NatWest Island Games – day two round-up
Session 1
The morning began with the Open Triples Final between the Falkland Island Men and Guernsey Ladies (writes Janice Gower). Guernsey got out of the blocks well with a 4 and a 3 and stayed ahead throughout the rest of the game to take the gold – the first Bowls medal to be presented at a NatWest International Island Games in 18 years! The Falkland Islands did however enjoy a lot of support and at their first outing at any Games for indoor bowls they were all very pleased with this silver medal achivement.ย
Session 2
The second session of the day saw the first of the Open Pairs and Open Singles round robins, and thereโs been some tough matches!
In the pairs, one of the first games was between Jersey Men and Guernsey Ladies, and it was all left to the last end. The Jersey Men were unlucky as skip Cyril Renouf played the shot Guernsey were looking for to bring it to a draw, before Shirley drew her last bowl. It was close, and required a measure, but they snuck the 4 shots they required in order to win the game by a narrow margin of 1!
In the singles, Billy Nelson of the Western Isles took Daphne Arthur-Almond of the Falkland Islands to the very last end, before clenching the win with a final score of 21-20. Guernseyโs Ian Merrienโs, Jerseyโs Ann Cross and Jerseyโs Michael Rive took convincing wins in their matches.
Session 3
Session 3 saw a few strong wins, notably in the Singles with Jerseyโs Michael Rive taking victory over Falkland Islandโs Cecil Alexander 21-11, and David Leach of Bermuda beating Billy Nelson of the Western Isles 21-10.
In the pairs, Ynys Mรดn got off to a great start against the Jersey Ladies making the score 11-1 on the 6th end. The Jersey Ladies fought back however, and a 5 on end 12 helped, the final score being 23-18. The Guernsey Menโs pair versus the Falkland Island Ladies went the other way, with a very close start which faltered for the ladies as Guernsey ran away with it, final score 40-8.
Session 4
The last session saw all 6 rinks on the go making the stadium abuzz. In the singles, it was big wins for Guernseyโs Ali Merrien MBE and Ian Merrien, as well as another great game for Bermudaโs David Leach. The match between Ynys Monโs Raymond Worthington and Falkland Islandโs Daphne Arthur-Almond was a closer call, but after 23 ends Falkland Islands took the win 21-14.
In the pairs, the Jersey Men met the Falkland Islands Menโs pair, and although the Falkland Islands picked up a 6 on the 12th end, the Jersey team took it. The game between Orkney and Western Isles was a similar scene, with the Western Isles storming ahead early to secure the win.
