McCormack strikes gold with Irish Darts team at World Championship

A Kilkenny darts player was part of the Republic of Ireland ladies team that retained their WDF World Cup title in Seoul, South Korea last weekend.

Kilkenny's Aoife McCormack was in superb form in the final as she won all her games as the Irish Ladies beat Australia in a sensational performance.

The Irish team showed just why they were defending champions as they beat Australia 9-1 to retain their title.

Under manager Kevin Devaney, the team, made up of Dublin's Robyn Byrne and Katie Sheldon, Donegal's Denise Cassidy and Aoife McCormack of Kilkenny, were in no mood to give their Australian opponents a sniff in a one-sided final.

Sheldon got the ball rolling by winning the opening game, before Australia levelled with their only leg win in the final.

The Ireland team took over from there, with all four of them winning at least two games each to leave Australia reeling.

It was fitting that captain Robyn Byrne wrapped up the win with the best leg of the match, as she fired in a maximum and went out in 17 darts to spark wild celebrations amongst the Irish contingent.

An emotional Kevin Devaney paid tribute to his team for retaining a title they first won in Denmark two years ago.

“These ladies really are class,” Devaney said.

“To put in a performance like that in a final is super but they have been brilliant all the way through the competition.”

The win means the Irish Ladies team have also taken gold as the overall best team in the Ladies rankings, edging out Japan in second and England in third.