POOLE Pirates captain Darcy Ward teamed up with Chris Holder to win the Speedway Best Pairs for Australia yesterday.

Their runners-up spot in the third and final meeting in Eskilstuna, Sweden, was enough to scoop the crown ahead of nearest rivals Denmark having tasted victory in the first two rounds.

Australia’s duo qualified for a play-off showdown against Russia which Ward won after Holder had taken an early lead.

That result guaranteed the trophy for the Turbo Twins, irrespective of what happened in the final against the Danes, who had started the night four points adrift of the Aussies in the overall standings.

Ward started well in the last heat and took the lead on the back straight of lap one, but Nicki Pedersen and Michael Jepsen Jensen both moved in front to deny the champions a clean sweep in the series before Ward retired at the end of lap three.

Former Poole skipper Davey Watt also received his share of the silverware having stood in for the injured Ward during the series.

There was little joy, however, for Pirates’ Polish star Maciej Janowski who, after being excluded from his first race for a tapes offence, took just two points from four heats.

FINAL STANDINGS: (top three) 1 Australia 28, 2 Denmark 26, 3 Poland 16.