2022 Four Nations Championship

The BFI was delighted to field an Irish team against England, Scotland and Wales in the Four Nations Championship tournament over the weekend of 28 May 2022. This was all superbly organised by our own, Danny Gallagher, who did a fantastic job as tournament director. Not only did he keep the event moving smoothly but also, he kept spectators up to date with a live scoreboard.

Team

A squad of 10 players were selected by captain, Brendan Burgess:

Darryl Artt
Kevin Bailey
Chris Bleakley
Brendan Burgess
Sean Casey
Neil Dobbs
Daniel Lynch
David McNamara (a.k.a. The Cracker)
Philip Redden
Rich Tegna

Format

The format consisted of a country round robin, with seven players from each team playing each of the other three teams present. These were 11-point matches, following which Ireland recorded seven victories and 14 losses, collectively beating Wales but going down against England and Scotland.

Winners

England and Wales then played off for the tournament winner, while Ireland had to play Scotland to avoid a last-place finish and the wooden spoon. In a hardfought contest, honour was preserved with Ireland recording 4 match wins to Scotland’s 3. The overall contest went to England this year. Congratulations to the entire team!

Team Performance Rating

The Irish squad put in a good performance overall, recording an average team PR of 6.33 over the four rounds played. This was superior to Wales at 6.77 and Scotland at 9.57, but England at 4.42 set the benchmark.

Standout Players

Individually, Darryl and Sean were Ireland’s standout players, both recording average PR’s of sub- 4. However, the entire team played to a high standard. It should further be noted that, according to current ratings, some of Ireland’s stronger players were unable to attend. The captain feels strongly that if Ireland can field a full-strength team next year, victory is within reach. We are all looking forward to 2023 and a chance at revenge!