The Republic won the home international bridge championship (Camrose Trophy) for the first time when they beat Wales by 54 victory points to 34 in their last match of the series at the Dunadry Inn, Templepatrick, Co Antrim. The team comprised: T. Hanlon, Dr H. McGann, Dr G. M. Keaveney, R. Timlin, R. Boland, N. Toibin and M. Moran (non-playing captain).
At the same venue, Northern Ireland beat Scotland 50/40 resulting in the final table being: 1, Republic 218; 2, Wales 213; 3, Scotland 167; 4, England 158; 5, Northern Ireland 140.
Before the match, only Wales and the Republic were in contention for the title, with the latter trailing by 15 points. So the pressure was on the Southern Irish, as they needed to win by a minimum of 53/37, to take the trophy. The contest was over 90 boards in sets of 30, with a maximum of 25 points available on each set.
The Republic lost the first set 14/16, and drew the second 15/15, thus facing a daunting task on the final 10 boards, which they needed to win by a minimum of 24/6. They sensationally rose to the occasion and won 25/3, to deprive the Welsh of their first success in the championship.
The Republic's previous matches: beat Northern Ireland 53/37 in Cavan; beat England 58/30 in Derby; beat Scotland 53/37 in Kilmarnock. Hanlon/McGann and Keaveney/Timlin played throughout the series. Boland/ Toibin and Moran were in for all the matches except against Northern Ireland in which R. Milne, B.J. O'Brien and M. Burke participated.