Ireland retained the SMPT Bowls Trader World Cup in Essex with a 5.5 to 0.5 points victory against England in the final. In the group stages England beat Norway 5-1 on points, Rest of the World 6-0, Scotland 5-1 and Wales 4.5 to 1.5 on points. They reached the final with a 4-2 win over Sweden in the semi-finals while Wales were beaten 5-1 by Ireland in the other semi-final. In the final James Trott’s 11-11 draw against Nigel Charles proved to be the only game in which England avoided defeat. Dom Reed lost 12-9 to Gary McNabb, Stephen Proctor went down 16-9 against Don McNamara and Nigel Nicholls lost 10-4 to Irish captain Glenn Harvey to give Ireland a hat-trick of wins in the World Cup despite fielding four players making their World Cup debuts.
And the winners are Ireland! (photo courtesy of SMPT)