Bowls: Rep bowlers claim best prize at weekend events

Grant Hassall

Taranaki can claim to be the best bowls province in the lower half of the North Island after it won three of the four central region trophies up for grabs over the weekend.

Headlining this was the senior men winning the Octagonal, eight-team title in Napier.

That was brilliantly backed up by the under-eight sides winning the men’s Hexagonal title in Levin and the women’s crown in Palmerston North.

In the senior women, who played in Gisborne, Taranaki finish sixth from seven sides, with Wellington winning.

The senior men’s triumph was something to saviour, breaking a drought that extended all the way back to 1999.

While there were a number of years when the competition wasn’t held, there was no denying John Gray’s side replicating Vic Blance’s boys this time.

Just two of the 11 players used during the weekend, Dean Elgar and Craig De Faria, were part of that squad 27 seasons ago.

Elgar had an outstanding weekend, winning six games and drawing one in the singles, which was very much Baldwin-like. Among his victories was a 25-12 win over Sean Johnson (Whanganui) and the draw was 24-all with Raymond Martin (Wellington).

De Faria won six. He started with two wins and a loss leading for Maurice Symes in the pairs, before skipping Bart Robertson to four-straight wins.

Robertson in fact won all seven games, with the first three coming in the fours, with Adam Collins, Scott Roberts and skip Daryl Read.

The four, with Symes and Kevan Sellers both playing two games each, won two of the last four matches.

In the triples, Kurt Smith, Kelly Hill and Bruce Colgan won four and drew one. Taranaki finished with 21 wins and two draws from the 28 games, well clear of defending champions Wellington which was second on 18 wins and one draw.

Taranaki took the under-eights men title with 15 wins from 20 games. Hawke’s Bay were second on 12.5 wins. Nathan Goodin won four from five in the singles, as did the pair of Ian Dawson and Ross Sinclair.

The triple of Steve Fevre, Simon Rowe and Mark Hawken won twice, while the fours side of Joel Chard, Gavin Benton, Blair Clark and Luca Dobson won all five in a mighty effort.

In the under-eights women, Taranaki took the honours with 13 wins, ahead of Hawke’s Bay on 11. Mihi Hona in the singles and the four of Shelley Clark, Colleen Hodges, Alesha Quay and Linda Kape both won four from five.

Jill Forbes and Tina Atkinson-Watt had three wins in the pairs, while the triples, which was adjusted during the weekend and comprised Lois Debique, Ashleigh Megaw, Melissa McEwen-Shepherd and Angela Debique, had two wins.

Taranaki were well off the pace in the senior women’s event. Only seven centres took part, after Whanganui withdrew. Taranaki amassed five wins from 20 games, with the last round washed out on Sunday morning.

All the disciplines managed just one win from three on Friday: Susan Cottam (singles), Alethea Rowlands and Trish Howard (pairs), Amanda Crehan, Cindy Gray and Rhonda Adams (triples) and Judy Crawford, Rita Davey, Irene Taunt and Maree Gadsby (fours).

The combinations were changed for Saturday’s two rounds, the sole win coming from Crawford, Crehan and Davey in the triples.