Comeback kings

An amazing second-day comeback saw the Army team overhaul the hosts, the Royal Air Force, to win the 31st Inter Service Shore Championships, held in North Wales, while a last-minute bull huss from an end peg decided the battle for individual honours.

There were 12 anglers representing each armed service – the Royal Navy, Army and RAF.

On Day 1 at Llandudno, the RAF team led with a score of 60 zone points and the best fish points total of 3,064 from 215 fish. The Army were in second with 75 points, having caught the most fish, 227 for 2,643 fish points. The Royal Navy were third on 99 zone points with 171 fish and 2,006 fish points.

Steve Rathbone, of the RAF, led the individual scores with 29 fish for 474 points at peg 16 opposite Queens Road.

On Day 2, there were plenty of bites at Holyhead Breakwater. The Army team overturned a 15-point deficit aided by two zone wins. Benny Burnett won zone C with 18 fish for the team’s best points score of 740. Mike Mawson won zone B from peg 24 after landing 12 fish for 373 points. The final zone victory and Day 2 match win went to Leslie Willcock, of the Royal Navy who, from peg 1 in zone A, landed 26 fish for 882 points.

The Army team had won Day 2 with 57 zone points from 156 fish for 3,926 fish points, with the RAF second with 87 zone points having amassed 3,130 fish points from 124 fish. The Royal Navy were third with 98 fish for 3,143 fish points and secured 90 zone points.

The Army team won the overall event with 132 points, beating the RAF on 147, and Royal Navy on 189.

Individual champion was Leslie Willcock, who recorded the lowest two-day total of three zone points, and landed his match-winning fish of 95cm, worth 467 points, in the final minutes of the match.