Terrific Tayla

Emotions ran high as Christchurch bowler Tayla Bruce became only the third New Zealander to win the World Bowls Championships women’s singles (writes Sian Honnor).

The 28-year-old struck gold on the Gold Coast by beating Canada’s Kelly McKerihen 22-18, collecting two trebles to claw back from a
16-18 deficit.
Tayla emerged through the groups stages unbeaten before knocking out Australia’s Commonwealth Games singles and pairs champion Ellen Ryan 21-10 in the semi-final.
“It was a surreal moment holding the
game and seeing the last bowl come down, realising I was going to win the title,”
she recalled.
“I respect Kelly as a player and fully expected her to convert the last end. Immediately after the game, I could feel my head shaking in disbelief, thinking ‘shivers, I’ve actually done it!’. It was a lovely moment to hug my teammates and my family after the game. They were so proud of my achievement and all the built-up emotions came to surface after such a close battle of
a game.”
After winning two bronze medals in the fours and triples at last year’s Commonwealth Games, plus the 2022 women’s world singles Champion of Champions title, Tayla says she “went into the tournament with some belief that I could win gold.”
“This belief has built over time due to experiencing some tough losses but also experiencing some monumental wins,”
she added.
“I go into events trusting that if I play with consistency, then the result will take care
of itself.”
THE BUILD UP
Tayla, a primary school teacher, left no stone unturned with her preparation, devising a 12-week training plan leading into the World Bowls Championships.
She said: “My training was different to how I would normally prepare for an event, as we were in the peak of our off-season and grass greens were closed.
“I had to be flexible and creative with how I was with my training and created my plan like a calendar, with room for reflections and intentions for each session.
“It’s a working document, so it isn’t set in stone and is added to and edited as changes come up. I pop in when I plan to train at the gym, on the green, mental skills (eg. mindfulness or visualisation), and rest days.
“If it was an on green session, I’ll write down the skills I want to target (eg. weight adjustment) and how I’m going to train that area (eg. four jack drill). I also include my warm up, so that I remember to do this for every session.
“If I have a competition game planned, I’ll make sure I have a goal/intention for that game, as I would when I’m playing at an event. This might be something like working on switching on and off during a game. I had catch ups with my Bowls NZ and personal coach throughout the 12 weeks to revisit the plan and reflect on how it’s being executed. This helped keep me accountable and flexible with changes.”
Tayla also travelled to the Gold Coast two days earlier than the rest of the Blackjacks team, as she wanted to settle, adjust to the time-zone and temperature and also take some time to enjoy the environment before the hard work started.
“This was really beneficial for me and got me into a really solid mental state leading into the training days,” she said.
“We had a good programme for our training days with a mix of drills, skills, individual time, and competition. We were lucky enough to play England, Wales and Canada in the lead up days and I was pleased with how my form was developing and enjoyed the initial nerves that began to bubble with some competition. These nerves then became no surprise on game day.
“The section play rounds were tough, as I had expected. Even though I was unbeaten, I had played a few games that went to the time limit, that had close scores, and games where I had to get myself out of some patches of inconsistent play. Overall, I was really happy with how I was playing and pairing this with overcoming challenges really helped set me up for the post section rounds.”
TAYLA’S INSPIRATION
Tayla started bowling in 2008, when she was 13-years-old and inspired by the 2008 World Bowls Championship held at Burnside Bowling Club in Christchurch, the club that has supported her right from the start.
“When I walked in the gates, I saw Kelsey Cottrell at 17-years-old playing for Australia and realised that the sport offered more than just the traditional club bowls, but that it could also be colourful, youthful, and very competitive,” she said.
“I’ve been hooked ever since and was lucky to be coached at the beginning by my current personal coach, Vince Roper. He set me up with a solid foundation, which allowed me to thrive and progress in the sport.
“I loved the game straight away; it was tougher than it looked from the sidelines but I enjoyed the challenge of it and being able to play alongside my parents and my grandparents. The competitive streak in me didn’t take long to develop once I started entering events!”

Looking back, Tayla is proud that she took some risks at the start of her bowls career, including asking her coach Vince Roper if she could play in the club junior singles and the club open singles when it was not common to enter both.
She said: “I was worried that it made me look over-confident, but I wanted to challenge myself and play club players that were more experienced than me so that I could learn. I ended up winning both singles titles that year, which really boosted my self-belief.
“Bowls has helped develop me into the person I am today. I love that it challenges me, it’s enjoyable, and it also opens up opportunities to meet amazing people and travel the world.
“Bowls is a game that you can never fully master and I keep playing because I’m curious to unlock my potential and see how close to mastery I can get.”
Are there any downsides to being at the top?
“The demand on my lifestyle,” Tayla says, “It’s not easy balancing bowls, work, social life, and downtime.
“I think people also underestimate how demanding training is for bowls. Unlike most other sports, we don’t build a lot of physical fitness through playing and bowls training. There is a large element of physical technique, but I need to go to the gym to build my fitness up. This means I train at the gym and on the green to keep in form.”
THE FUTURE
Tayla’s hope for the next few years is to build on the momentum she has at the moment.
“I want to try my best to make the next World Bowls Championships and Commonwealth Games (if it goes ahead…). I’m also keen to get into a bit more coaching, as this combines my love for bowls
and teaching.
“My top tips for someone wanting to improve their game are to enjoy what you are doing and be aware of your ‘why.’
“Let that ‘why’ guide your bowling journey. I also think it’s important to surround yourself with people you enjoy playing with and find a coach who can help you to grow your game.”

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