England suffered a rare defeat in International billiards matches when they finished at the bottom of the table in the latest Tri-Nation event held at Glengormley, Northern Ireland. The annual fixture which also involved Northern Ireland, and the Irish Republic, took place over the week-end of 8th-9th November. A select group of players representing these countries took part in a series of timed games of 90 minutes (3 points per win) and sprint matches of 150-up. (3 games per match, worth 1 point each,).

The tournament was won by the Republic of Ireland, who, so often the recipients of the "wooden spoon", at last took the winner's laurels in a victory which was as popular as it was deserved. They finished with an overall total of 33 points, which was three points clear of Northern Ireland with England trailing by the same margin. As usual, the Republic's squad was headed by ex-professional Eugene Hughes, but this year the team was additionally strengthened by the inclusion of Jamie Moore, who reached the semi-finals of the English Amateur Championship in 2000, but who is now resident in Ireland. The potting skills of Rodney Goggins, the Republic's Snooker Champion three years ago, was particularly effective in the short games, where he was unbeaten.

There was a noticeable absence of big breaks in the tournament (the highest being just 134 by Hughes) which some of the competitors attributed to the conditions for the matches. It was observed that several of the Red, Yellow, White sets appeared to include small white balls, which made precision billiards somewhat difficult. Even so, the event was declared an unqualified success and the future of these popular sporting and social occasions seems assured for some time to come. England will no doubt be looking to restore their accustomed place as the leading billiards nation next year when they will be the hosts.