Best of luck to the Irish teams that will represent us in the junior home internationals in Prestwick, Scotland, at the weekend. The are two competitions – the Junior Camrose (Under-26) and the Peggy Bayer Trophy (Under-21). England has dominated both competitions in recent years, and is represented by two very strong squads again this year, so they will once again be the team to beat. The sixth team in both competitions is supplied by the host nation, Scotland, and will operate as “Scottish Bridge Union”.
Our teams are in good form, with Matthew O’Farrell finishing in the prizes in the Holmes Wilson last weekend, Luca Crone the runner-up in the Inaugural Knockout Championship, Denise Walsh and Leah Finnegan doing very well in the recent Women’s Trials, and several of the Peggy Bayer team featuring as prizewinners in congresses this season, so we are confident they will give a good account of themselves. The teams are:
- Junior Camrose (U-26): Matthew O’Farrell, Luca Crone, Denise Walsh, Leah Finnegan, Isabel Burke, Tom Gorey, NPC Conor Boland
- Peggy Bayer (U-21): Eve Connell, Klara Flanagan, Bence Orosz, Sam Connolly, Paul Luo, Grace Gissing, NPC Margaret Murphy
Particular congratulations to Paul and Grace, who are making their international debuts.
We’re sure you’ll join us in wishing both teams the best of luck. You can watch the competition (with a short delay) on RealBridge with commentators wherever possible. System cards for the participants can be found here, and results and a brochure introducing the players are here.