NZ gets one back

New Zealand reverses a trend, winning the eighth Trans-Tasman Challenge against Australia after a few barren years. In the biannual 24-round tussle between the top 12 players from each country, New Zealand comes out ahead by 20 wins. Australia won the previous four times the South Pacific neighbours met. Individual winner is Joanne Craig (NZ), on 18 wins, capping a fine international year for her. Second and third are also New Zealanders: Howard Warner, on 17 wins, and Blue Thorogood, 15 wins. Points of interest:

• 15-year-old Australian Michael McKenna (Aust), the youngest ever Trans-Tasman competitor, led the field for most of the first two days. He eventually finished fifth, on 15 wins, just behind another Aussie teen, Alistair Richards (see profile).
• No one has yet won this event twice. Individual honours are shared four-all between New Zealanders and Australians (but Nigel Richards is not among them!).
• Craig is the only player to have represented both countries. A New Zealand citizen but a long-time resident of Sydney, she played for Australia in 2002 before switching sides, in 2008 and 2010.

Full results at http://www.scrabble.org.au/tournaments/cgi-bin/roundstandings.cgi?tou=ext/10tt.tou§ion=1&game=24.