Graham Payne (left) and Brett Davis battle it out in the
epee final of the New Zealand fencing championships at the
Lion Foundation Arena in Dunedin yesterday. Photo by Craig
Baxter.
Shocked. That was how Brett Davis felt when he eliminated
the favourite to reach the final of the epee at the national
fencing championships in Dunedin this weekend.
The lanky 30-year-old was still trying to digest his surprise
15-2 win against New Zealand No 1 Kyle Macdonald when
approached by the Otago Daily Times shortly before last
night's final.
The pair last met "about five years" ago and Macdonald was a
comfortable winner on that occasion.
"I was as surprised as anyone," Davis said.
"He beat me 15-7 last time, so I was expecting something
similar."
Davis was stumped when asked how he managed to turn the
tables on Macdonald.
"I just had a few little things which I knew he could take
advantage of and I tried not to do those. Everything else
just fell into place somehow."
The 1.98m Cantabrian used his reach advantage to lean in and
strike his opponent and quickly built an unassailable lead.
In 15 years of fencing, Davis' best result was a third equal
at the nationals about 10 years ago.
But it was a weak field that year, he said, adding this was
his best result to date.
Davis' upset win left the championship wide open.
His opponent in the final was experienced campaigner Graham
Payne, who also spoke briefly to the Otago Daily Times before
yesterday's duel.
"I've had a lot of second and thirds", the 56-year-old
left-hander said, adding he hoped his experience and agility
would help address in imbalance.
And so it proved. In a keenly-fought contest, Payne prevailed
15-14.
The final of the women's foil proved to be one-way traffic,
with Commonwealth No 1 Yuan Ping thrashing Sally McCance
15-0.
In the women's sabre final, Hannah Ramsay beat Nancy Liu
15-11.
On Saturday, Francoise Herren beat Liu 15-12 in the women's
epee final.
The men's sabre final was a tight battle between Luke
Robertson and Luke Crozier with Robertson edging his opponent
15-14.
The men's foil proved just as entertaining with Arthur
Gatland beating Hamish Clarke 15-14.
The championships conclude with the team events today.
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