AFTER a magnificent performance by Teresa Rigney and Hilary Dowling Long in the early rounds of the women's pairs event at the Generali European Bridge championships in Italy yesterday, it seems that Ireland will be represented in the final.
With one qualifying session to go they are joint second with early leaders, Aypen and Gul, Turkey, just behind a French pair, Cohen and Zuccarelli. Rigney and Dowling Long were always near the top - a 63 per cent first session put them in third place and a 55 per cent second set consolidated their position.
Next best of the Irish is Valerie: Hand and Anne Montwill, 45th of the 148 competing pairs.
Ireland's open team also made its mark yesterday by defeating Olympiad champion, France, 16-14. Tom Hanlon, Hugh McGann, John Carroll and Tommy Garvey showed fighting spirit. With six boards to go the Irish were heading for defeat but they fought back as Hanlon and McGann inflicted a number of successful penalty doubles on the pretournament favourites.
Carroll and Garvey, having an excellent start to their first European championships gave nothing away against the formidable Chemla and Perron who came on for the second half of the match.
Earlier, Donal Garvey and Micheal O Briain, with Hanlon and McGann, had lost by the narrowest of margins 14-16, to Lebanon in a match that was always close. Lebanon had beaten France 16-14 in round one.
The big loser yesterday was Britain, a team featuring two sets of twins, the Hacketts and the Tredinnicks. They went down 3-25, to Denmark, the Olympiad bronze medallist, whom many expect to see on the victor rostrum.
Sweden after scoring 23 against old rivals, Poland, and 21 against Slovenia leaves the championship on 65 points, ahead of Iceland on 63 and Spain on 58. Ireland is one of ten teams bunched just behind the leaders.
Ireland's next matches are against Netherlands, San Marino and Britain. The Dutch match will see a father and son, Donal and Tommy Garvey, playing for the first time on an Irish team. Ireland's matches against former world champions, Netherlands, have been very close in recent years.