Masters Internationals Round-up

John Hurley captained Ireland o40’s to historic three in a row win.

Link to Irish Squash report below:

https://www.irishsquash.com/ireland-win-mens-o40s-home-international/

John was given the unenviable task of captaining the o40 team who were going for three in a row in this competition.
To say ‘England don’t like being beaten’ is somewhat of an under statement especially in squash.
Remember England had never lost to Ireland in any shape or form till this group of players beat them first four yrs ago at o35. So now facing three defeats in a row at o40 level was unthinkable for them.
They left no stone unturned in their preparation and had a very strong team on show. Consequently what ensued was probably the best and most intriguing international match ever. (Full match report is on Irish squash website). Suffice to say they were all awesome matches. Neil Murphy, John Hurley and Dara O’Flynn each winning 3/2 in well over an hour each. Dara saving five match balls in the fourth game in the process. The Staunton brothers both lost 3/0 leaving Ireland with the narrowest of wins 14/12.
When Dara understandable lost to Wales the following morning England closed the gap a little. The result was to be decided on overall points so just winning each match was not sufficient. So Ireland had to secure 19 pts out of 20 in the afternoon match against Scotland- which they duly did after some titanic battles. Stevie Richardson strengthen the team at 1 on Saturday and Andre Davies came in at 5 in the afternoon to make his international debut and win against the Scottish.
The well deserved celebrations ensued and well done to all concerned for their efforts.
Other Munster players who were selected on the various Irish teams were: Dympna Riordan, Kevin Knox (o35), Tommy Horgan (o50), John Dineen and Eddie Murphy (o55), Ml Conlan, Ml Mulhall, Martin McDonnell and Eamonn O’Keeffe (o60) and Barry Cullinane and Johnnie O’Donovan. Well done to all these players and to some others were most unlucky not to make it this year.
As well as captaining the team John Hurley is preparing for his wedding later in the summer, so we wish Karen and himself all the best, and hope they have a great future together.