins against Finland 17-13 and Lebanon 16-14, two countries which are always difficult to beat. Next they beat Yugoslavia 23-7 and moved up to seventh of the 37 teams. All three Irish pairs, Tom Conlon and Hugh McGann, Niall Toibin and Pat Walshe, and Gay Keaveney and Rory Timlin, shared in the successes, each pair resting in turn. The round 18 match against Israel turned into a nightmare when Adam Mesbur's squad suffered a humiliating 3-25 defeat. Despite the setback, they slipped only one place to eighth, as the teams behind them failed to make the most of the opportunity.
It was a demoralised team which went to meet Lithuania in round 19, but Hanlon, McGann, Keaveney and Timlin restored morale with a 20-10 victory, Ireland's second win and best result in five previous meetings between the two countries. Ireland is now eighth.
It has been confirmed that the first six teams in this championship will go to Bermuda next January to contest the world championship final. Whereas the chance of a place on the rostrum at the medal ceremony is slim, the possibility of a top-six finish is real.
Ireland's next match is against Denmark, usually a strong team, which have started slowly but have already beaten Italy. Cyprus should be easy opponents in round 21. This is followed by a tough match against Croatia, one of the surprise teams.
Ireland's senior team, after a poor start, have recorded some good results. After losing to Poland A and Netherlands A, they decisively beat Yugoslavia 21-9 and Sweden C 22-8. In round nine they registered a major shock by defeating the championship leaders , France A, 16-14. All five members of the team , Paul Hanratty (captain), Cait Flavin, John Godden, Sean O Lubaigh and Seamus Dowling, shared in the victories. In the women's team event, Norway and France have opened a gap at the top. The fancied Great Britain team are not far behind, but the surprise of the tournament is the poor showing so far of Germany, who were tipped by many to win. The championships continue until Saturday.
Generali Open Team Championship: leaders after 19 rounds - Joint 1, Italy and France 364; 3, Bulgaria 354; 4, Norway 352; 5, Poland 344; 6, Spain 335; 7, Sweden 331; 8, Ireland 328; 9, Netherlands 322; 10, Greece 320; 11, Israel 314.