Two Thurnscoe men helped the England darts team to a huge win over their home nation rivals.
Brian 'Doggy' Dawson, 48, and Dave Copley, 36, won both their games against Welsh and Scottish opposition at the Cedar Court Hotel in Bradford to ensure England won the British International Championships with some ease.
Dawson scored his first point in England colours on his second appearance when he got by Wales' Chris Harris 4-3 in his first game. Copley's international debut could not have started any better as he thumped Mike Gillet 4-0, ensuring England made it a clean sweep with a 12-0 victory over the Welshmen on Saturday.
Sunday's game against Scotland was also one-sided with England running out 10-2 winners. Dawson scored an early point for the home team with a 4-2 win over Martin Murison. Copley notched another with a deciding checkout of double tops in a 4-3 triumph over Steve Ritchie.
He said: "It is great to know that I have the game when I am under pressure. My heart was pounding out of my chest at times. You don't want to be the first one to lose. It's a massive achievement for myself and Brian to qualify and great for Thurnscoe too."
Two-time Lakeside World Championship qualifier Dawson said: "I'm as proud as punch to play and win for England. The win has got me to fourth in the English rankings too which I am really happy about. I am chuffed to bits with that. "I am really happy for Dave too because he has done it on the big stage now."
It was a memorable weekend for the pair who share a friendly rivalry but encourage each other to become better players. Copley added: "Brian even gloated that, if he added up both his averages, his was marginally better than mine. I told him that me being on the team brought the average weight down to about sixteen stone. Seriously though, I got some great compliments from top players like Tony O'Shea and Scott Mitchell who said I should have been playing for them three years ago. I was absolutely buzzing with pride about that."
The duo will represent Yorkshire this weekend and both then have their sights on capturing the Welsh Open title.
