Pairs 
report courtesy of A Rice

Ireland were represented in this competition by Gordon and Raymond Stubbs from Ballinderry. In the first game they faced the Welsh champions. After taking a 3-1 lead in the fourth end the Stubbs were always in control and cruised to a 13-5 victory. Next up was the Isle of Man pair who gave the Irish pair a fight all the way. In fact they took a shock 5-1 lead after 4 ends before the Irish pair drew level after 9 ends. A full house on the twelfth end put the Stubbs 12-9 ahead only for the Isle of Man pair to reply with a double on the next end. However 2 shots on the 14th and 3 shots on the last end gave the Stubbs victory 17-11.

The first match on Sunday morning was against the English champions who had only drawn against Scotland so an Irish victory would secure the title. This was a tense affair with Gordon and Raymond opening up a 7-1 lead after 6 ends. The English pair then took a single shot on the next 7 ends to lead by one with 2 ends to go. The Stubbs were not beaten just yet and lifted 3 shots on the next end to lead 10-8 going into the last end. A cagey last end followed with the Irish pair securing the shot for an 11-8 victory. This result was good enough to land the title and in the last game after a quiet start the Stubbs raced away to win 21-6. What a weekend for Raymond Stubbs who not only won the pairs title but also lead for Gerard Conroy’s unbeaten rink winning 8 matches in total!