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Alright, there were certain places which you didn't want to draw in,
but this is always a risk when you set your box on the bank. What was
outstanding (apart from the result of course!) was the fact that the
Italian organising body, produced yet again, an event which had all the
hallmarks of being run by professional and competent people. The effort
and cost which went into these championships could be described as
unparalleled... and it showed. What it must have cost 'Roberto' to have
all those flags, I dread to think!!!
First we needed to look at the original concerns regarding stocking
levels... they proved totally unfounded. The Italians did what they
said they would do and pump thousands of fish into the stretch
beforehand. The access routes were, admittedly, not the prettiest run
in, (courtesy of the extremely large smelting works which operates on a
24/7 basis!), but the points for public access were well designated and
policed. Direct access to the match-length was closed to all except
officially designated personnel, such as competitors, administration,
press, etc. The support roads had been especially prepared with tarmac
which laid along the entire length, a distance of some 3km+ (it
actually felt longer to me!).
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Smooth
tarmac made life easy for the countless visitors to these
Championships, it seemed no expense was spared in creating the perfect
environment for everyone.
The podium area, which also doubled up as a large car park, was big
enough for the crowds at the end and near enough to the central
administration HQ. Numerous tackle displays were on hand for the
thousands of visitors who thronged the banks. Food and refreshment
stalls were present to 'fuel the boilers' and quench the many thirsts
which 30° heat tends generate. Just one minor criticism here... we
could have done with a couple more drinks stalls, as the distances
between water stops for me, was far too long!!!
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Fire trucks and personel where strategically placed at the start of sections D and E (above) as well as for A, B and C sections.
Also on hand were Italy's finest Fire and Rescue services (in large
numbers) to ensure that the public were safe. The whole area was
parched with the heat and there was a high risk of fire from the
thousands of people attending, many of them smokers!
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It was amazing to see such crowds appear so early in the day. They were obviously keen to get the best seats in the house!
One
other thing that made these championships memorable was the crowd.
Where they all came from, I have no idea. It seems that in Europe
angling takes on a different 'persona' than in England. I believe the
nearest we have to this type of event at home is the Evesham Festival
each August. Well, despite the partisan atmosphere, the home crowd gave
the same warm applause to the every other competitor, as they did to
there own anglers (well nearly as much). They proved themselves as
knowledgeable and appreciative as I've ever seen and were a credit to
the event.
I thought last year's European Champs at Cavo Lama would be hard to
beat, but yet again I've been proved wrong. Like the Chinese in
Beijing, the Italians have raised the benchmark of organising
excellence for all championships to come... BRAVI ITALIA!
So, what of the event itself, how did England manage to overturn strong favourites Italy... and on the first day as well?
I suppose it started were any major angling campaigns begin... with
information. This constitutes the basis for all plans and expectations
and is a paramount factor to any success achieved, as well as a fair
element of 'luck' of course. England are fortunate as they have many
contacts worldwide which can source them information. Italy was no
exception. The team arrived the week preceding the official practice
sessions, armed with knowledge of a possible inside line bonanza. They
quickly established it's effectiveness and kept it 'top secret' from
all the prying eyes. I must add at this point, that this information
was also common knowledge to the two home teams, Italy and San Marino
(San Marino being effectively Italian in all but name!).
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Joint
manager Mark Addy (who Dick Clegg reminds us, is the oldest World
Champion on the bank) checks out some up-to-date tactics in MF magazine!
England,
however, never rest on their laurels and quickly set about looking at
every possible option, from feeding strategies to checking out Match
Fishing magazine! No stone was left unturned in their quest for
success. The week started well for them with their official practice
box draws producing some great returns. Two end boxes and a draw smack
opposite the 'hot spot' smelting works, helped them take an average of
just under 5kg per man, each day of the week, and that was without the
aid of that little 'secret'. The Italians too, started their campaign
with a bang. Their first practice box was again near the smelting 'hot
spot' and available information gave them a range of weights from 10kg
to 18kg for the six man squad! The rest of their week was a little
unclear, but one would have assumed that they, like England, had
covered all the 'angles' and kept that inside line approach quiet.
The first days draw did not impress joint manager Mark Downes very much, "We've got two good ones and three mediocre ones"
he commented... luckily he was only partially right! Mark has stressed
many times that these championships are becoming more and more
difficult to compete in. Some of the venues can be peggy and the level
of ability of many teams has rocketed upwards, making the competition
more open.
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Above
left: Scotland's David Corcoran was his country's top scorer on day one
with this 6.230kg taken from peg D1. Scotland finished the day in 5th
place, a commendable position which unfortunately they couldn't
maintain on Sunday. Swedish 'icon' Mikael Tono was also in D section
and he helped his team, courtesy of this 5.900kg net, to one of their
best ever opening positions, a 4th place. They, like Scotland, slumped
down the order after a poor day two.
We've covered most of where England drew in our 'Super' Saturday
article so we'll take a look at how some of the other nations fared and
in particular the 'lesser' nations who appeared to be 'batting above
their weight'. South Africa, Sweden and Scotland were to finish the day
in 9th, 5th and 4th position, a result which would do nothing but
encourage and spur them on. The major surprise was South Africa.... not
only did they finish in what I believe is their best position ever ,
but one of their most experienced competitors, Jaco Goodwin, actually
won his section. This must have been a massive boost to SA pride and I
hope it continues in the coming years. Unfortunately the wheels were to
come off their tournament the following day! Wales had a poor match,
their best angler managing just a 6th in section. Ireland too, had an
abysmal first day, but not as bad as the once mighty France.
