They think it’s all over ……………. well, the 2019 Nations Veterans Cup is now! After months of planning and preparation by the Monkstone Club, the weekend went by in a flash. Those who were there witnessed some excellent boules played for the most part under glorious Cardiff sunshine.
On Friday evening, the teams gathered in the Penylan Club for opening meal and the welcome speeches from Bob Pugh on behalf of the WPA and Mike Jones for the Monkstone Club.
The competition commenced with the traditional photoshoot before play got underway under the watchful eye of umpire Mike Pegg from England.
Three rounds were played on the first morning before the teams went in for an excellent lunch with Denmark 2 taking an early lead on 8 points followed by Scotland 2 on 7 points and Denmark 1, Jersey 1, Norway 1 and Wales 2 all on 6. Denmark were the clear leaders in the competition with 14 points followed by Norway on 9 and Wales 8.
So it was on to the afternoon with another four rounds to be played. As the thermometer rose so did the standard of play although there was a brief respite when it clouded over and the temperature dropped before it cleared again.
At the end of the first day’s play and with seven rounds played Norway 1 had taken a slight lead on 15 points with both Denmark 1 & 2 on 14 points. In the overall competition Denmark had taken an almost unassailable lead with 28 points followed by Norway on 20 and Holland on 18.
Teams then retired to the bar and then for another excellent dinner prepared and served by 5 very hard working members of the Monkstone club.
After a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast the teams were ready for the final three rounds on Sunday morning. The weather again was very warm and demands for bottles of water continued at the same high rate as the previous day.
The big question was whether Norway or Holland could put together a late run to catch Denmark. When the results for Round 8 came in, Denmark had gained a further 5 points by beating Norway in both matches putting them on 33 points – with Holland only taking 3 points it meant that Denmark could not be caught. Whilst Denmark 2 had taken a 1 point lead over Denmark 1, the Best Team award could still go to either of the Denmark teams, Norway 1 or Holland 1.
So we came to lunch time and with Round 10 complete all that remained was to calculate the final scores. In the race for Best Team Denmark 1 came out on top with 24 points closely followed by Denmark 2 on 23 points and Norway 1 on 19 points. In the overall competition Denmark were declared 2019 Nations Veterans Cup winners with 47 points with second place going to Holland on 34 points.
Monkstone President Mike Jones presents the 2nd Place trophy to Holland
Mike presents the Winners trophy to Denmark
Mike presents the Best Team trophy to Denmark 1
The final scores recorded on the multi-function laser display scoreboard
The Final tables for the individual teams and for the nations
Almost, it seemed, as soon as it had started the 2019 Nations Veterans Cup was over with all the teams saying what a great time they had had in Cardiff and thanking the Monkstone Club for the work that had gone into the organisation of the competition and the excellent catering over the weekend.
And so it is on to ………..? for the 2020 edition of the competition.
