Blackberry Juice: A tough day on the piste

Well, it's all over folks. Around 50 of the Commonwealth's best fencers turned out for the Men's Epee event. The field was tough across the board and it was clear right from the start that there were no easy bouts. All four kiwis - Rock, Jared, Kyle and Andreas - struggled to find consistency in the pool round and all four came out with a 3 win 3 loss record. That meant a tough road through the DE with the NZers seeded between 21st to 25th.


Even the round of 64 was brutal with Kyle and Andreas falling in close bouts. Kyle lost a nailbiting 14-15 bout to a Malaysian while Andreas went down 13-15 to an Indian. J and R fared better with easy wins to move into the 32.

But that's where it all ended. Jared faced off with the eventual bronze medallist (whoops that kinda gives away the result) from Northern Ireland. At the first break he was right in it at 2-2, but two quick points right after the break saw the opposition run away with it 15-5. Meanwhile Rock faced the raw power of big Aussie Nick Heffernan. A shocker start gave the Aussie a 8-3 lead at the first break. But in an epic second period Rock fought back to be up 14-13. Unfortunately the epic-ness ended then and there as some stupid attacks saw Rock embrace the true FenMan spirit and choke horribly. Thus ended the kiwi campaign.

So on that rather disappointing note I'll sign off with the hope of conveying better news after the teams event tomorrow or indeed after today's Men's Foil if the mighty Wayne can triumph.

To finish things off, here's a welcoming shots of the friendly neighborhood spirit that permeates Belfast.

Another landmark - the big fish. Here Mei auditions for "Whale Rider 2: The Eastern Migration".