SCA v CAI 2026
9-10 May, Balgreen
The Irish team of Nathaniel Healy, Russell Harris, Brian Havill, Alan Looney, Huw Spiers and debutant Henry Bagwell travelled as holders to the new Scottish National Croquet Centre at Balgreen in Edinburgh. However Russell did a little unintended detour to say goodbye to the old venue at Meadows.
The Scots team of John Owen, Stefan Colling, Rosemary Saunders Robertson, Kathy Brown and Roger Binks were led by captain Chris Martin and had a clean sweep of the opening three doubles matches before the two afternoon singles sessions were equally shared 6-6, so the overnight score stood at 9-6 to the Scots. The venue’s catering volunteer Charlotte Townsend did a wonderful job in warming us up with a welcome bowl of soup as a chilly East wind took its toll in the morning. This was followed by an array of other delicious dishes. Led by tournament manager Jane Morrison we all retired for a wonderful Italian meal washed down by delicious wines.
The CAI would like to extend our thanks to the SCA for their generous hospitality and to our accommodation hosts. We were back out on Sunday morning at 9 am for a fresh round of doubles which Scotland took 2-1, increasing their overnight lead. The fixture was rounded off by a round of singles also won by the SCA 4-2 to yield a final score of 16-9 to the Scots. The lovely lawns were perfectly prepared by Roger and Campbell.
Congrats to MVP Rosemary Saunders Robertson of the SCA who won 5 from 5 in a devastating display of accuracy. Ireland’s star player was Russell Harris winning all his singles. We look forward to next year's contest in Carrickmines and the opportunity to compete again for the wonderful Appleton Trophy.
Alan Looney (Captain, CAI team)
Full results on Croquet Scores
