Played at the well-appointed Rhiwbina club, the entire afternoon was full of closely contested matches, followed by an excellent buffet. Brian Brock started off the games against a very quick and fit Chris Pill. Brian’s range of shots kept him in the game but he was finally edged out in the decider. Minutes later Sian Johnson won a tough 5 setter against Welsh team member Martin Vicary. Linda Pritchard lost in 3 games against Rebecca Baker with the first two ending 10-12. Tom Burton was hitting a purple patch on the adjacent court with a 3-0 victory against Hassan Noor to keep scores close. Lynne Davies put in a hard shift against namesake Rhian Davies but lost 1-3 in a tight 4 games. Chair, Ian Graham had driven a long way for his match against Welsh O70’s top player, expected a hard game and he got it! Eventually winning 12-10 in another deciding game. Rob Reid was having a real battle with Carl Elsby but lost 1-3 in the end. Richard Murphy, our new recruit had a 3-0 win which had both players very tired by the end. This set up a decider with Nick Gollaglee pitted against a younger, faster and ultimately fitter Andrew Cowgill. Nick played a wonderful range of shots that confounded and amusingly enraged his opponent but Andrew’s relentless retrieving won the day in 4 close games. Victory, 5-4 to Wales. A great buffet provided by the club with many thanks from the Chair in his few words afterwards. Everybody stayed a long time enjoying each other’s company. Thanks to Richard Murphy for setting this fixture up and arranging closely matched opponents. Ian Graham Chair
Both teams GB Vets vs Wales