Richhill take their 3rd Championships of the year after winning both ends of the final against Country Club.

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Report to follow…

SATURDAY last saw teams travel to the Lakeland Forum in Enniskillen to participate in the second round of the NI championships at the 640 kilo weight. Once again local teams were well represented with Ballyhegan and Richhill making the journey. The competition is run on a round robin basis with the top four teams making up the semi-finals. Following Richhill’s World championship success in Italy 2007, the squad has increased to such an extent the club is able to field two teams in competitions. The three local teams all performed well on the night reaching the semi-finals with Country Club from Enniskillen making up the fourth team. In the first semi-final Richhill (B), who are a mix of experienced and new pullers, put in a spirited performance against Country Club but had to concede as they were beaten 2-0. The second semi-final saw local clubs Ballyhegan and Richhill (A) drawn against each other. Although these two clubs know each other well there is no quarter given when they meet on the rope. This was evident as they battled for the honour of reaching the final. Ballyhegan are regarded as a serious threat in any championship but on this occasion Richhill (A) got the upperhand, winning 2-0 to reach the final without losing an end. In the final, in front of home supporters, Country Club attacked Richhill (A) with a number of very determined lifts, however the Richhill (A) team, who have trained hard and is well balanced, held a very tight rope which broke Country Club down. The experience of Richhill (A) showed as they won the final 2-0 for their second NI championship of the current season. This Saturday, teams travel to Ballymena to compete in the third round of the NI championships which will be the 600 kilo weight.

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World champions Richhill started their competitive season with victory in the Northern Ireland 680 Tug-of-war Championship at Goodyear Sports and Social Club on Saturday.
Under new coach, Sam Rountree, himself a very experienced puller with two world gold medals, knew the difficulty of the task ahead as any one of a number of teams were capable of winning this championship.
Six teams entered this weight including three local clubs, Richhill, Leo’s Boys and Ballyhegan.
The four teams to reach the semi-final stage of the competition were Richhill A, Richhill B, Country Club and Ballyhegan.
In the first semi Ballyhegan were too strong for Richhill B, winning 2-0 to reach the final.
In the second semi-final Country Club and Richhill A were both determined to reach the final. It was a hard fought contest with Richhill A proving too strong for their opponents, winning 2-0 to reach the final.
In the final Ballyhegan went in hard against Richhill, using their strength but Richhill A managed to hold firm against repeated attacking moves.
This spirited performance resulted in Richhill claiming the first spoils.
The second pull followed a similar pattern to the first test as Richhill wrapped up victory in front of the large crowd.
Next week the teams travel to Enniskillen to compete in the Northern Ireland 640 kilo weight.

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