World silver for veteran

Club-mate Mike Waldron finished a creditable seventh in both his own weight category and the open weight.

And Joyce Malley, who frequently trains at Samurai, won gold in both her own weight group and the open for the third consecutive year.

The veteran event attracted 650 competitors from 43 countries and was held in Northern Ireland with the gentler temperature suiting the Samurai pair.

Moane, a 40-year-old second-level black belt, enjoyed a comfortable first-round win in the open weight and followed it up with a neat throw to beat a tough German player.

The opponents seemed to get bigger but Moane defeated a massive Italian after countering a failed leg hook to big applause from a large crowd.

In the semi-finals, the Samurai man kept ahead of a Russian with two medium scores to nil and booked his final place.

But his Ukranian opposition proved to be tough and he was caught in a groundhold from which there was no escape.

Waldron, 43 and a fourth-level black belt, started tremendously by dispatching an Italian for maximum points in just six seconds followed by a German and a British man in less than a minute each.

His impressive form took him into the quarter-finals to face Dutchman Ben Spijkers, a former Olympic bronze medallist.

Eventual gold winner Spijkers caught the Samurai player with a fine pick-up throw to win the contest after an even opening.

Waldron had two contests left to win bronze but fell against an Irish international who has won the British veterans for the last three years.

In the open weight, he claimed the scalps of Russian and Brazilian stars before being knocked out by a Russian.

The masters will be at the home of judo, the Kodokan in Japan, for next year's contest and it is limited to 1,000 entries.

Samurai are looking for sponsorship to send four or five of their best veterans.

For details about starting judo, call Pam Whiteside on 01299 822347.