Bowls: Sinclair does the job for Opunake

Grant Hassall 

Opunake’s Ross Sinclair is the find of the Taranaki bowls season.

Sinclair has been in such superb touch that he has played his way into the final stages of four different events. These are all scheduled to be finalised at Stratford-Avon on April 26-27.

Sinclair’s latest success came at the weekend when qualified for the semifinals of both the triples and pairs in the Suchy & Co champion-of-champions series.

He has previously made the junior singles final and is also in the last four of the open triples.

Cool and controlled, both in technique and temperament, the fit farmer should also have the endurance to handle such a tough programme on finals weekend. But it will be gruelling.

He comes from excellent Taranaki bowling stock. His late mother, Barbara, won nine Taranaki qualifying titles plus the 2000 NZ Intercentre. Father, Bob, the 1978 Christmas pairs winning skip, has had the satisfaction of watching Ross’ winning ways this season.

Ross first got into bowls on a green located on the family Opua Road property and as a teenager in the mid-1980s where he joined Bob at Rahotu for three years.

Family and other sporting commitments then took precedence – Ross was a useful utility back for the Coastal senior rugby side – before he returned to bowls, linking up with the Opunake club last season.

Levi Davis led in both the triples and pairs over the weekend, with Paddy Deegan skipping the former. In both disciplines they posted wins over the highly-decorated Anderson brothers from Tower.

The competition through the finals won’t be easy, though, with Paritutu looming large in both events.

In the triples, Kaylin Huwyler’s side, comprising his father Piripi and Kevan Sellers, are aiming for a three-peat. They meet John Sextus, Alan Kiddie and Paul Digby (Stratford-Avon) in one semi, while Opunake plays Paul Spurdle, Mark Hawken and Maurice Symes (Fitzroy) in the other.

Kurt Smith and Daryl Read, after being part of the winning Paritutu NZ Interclub side the previous weekend, continued their rich vein of form, taking the favouritism tag in the pairs when they ousted John Roberts and Steve Walker (West End) 17-12 in the last eight at New Plymouth on Sunday. They will play New Plymouth’s Noel Probyn and Kelly Hill, while Davis and Sinclair meet James Connell and defending titleholder Camron Horo (Rahotu).

Opunake will also feature in the women’s pairs, with Val Langton and Eileen Rothwell set to meet Melissa McEwen-Shepherd and Kristin Stampa (Stratford-Avon). Langton and Rothwell edged Althea Rowlands and Irene Taunt (Tower) 14-13 at New Plymouth on Sunday, while McEwen-Shepherd and Stampa beat Ella Smailes and Pauline Kennedy (Hawera Park) 17-12.

Smailes and Rowlands made the triples final on Saturday at Manaia playing in Frances Busby’s Tower team. They scored a 23-9 win over Gail Keightley, Angela Rona and Kathy Gower (Waitara) in the semis and will play the strong Inglewood trio of Jill Forbes, Loris Ropitini and Cindy Nicoll in the final. Nicoll’s side won a tense semi 19-15 over Amanda Crehan, Barbara Harvey and Gale Fache (Paritutu).