Afternoon woes see Ireland lose opener to hosts

Ireland’s defence of the Sue Johnson Trophy faltered yesterday as they capitulated in the afternoon’s singles to lose 5½-2½ to England at the Senior Women’s Home Internationals in Huddersfield.

The Irish line-up was an exact replica of that which guided them to the title last year, with Cairndhu’s Laura Webb leading the team after being crowned 2014 Irish Senior Women’s Close champion.

The holders got off to a good start as they led 2-1 after yesterday morning’s foursomes, with the pairings of Carol Wickham and Sheena McElroy and Pat Doran and Helen Jones clinching 1-up and 5&3 victories, respectively.