There was an air of expectation around the trip to Belgium earlier on this May. It was the younger players first time away at an international tournament and they were not sure what to expect. The standard would be higher than in ireland and it is always difficult to prepare for those matches where you might lose badly.
It was a tale of two teams really.Team consisting of Adam Claffey.Conor Beades and Ian Fahey played a bit above expectaions and team B consisting of Joe Robinson, Matthew Jones and Stephen Hanaphy had a tough time. The Team A won 3 lost 2 and drew 3 matches and Ian performed excellently winning 9 singles. He was backed up by Adam and Conor winning 6 each. this was an outstanding performance by players who were at their first major tournament.
The B team were up against strong opposition and played in many tough matches. They drew one 3-3 and each won one singles and this was a very credible performance since it was their first time and they are a little weker at the moment than the A team.
It was a very positive experience and it gave all the players a good indication of how much they have to do to improve and compete at a higher level.