IRELAND had a superb day at the World Bridge Olympiad in Rhodes yesterday when the open team came right back into contention with four consecutive B wins. In four matches the Irish scored 92 out of a possible loo, the largest four-match total of any team here in Rhodes so far.
The successful run began in round seven when Ray Brennan, Paul Scannell, Gay Keaveney and Rory Timlin dominated lowly-placed Liechtenstein to win 22/8. Tom Hanlon and Hugh McGann joined Keaveney and Timlin against Malaysia in round eight. The Irish side gave them no chance and scored their first maximum 25 of the championship.
The non-playing captain, Niall Toibin, sent in the same quartet against Croatia, a team which has been performing well and had beaten the powerful Chinese 24/6. Ireland had lost 14/16 to China in round two, so Croatia were favoured by the experts. The Irish were at their best in this match and beat the Croatians in every area of the game. The final score was 20/10.
Hanlon and McGann had a particularly fine set of boards. In buoyant mood after the Croatian game, NPC Toibin left the team intact against Palestine in round to. Indeed, the Palestinians, making their debut in major international competition, were no match for the rampant Irish four. Hanlon, McGann, Timlin and Keaveney confirmed their captain's faith in them by scoring the second maximum 25 of the day.
Yesterday's wins wiped out the disappointment of the first two days. It should be remembered that the Irish had one of the stiffest opening two days of any of the teams in Rhodes. Although they lost the first six matches, three of them were by the narrowest margins against world-class teams.
They are now back in contention for a qualifying place. All three pairs are reported playing well, so Niall Toibin has no selection problems. In the next series of matches Ireland will meet the Philippines, Lithuania, Bangladesh and Ukraine. Brennan, Scannell, Hanlon and McGann line out against the Philippines.
The defending champions, France, have opened the gap at the top of Ireland's group. New Zealand are hanging on to a top spot, a fact which puts new light on Ireland's defeat at their hands in round one. In the women's championship, Israel and the USA in group A and Sweden and Denmark in group B have see-sawed in the league in their respective groups.