Rep bowls teams in winning form

The Nelson men’s and women’s representative bowls teams overcame some challenging conditions to win their respective quadrangular tournaments in Murchison at the weekend.

The Nelson men finally reclaimed the Noble Adams Shield off Marlborough after a three-year absence while the Nelson women continued their recent dominance to comfortably retain the Higgins Shield.

On Saturday, the Nelson men edged out previous title-holders Marlborough by 24 points to 22, with Peter Hodson’s team of Jimmy Pugh, Paul Baken and Dean Wood winning all three of their games. Murray Scott and Francis Monopoli each skipped their teams to two wins while Tony Fowler’s team had one win.

West Coast finished third on 19 points and Buller were fourth on five.

The Nelson women finished with 27 points on Sunday to finish clear of Marlborough and West Coast who both had 21 points. Marlborough claimed second by virtue of their superior points differential, with Buller fourth on three points.

Nelson’s selection convenor John Caldwell said that a combin- ation of heat, wind and some testing greens made it hard work for everybody.

‘‘The men on the Saturday found the playing conditions quite difficult and it’s the first time we’ve won that [trophy] for three years so it was a good result in what I’d describe as challenging playing conditions,’’ he said.

‘‘Some of the players handled it particularly well, others found it very difficult, but so did everyone in the competition. We probably were the most consistent team there in the conditions. It was a good result, I’m pleased with it obviously, but the green dictated the type of shots you would play.

‘‘You couldn’t play any weighted shots and expect success. It was a draw-drive green. I expected a tight competition and it could have gone either way to be honest.’’

He said that Hodson ‘‘led by example and played exceedingly well in trying conditions’’, while Jimmy Pugh and Murray Scott also stood out.

West Coast had led the women’s competition after the first round but Nelson’s consistency eventually proved decisive.

Rhonda Bellis skipped her team to three straight wins, with Barbara McGregor, Colleen Earl and Mary Orbell each leading their teams to two wins.