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Above
top: French star Eric Lubin nets a good carassio to gain a valuable 9
points for his side. Regretably the rest of the team struggled badly
and could not match him. Above: Eric waits patiently for the scales to
arrive, knowing he really in the poorer part of the section. His
6.010kg was testiment to his ability to catch the venues carassio and
carp.
We've mentioned before that the French team has undoubted quality, but
for some reason they cannot seem to put all that skill together come
match day and secure a result. Talking to my 'deep throat' on the bank,
it seems that their whole match plan revolved around catching the
venues skimmers. Perhaps they felt these were more reliable than the
carp family present? Did they not spy on the other main teams during
practice week? Did they not realise that thousands of carrasio, carp
etc., had been pumped into the venue? Could they not see that any
weight building would be courtesy of that carp family? Their failure in
the Czech Republic would also be deemed not to be an isolated incident,
but perhaps more a trend, which they can't seem to break out off. I
hope they sort whatever problems they're undergoing at present and
return to the forefront of world angling as soon as possible. They're
too good to languish in such lowly positions.
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An
incredible barrier of fans took up position behind Gianluigi Sorti and
Will Raison for what turned out to be a fascinating contest.
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Gianluigi Sorti and Will Raison prepare for battle!
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It
was a sign of mutual respect when both anglers met and shook hands
after a great battle between them. Our thanks go to
www.champions-team.de for the use of their photo.
And what of Italy? I would loved to have been a 'fly-on-the-wall' in
their Saturday evening team talk!!! Their whole day could be summed up
in a special duel, which took place in B section opposite the smelting
'hotspot', between their idol, Gianluigi Sorti and England's Will
Raison. This drew a very large crowd before the off, and it looked as
though the home nation would be fishing with two against one! This was
not the case, as both anglers set about their respective tasks. Will
was first to hit a good fish, only to lose it moments later. Gianluigi
scored first, much to the 'Azzurri's' delight. This was just the
opening 'salvo' on a day which would have all the characteristics of a
'ping-pong' match. The advantage swinging one way and then the other.
It really was a fascinating contest and almost impossible to know which
angler was ahead at the finish. Even they had no idea as they walked
towards each other, where their zones met, to shake hands... RESPECT!
As it turned out Will had nearly a clear 2 kilos over Gianluigi. To
compound the Italian's problem even more, the Hungarian Balazs Csoregi,
to the right of Will had beaten him as well as the German and Swiss
anglers further to Gianluigi's left. Rene Bredereck and Jean-Jacques
Iseli had taken valuable points away from Italy, but worse was to
follow. The home sides fortunes plummeted from that point on and they
ended up with a 5th, 11th, 20th and 30th being recorded. They only
finished in front of South Africa by courtesy of a weight differential,
and that must of hurt badly!
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Four
of the anglers who filled the places behind William. Left to right:
Germany's Rene Bredereck, Switzerland's Jean-Jacques Iseli, Hungarian
Balazs Csoregi and Italy's Gianluigi Sorti.
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The 13.270kg section winning catch which set William on the road to a well deserved gold medal.
England on the other hand had played their 'joker card' and sprung a
tactical 'coup' on the rest of the field, much as they did in Paris
2001. Everyone in the England team had discretely fed the inside line
from the off... quietly. Even I noticed that William kept flicking down
maggots and then looking around at his Italian counterpart to see if
he'd spotted him! As it happened, Will didn't catch there, but what it
did achieve was to rest his long line, making it more productive when
he returned to it. The respite had definitely done it good!
The other squad members were not fairing as well as William on the long
line during the first part of the match. Alan was struggling in C
section, along with another Italian idol, Stefano Defendi just two pegs
away. Alan however, managed to 'snare' a kilo bream, while losing two
other big fish from down the edge. This was enough to take him to
overall 8th in the section. Another beneficiary of the tactic was Des
Shipp, who'd been England's best overall scorer during practice. Des
weighed in two big carp to send him to the top of section.
But perhaps the most important and crucial performance came from
England's most senior rod, Steve Gardener, who was propping up section
E in or around 30th position. With an hour and a quarter to go, Steve
made a dramatic comeback to within 2kg of the section winner, South
Africa's Jaco Goodwin. He banked a bream and carassio of a kilo each, a
2.5kg carp and a 1.5kg+ asp. That was 6 kilos in a little over an hour,
a performance his manager, Mark Downes, described as the most
remarkable result of the day. It was essentially a last gasp effort
from Steve, who freely admitted afterwards that the line only seemed to
prove productive after 90 minutes of feeding. That was close then!
When news of the points score filtered back it was fair to say that
there was some amazement. Not that England were incapable of such a
result, but it was that they had done it under such devsatating
circumstances. What sealed in the sweetness, was Italy's position...
8th place and 46 points away!
However, Sunday would be another day, and as England are often known
for their strong late finish, caution was being viewed by all in the
England camp as Italy could always turn the tables... there was also
the small matter of that other dangerous Italian team (San Marino), who
where hovering over England's shoulder, just a mere 16pts behind!
We'll be assessing the final day's competition in afew day's time, along with some videos of the day.
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