The final of the 2023 Welsh Cup for Clubs was completed on Sunday, 16th July, and most importantly, no rain interrupted play.

The final began with the Monkstone PC (MPC) hosting the first of the two encounters of the day. MPC fielded six club members, with only one women member (Vickie Adshead) registered. In comparison, their opponents SWBRC-PS ( aka Sully), fielded two women members (Julie Bailey and Sonia Ford), allowing them eight members.

The encounter started with five (5) open singles and one (1) between the designated female players. MPC came out on top, winning four out of the six matches with a 4-point lead.

The play then moved on to two (2) open doubles and one (1) mixed double, the table turned, and SWBRC-PS won two out of the three matches cutting MPC’s lead down to one point.

The final stage was one (1) open triple and one (1) mixed triple, in which both clubs won one match each. So at the end of the morning encounter, MPC was ahead with the narrowest of leads with one win with 16 points against SWBRC-PS with 0 wins and 15 points.

The competition then moved venues to SWBRC-PS’s home ground for the final encounter.

The format from the morning encounter was repeated. However, SWBRC-PS turned the table on MPC, winning four out of the six matches giving them a 4-point lead.

SWBRC-PS then took control of the encounter, winning all three doubles matches, giving them a 13-point lead.

The final round saw a fightback from the MPC, winning both the triple matches to take the remaining 10 points.

At the end of the afternoon encounter, SWBRC-PS was ahead with the narrowest of leads with one win with 17 points against MPC with 0 wins and 14 points.

Combining the results of two encounters:

• Monkstone PC: 1 win, total points 30
• SWBRC-PS: 1 win, total points 32

Winning by two points, SWBRC-PS is the 2023 Welsh Cup for Club Champion.

Congratulations to everyone taking part in the event.

It would be fantastic if all our clubs participated in 2024 to make this a true inter-club competition.

2023 Welsh Cup for Clubs Champion – SWBRC-PS Gareth Spencer, Geoff Jones, Scott Murray, Ian Bailey, Len Field, Sonia Ford, Julie Bailey and Jean-Yves Robic (Captain) Jake Caston awol from the picture.

Monkstone PC – Runners-up Peredur John, Tony Smith, Vickie Adshead, Bernard Adshead, Roger Griffin and Sean Smith (Captain).