European glory as Richmond crowned champs An undefeated Richmond team swept away all rivals to take home the champion’s trophy at the 2003 European Invitational Tournament in the Dutch town of Venray. Competing against quality teams from Belgium, Germany and Holland the Londoners were given little hope of winning one game let alone the four victories needed to claim the cup. What made the tournament victory even sweeter was the fact that the playing staff was made up of mainly Knights players. Officially travelling under The Flames banner the team consisted of only three regular Flames players. Pitching duties also fell to Knights players with Matt Spaulding getting 2 wins for the tournament, Kenji Shimoni pitching a one hitter and striking out 7 against the second placed Sharks and Matt Bruce getting the win in the fourth and final game. Richmond’s ex-manager Wayne Nash who attended the tournament was full of praise for his old club. “I am really happy for the guys. It’s great to see my old club being so successful, a big part of my heart is still with the Richmond organisation.” The victory has followed on the recent success of other British clubs in Europe. Bournemouth and Croydon have won similar tournaments on the mainland and Windsor won the European Cup B-pool trophy earlier this season. The tournament win had undoubtedly been the icing on the cake to an unbelievable season at Richmond. The Knights running out emphatic BBF Division 1 Champions, the exciting run of wins and playoff finish of premier team The Flames, and the debut season of The Dragons all milestones in their own right. The Venray trophy will take pride of place in the Richmond clubhouse as their first ever tournament victory and hopefully a sign of more to come. Results Richmond Flames (UK) 10 d 9 Red Caps Venray (NL) Richmond Flames (UK) 7 d 2 ADO Den Haag (NL) Richmond Flames (UK) 5 d 0 Sharks Borgloon (BEL) Richmond Flames (UK) 12 d 3 Dortmund Blue Devils (GER) Final Placings 1st Richmond Flames (UK) 2nd Sharks Borgloon (BEL) 3rd ADO Den Haag (NL) 4th Red Caps Venray (NL) 5th Dortmund Blue Devils (GER)

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