Irish Tug of War

The championships came to an end today in Pretoria with the senior men 640kg competition. Ireland began well picking up six points against hosts, South Africa and the USA. They then faced a strong England team and lost two straight followed by another defeat to the strong Dutch team. The Irish then receovered and began to pull very well as the tracks got a little deeper.

Ireland, world 640kg bronze medallists

Ireland and Sweden were fighting for fourth position and the contest between them was a real battle. The first end lasted around five minutes with both team on two cautions each but the Irish showed their determination to win the pull and the three points needed. In the semi final Ireland faced the Netherlands. They matched the Dutch well but were unable to win any ground on them loosing two straight. England represented by Felton Eccles were very strong as they overcame Switzerland to qualify for the final. Ireland faced the Swiss in the bronze pull-off. This was another tough contest as they hoped to avenge their earlier defeat in the league. Once again sheer determination and fighting spirit saw the Irish picking up the victory and the bronze medal to finish the championship on a high. The Irish team was, Joey Kehoe, Ollie Kehoe, Shay Ryan, Gerard Ferguson, Laurence Kehoe, Connell Ward, James Kehoe, Sean Roberts & Paul Rowland. The Dutch continued their winning streak with a clean sweep of the senior men’s competition, an amazing six gold medals. Safe journey to all travelling home to Eire and all parts of the World. Congradulations to the South African association on hosting a wonderful championship.

Click here to see full results book from the World Championships in Pretoria.

Click here to see photos from the World Championships in Pretoria (note: there are three pages of photos).

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The World closed championships got underway this morning following a very impressive opening ceremony last night. The temperature was in the thirties once again today but a nice breeze provided for better pulling conditions although underfoot conditions were not ideal with the ground barely tracking.

Ireland, world 700kg bronze medallists

Ireland began poorly in the men’s 700kg competition loosing to Switzerland and the Netherlands and loosing a bad end to Latvia. They recovered well picking up a maximum 12 points in the next four contests. The Irish were tied with Germany for fourth position and went into the last pull of the league system needing a point against Sweden to get through. A gutsy performance saw them winning the end they needed to progress setting up a semi final against Switzerland. This was a gruelling contest as the Irish won rope in both ends but failed to finish off their Swiss opponents which left them in a bronze pull-off against Sweden. Ireland dropped in very well and pulled a great end to take the advantage. Sweden fought back in the second end to bring the contest into a deciding pull. Ireland showed sheer fighting spirit in the deciding pull to win the bronze medal, an amazing performance considering their poor start. The Irish team was Donal Conroy, Billy Wall, John McGovern, Shay Ryan, Gerard Ferguson, Connell Ward, Jimmy Ward, Richard Burke & Paul Rowland. Netherlands defeated Switzerland to win the gold medal.

The Irish entered a strong team into the 580kg competition in the afternoon. They began well taking nine points from three matches. They then came up against Switzerland and performed very well shaking the Swiss in both ends but just lost out. Ireland were in a battle with England for the fourth position and the contest between these rivals was very entertaining. Ireland won a few feet of rope in the first end but could not finish them off. England who had a poor start to the competition upped their game to defeat the Irish and qualify for the semis leaving Ireland to settle for fifth position. England pulled well to qualify for the final where they faced the Netherlands. The championships have been dominated by the Dutch so far and they went on to win their second gold medal of the day defeating England in straight ends in the final. Switzerland defeated Sweden to win the bronze medal.

Click here for full results.

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Irish teams Boley, Lakehill & Gortletteragh took part in the men’s 640kg competition on day two in Pretoria. The temperature was in the thirties once again as 23 teams battled for the medals. The competition was run in four groups. Gortletteragh pulled well but failed to qualify from their group. Unfortunately, Irish clubs, Boley and Lakehill who both qualified from their groups faced each other in the quarter finals. This was a gruelling contest between the arch rivals. Boley won the first end but Lakehill attacked in the second end taking Boley to within a foot of the line. Lakehill were eventually disqualified for locking. Boley progressed to face Eibergen from Holland in the semi finals. Boley had no answer to the strong Dutch team and lost in straight ends. Their exertions against Lakehill were showing as they failed to recover and ended up loosing the bronze pull-off to Felton Eccles from England. Eibergen faced Veenseboys in an all Dutch final, a repeat of yesterday’s 700kg final. It was the same result on this occasion as Veenseboys made it a clean sweep of senior men’s titles winning gold in straight ends.

There was some Irish success this morning as Stephen Blake from Ballygar anchored the Gaztedi team who won gold in the mixed 600kg competition. Well done to Stephen.

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The World outdoor championship got underway today in Pretoria, South Africa with the men’s 700kg in the morning. The hard ground and a temperature of 32 degrees celsius did not suit the Irish teams who nonetheless prerformed well in the conditions.

Lakehill, world 700kg bronze medallists

18 teams took part in the 700kg competition which was run in two groups. Lakehill pulled well to top group one with maximum points. In the semi final they faced Dutch team, Eibergen. This was a gruelling contest with the Mayo team winning over two feet of rope in the first end but were unable to finish off their Dutch opponents. There was very little between the teams in the second end as well but it was Eigergen who progressed to face fellow Dutch team, Veenseboys, in the final. Lakehill recovered well from their tough semi final to defeat Schongau from Switzerland in straight ends to win the bronze medal. Veenseboys defeated Eibergen to win the gold medal.

Irish teams Boley, Gortletteragh & Ballygar took part in the men’s 580kg competition in the afternoon, which was also run in two groups. Boley pulled very well in group one to qualify for the semi finals in second position. Ballygar pulled well in their first ever world championship picking up a number of points in group 2. Gortletteragh picked up a number of points but were not in contention for qualification. Boley faced Veenseboys in the first semi final but the Dutch team were too strong winning in straight ends to progress to their second final of the day. Engelberg from Switzerland defeated Goiherri from the Basque country to qualify for the final. Boley faced Goiherri in the bronze medal pull-off. There was very little between the teams with the first end lasting around five minutes but the Basque team had the edge as they won the bronze medal in straight ends. Veenseboys won their second gold medal of the day with a straight end victory over the the highly fancied Engelberg in the final.

Click here for full results from day one.

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