Ireland's open team is set to compete for a place in the knockout stages of the World Bridge Teams Olympiad in Maastricht.
In Round 3 Tom Hanlon, Hugh McGann, Rory Boland and Niall Toibin proved too strong for Wales, winning comfortably by 20-10. However, Hanlon and McGann with Gay Keaveney and Rory Timlin lost to Switzerland in Round 4 by a narrow margin of 14-16 Despite the setback, Ireland holds fifth place in the group, with 77 points.
The first four teams from each group will proceed to the knockout stages. Austria currently leads with 92 points, Poland has 89, followed by Belgium with 83 and Brazil with 82 points.
In Group B, Australia leads with 89 points. England is on top in group C with 92; and in Group D, Italy has already opened a gap, sitting 14 points ahead of its nearest rivals.
The Irish women's team played well yesterday against tough opposition. In Round 3 Helen Carroll, Jill Kulchycky, Pat MacMahon and Pat Ryan competed against Austria, one of the championship favourites, before conceding defeat by 14-16. In Round 4 they lost to Italy. The team's first win came in Round 5, when McMahon and Ryan with Helen Holman and Carol McCarthy beat Hong Kong 1614.
Ireland is currently 14th in the group. Austria leads with 102 points, ahead of Norway at 99 points, Denmark with 93 and Sweden on 91. In the next round, Ireland will meet Norway. Ireland's seniors had mixed fortunes. Jo MacHale, Alex Montwill, Pat Barry and David Jackson defeated Wales 24-6, but lost to Australia, Canada and Switzerland.
The team from University College Cork had a morale-boosting success in Round 5 when Paul Cotter, James Greenham, Neville Pierce and Sean O'Sullivan defeated Chinese Teipai 20-10.
In the world computer rankings for bridge-playing nations, published yesterday for the first time, Ireland's open team is ranked 24th of the 87 listed countries, behind England, at 23rd. The Irish women's team is ranked 37th of 66, while the United States heads both lists.