World Cup of Darts drama as Josh Rock accuses opponent of ‘disrespectful’ actions | Other | Sport

Josh Rock was left seething despite helping Northern Ireland to a comfortable win over South Africa in the World Cup of Darts. Rock and partner Daryl Gurney had too much for Devon Petersen and Cameron Carolissen in their second-round match, and they prevailed 8-2 to make the last eight.

However, the clash was marred by clear tension between the two teams. Petersen appeared to irk Rock on several occasions by talking during legs. The 24-year-old also accused his rival of trying to put Gurney off by deliberately tipping a drink onto his darts case.

“It got off (was feisty) from the start,” he told Sky Sports afterwards. “Devon started talking, and it got me fired up. Then he decided to pour a bit of drink over Daryl’s case. That was a wee bit disrespectful in my eyes.”

Rock did concede that representing his country at the World Cup meant his emotions were running high, adding: “We got the win and that’s the main thing.

“We’re all here for one reason: playing for your country, so it’s extra pressure on your back. Playing for your country is a massive passion for me, not many people have the opportunity to do it.”

For his part, Gurney shrugged off the incident, saying: “Josh is a little more fired up than I am.  I’m keeping all my energy for the next games, then I’ll start to help Josh with all of his 180s. He’s got a strong back carrying me.”

Despite being dominant, the duo took their time to get over the line, missing five match darts between them before Rock took out double two. It now means an enticing quarter-final tie with the Republic of Ireland.

Their pairing of Keane Barry and Willie O’Connor got through by comfortably defeating the unseeded team of Stefan Bellmont and Alex Fehlmann 8-3. Both countries are still looking for their first-ever World Cup triumph.