2008 UKTA 4 NATIONS Championships -
CAERPHILLY, SOUTH WALES


This year the Four Nations dinner dance took place on Saturday 22nd November 2008 in Bryn Meadows, Caerphilly, South Wales.
The teams were:
England Ireland Scotland Wales
Ricky De-Winton IV
(RTA Didcot)		 John Paul Nestor IV
(St. Marks)		 Dougie Macfarlan IV
(Hillpark/SPRA)		 Richard Taylor III
(Cardiff University)
Carl Davis III
(RTA Didcot)		 Richard Barber III
(Stillorgan)		 Alan Rafferty II
(Caledonian Uni)		 Wayne Brooks II
(Ely)
Kevin Yeo III
(Torquay)		 Gerard Byrne I
(Old Bawn)		 Thomas McMillan II
(Wishaw)		 Neville Thompson II
(Ely)
Paul Hutchings II
(Exeter)		 Declan McCourt I
(Stillorgan)		 Graham McDougall II
(Caledonian University)		 Tom Harris I
(Ely)
Greg Bagwell II
(Exeter)		 James Mannion I
(AIB)		 Ryan Murphy II
(Elgin)		 Luke Wakely III
(Ely)
Tom McCabe II
(Countesthorpe)		 John Egan I
(Old Bawn)		 Paul McBride I
(Hillpark/SPRA)		 Conah Prosser I
(Ely)

PATTERNS
The event started with team pattern with each team performing a pattern then being scored. In the knockout stages Scotland defeated Wales and England defeated Ireland to reach the final. With nerves settled both teams performed well with England taking first place.
England Scotland Wales Ireland
3 points 2 points 1 point 1 point

SPARRING
Next up was sparring with England drawing Wales and Ireland drawing Scotland in the knockout stages. In the sparring the teams get 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw and first team to 6 points wins.

In the first knockout match Scotland beat Ireland by 6 points to 2.
Scotland 6-2 Ireland
Thomas McMillan John Egan
Alan Rafferty Gerard Byrne
Paul McBride Declan McCourt
Graham McDougall Richard Barber

In the second knockout match England beat Wales by 7 points to 4.
England 7- 4 Wales
Paul Hutchings Richard Taylor
Greg Bagwell Luke Wakely
Ricky De-Winton Tom Harris
Carl Davis Wayne Brooks
Tom McCabe Conah Prosser

With England and Scotland progressing to the final, the main event got underway.
Scotland took an early lead with Tam McMillan beating Greg Bagwell before England pulled one back to 1-1 with Paul Hutchings getting the win over Paul McBride.
McBride bravely continued the second half of the match on one leg after damaging his knee ligaments halfway in, but in the end couldn't cope with the English competitor in his injured state.
Scotland again edged in front with an impressive display from Alan Rafferty overcoming the highly rated Carl Davis to put Scotland 2-1 ahead.
Ricky De-Winton then pulled one back for England against Ryan Murphy to level the match at 2-2.
With the scores tied entering the final match, Tom McCabe fought well taking the win, beating Graham McDougall to give England full points in the sparring event.
England 6-4 Scotland
Greg Bagwell Thomas McMillan
Paul Hutchings Paul McBride
Carl Davis Alan Rafferty
Ricky De-Winton Ryan Murphy
Tom McCabe Graham McDougall

At the end of the sparring England emerged as winners with Scotland finishing a close second.
England Scotland Wales Ireland
3 points 2 points 1 point 1 point

DESTRUCTION
Finally in destruction Scotland took top honours with an impressive display of breaking, amassing 35 points. (3 points for a broken board, 1 point for a cracked board, 1 point for a tile and 6 points for a brick).
Name Technique Result
Dougie Macfarlan Forefist brick
Paul McBride Knifehand 10 tiles
Tam McMillan Turning Kick 2 boards broken
1 board cracked
Graham McDougall Side Kick 3 boards
Alan Rafferty Reverse turning kick 3 cracked boards

FINAL RESULTS
This left the final results as below and England were this years Four Nations winners with Scotland coming an excellent close second place.
  Patterns Sparring Destruction Overall
England 3 3 2 8 Points
Scotland 2 2 3 7 Points
Wales 1 1 1 3 Points
Ireland 1 1 1 3 Points

The competition ended with the medal and trophy presentation and some speeches before a disco and karaoke provided the music and the dance floor filled up - we would like to say thank you to the organisers as it was a great  time and of course to all team members who provided such high quality entertainment.