CA of Ireland v SCA 2023
6-7 May 2023, Carrickmines
The CAI retained the Appleton Trophy, beating a team of four from the SCA 10-6. The CAI won the first round of doubles 2-0 and never looked back. The next three rounds were all halved, meaning that the SCA had to win the final round of singles 4-0 to win back the trophy. In the event we lost 3-1. In the singles Stefan had a good victory against Nathaniel, but was then defeated by Alan Looney in a late charge. Gerard had the misfortune to peg off his own ball accidentally leaving him and Campbell to slog out a three-ball ending in torrential rain on the Saturday evening while all the others were long finished and safely in the bar before the rain arrived.
The croquet was only part of the weekend's entertainment though. On Lawns 3 & 4 a veterans' tennis match between Ireland and the USA was taking place and upstairs in the clubhouse the coronation, which luckily didn't clash with Leinster's rugby match, was being avidly watched on the big screen. Carrickmines and the CAI were excellent hosts, providing quiche and coronation chicken for lunch, treating us to a very enjoyable dinner at The Gables and putting up all those who needed accommodation. We look forward to welcoming the Irish back to Scotland in 2024.
Campbell Morrison
Teams
| CAI | SCA |
| Nathaniel Healy (0) | Campbell Morrison (-½) |
| Alan Looney (2½) | Stefan Colling (3½) |
| Gerard Osborne Burke (3) | David Houston (3) |
| Geraldine O'Rourke (8) | Roger Binks (7) |
Results
(CAI names first)
Healy & O'Rourke beat Colling & Houston +12T (23-11)
Looney & Osborne Burke beat Morrison & Binks +18
Nathaniel Healey lost to Stefan Colling -13
Alan Looney beat Campbell Morrison +15
Gerard Osborne Burke beat Roger Binks +13T (22-9)
Geraldine O'Rourke lost to David Houston -9T (8-17)
Nathaniel Healey beat David Houston +26
Alan Looney beat Roger Binks +18
Geraldine O'Rourke lost to Stefan Colling -24
Gerard Osborne Burke lost to Campbell Morrison -1T (24-25)
Healy & Osborne Burke beat Colling & Binks +22
Looney & O'Rourke lost to Morrison & Houston -5T (13-18)
Nathaniel Healy beat Campbell Morrison +9
Alan Looney beat Stefan Colling +6
Gerard Osborne Burke beat David Houston +20
Geraldine O'Rourke lost to Roger Binks -23
(Results also on Croquet Scores)
