Intercentre raises some questions
The Taranaki men’s representative bowls team earned a pass mark with their performance in Wellington, but troubles continue on the women’s front.
The men put in a herculean effort on Saturday to pull themselves out of the mire – and that is what we want to see from our bowling elite.
There is no denying the toughness of the intercentre contest, but we do like to think of ourselves as one of the best provinces in the country. High placings at the intercentre are therefore an important part of that equation.
Dean Elgar put in an excellent performance during section play with his four wins providing the backbone the side needed. When the pair and four found their feet, Taranaki illustrated they are up there with the best.
A sixth and last placing in section play for the women is disappointing but not surprising. Whereas five of the seven men who went south have claimed Taranaki titles this season, none of the women have. That’s not to say they were all out of form.
Rhonda Adams returned satisfactory results in Wellington, while adding together their hexagonal performances, newcomers Faye Gecse and Maree Gadsby went at 70 per cent - which is more than adequate.
But it is as plain as a pikestaff that the Taranaki women are lacking because of the unavailability of so many top players. If the top players are not interested in rep play, should Taranaki even be having a team? ❚ The first of the Champion-ofChampions starts on Saturday with the fours being played in the western division. The men are at Rahotu and the women are at Opunake. Sunday sees the pairs play, with the men at Paritutu and the women at West End.
All of the finals will be played on April 29, which is a new innovation for this season.
The big disappointment is the lack of clubs competing. There are 13 each in the fours, the same number in the women’s pairs, but the men’s pairs have hit a real low point with just 11 teams in the field.
It seems a number have preferred the Fitzroy 10,000. Obviously, the clash of the events was not intended but the raging success of Fitzroy last season has swayed a number of players.
The field for Fitzroy, comprising the maximum 32 invited sides, includes three teams from the South Island, others from the North Island and last year’s winning skip Gary Lilley. It starts on Friday and continues until Sunday. ❚ The 10th annual Inglewood over60s triples also contained a maximum entry of 32 teams. The twoday tournament was won by Mike Fevre, Joe Rona and Des Lowry (Rahotu), with Noel Muller, Paul Doody and Wally Dudley (West End) second, and Don Cameron, Trevor Keightley and Midge Shaw (Paritutu) third. Inglewood’s Rod Clarke, Don Gyde and Frank Klenner took out the second division.