International success came to the Irish women's seniors team last week when they defeated their English counterparts at Burnham & Berrow GC. Last year, the Irish played host to England at the European club in a match which was halved. This time, however, the Irish proved much too good, winning the contest, which was played over two days, 9-3.

Ireland set themselves up for success with a superb display in the fourballs where they won all four matches. They followed that up the following day by claiming wins in five of the eight singles to leave them victors. It was the seniors' second international win of the season, as earlier this year at Royal Portrush they played Scotland for the first time and also won 9-3.

"What we are trying to do is provide competitive golf for this age group," said Mary Anderson, captain of the Irish team and chairperson of the Irish Senior Ladies Golf Association. `We are trying to revitalise this level of activity and give the players something to aim for. There is a good standard at this age and they should be able to play internationally."

The Irish will be at home to England next year, while they also hope to meet Scotland again. But they are also hoping to add a few new international fixtures to their calendar and perhaps extend it to playing Wales and other European nations.