Q World C in the swim at Riverside

It was just another Thursday evening at the Riverside Club in St Denys, home of the former Q World C pool team.

Team statto Jerry Benham, known affectionately to one and all as ‘The Grinder’, said: “I’m not exactly the sort of person that does eight-ball clearances regularly.

“There’s always strategy going on in my head. You’ve always got to look several moves ahead.”

And the 44-year-old revealed: “I much prefer a clear, open game - whether that’s the way it comes across, I don’t know.

“I’ve speeded up a bit.”

Chircop, who used to play snooker at Q World, is pleased he turned to pool last season.

“I’ve definitely found my feet with this team,” he said. “It was a good first season.”

But Chircop - Riverside’s best player in their championship run last season, according to skipper Pete Munday - insists pool is a team game.

“You can only win your individual match,” he said. “You’ve got to have strength right from one through to five.”

And then, reminiscent of former Manchester United star Eric Cantona’s world famous quote about seagulls and sardines, he added: “I wouldn’t say I get more enjoyment out of pool - but pool is more enjoyable.”

Munday reckons this season’s title race is already over. The 42-year-old rates current leaders Romsey Comrades B as “uncatchable at the moment”.

“We’d be quite happy with second,” he said. “If, for some reason, Romsey B suddenly fell to bits, we’d be quite happy to jump in.”

Former captain Richard Staines agreed: “I don’t think anyone’s going to beat the Romsey team this year. They’re in a league of their own out there. We’d like to finish in the top three or four.”

Staines - Southampton’s individual champion in 2004 and 2001, and pairs champion with Pete Munday in 2009 and Dawn Morris in 2003 - paid tribute to Munday’s captaincy last year which saw the side claim a first ever league title.

“Pete’s got to take the praise for that,” he said. “We try to give everybody a turn at captaincy just so they know what it’s like. It’s not always easy to be captain and play your games as well. Pete did a good job last year.”

Martin Smith, 37, started at Southampton RBL aged 14 and has played in pool leagues ever since. He retired from the team this season.

“It was a shame that he went,” said Staines. “But he still comes up and supports us.

“We enjoy our pool but we enjoy each others company as well. I enjoy playing with the same guys that we’ve played with for years.”

Munday said: “We’re all good pals. It’s a good atmosphere. And it gets you out on a Thursday night.”

And Benham added: “We just get on so well. We’ve obviously known each other for a long time.”

But the final thought must be for Peter Harding, who astonishingly was taught to play pool at the age of 61.

He underplays his ability but the facts speak for themselves.

Harding and Benham knocked out the 2010 pairs champions Ryan and Tony Longhurst in this season’s first round.

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