It appears that fate is not looking too kindly on the British Nations Cup team, as they were drawn second to jump in tomorrow’s final leg of the 2009 Meydan FEI Nations Cup series in Dublin.
Britain will need to produce something spectacular tomorrow if they are to avoid the drop by swapping places with Belgium, who are currently in eighth place on 20 points.
The bottom two teams in the series — currently GB and Italy — will be relegated to the promotional league.
The drawn order for the first round is: 1, Italy; 2, Great Britain; 3, The Netherlands; 4, Sweden; 5, Switzerland; 6, Ireland; 7, France; 8, Belgium; 9, USA; 10, Germany.
British chef d’equipe Derek Ricketts knows that the British Nations Cup team of Ben Maher, Tim Stockdale, Peter Charles and Geoff Billington is facing a desperate battle for survival.
“My boys are very focused, they know what they have to do, and if we go down, then we’ll go down fighting,” he said determinedly.
Listen to interview with Derek Ricketts
Britain has a good record in Dublin, having more victories at the Irish venue than any other country. The British team has won 23 of the 76 Nations Cup competitions in the 136-year history of the show, including beating the Irish to the coveted Aga Khan Cup last year.
Current standings
1. France – 43.5
2. USA – 39.5
3. Germany – 36
=4. Switzerland – 28.5
=4. Netherlands – 28.5
6. Ireland – 27.5
7. Sweden – 23
8. Belgium – 20
9. Great Britain – 15.5
10. Italy – 4
