17-07-2012, 06:51 AM
Donald Wilson Wrote:I don't think we should read too much into what appears on the Glorney web site: it is normal practice for the draw to be made in the presence of the team managers the evening before rounds 1 & 2; and it is also the practice for the top two sides from the prevous year to meet in round 6 in each competition. So if England and Ireland are to meet in round 6 of the Glorney, it is unlikely that they will meet in round 1 - round 3 is more likely.
In the Faber, it's Scotland and England who should meet in round 6 - so in that tournament (alone) there's a 50/50 chance of meeting Wales in round 1; but meeting Ireland is equally likely.
I suppose it's possible that the rules have been changed (or ignored) without consultation with Scotland, but it's more likely that the web page has simply been set up with a dummy pairing which will be changed when the real draw has been made.
Donald,
As you say the Captains meeting last year followed the precedent that the top two teams from the previous year were to play in round 6.Which for the 2012 competition means Ireland and England. For simplicity the pairings in the other 3 events followed the Glorney pairings except that the Irish filler team in the Faber was not allowed to play Ireland A in the Final round. In 2012 the team with white on top board in the Glorney had Black on top board in the Faber and I recall that for each country Board 1 in U14 and U12 always had same colour pieces as the Glorney board 1.
At the captains meeting there was a desire to give each player one black game and one white game on each playing day. I'm not sure how that was tackled/ resolved. Peter Purland should remember the 2012 resolution which seemed at the time to be optimal.