Taranaki finish second at bowls event

Taranaki finished in second position in the men’s section of the central region Hexagonal representative event in Palmerston North at the weekend.

But a poor Sunday saw the women slip to sixth placing.

Wellington were decisive winners of both sections, finishing with 36 points (18 wins from 25 games) in the men’s, with Taranaki mustering 30 points to finish a clear second.

In the women’s, the team from the capital accumulated 38 points, with Kapiti next best on 24. Taranaki won 10 games for 20 match points.

Dean Elgar’s four of Jordan Linn, John Garrud and Steve Walker lost their unbeaten record to Manawatu¯’s Pat Horgan on Sunday morning but rebounded emphatically in the last round, beating Wanganui’s Kevin Coombe to finish with a most satisfactory four wins.

That was a good pointer for the NZ intercentre event, which is being held in Christchurch from March 23-25.

Darren Goodin, playing the A singles, also warmed up well with four wins, his only loss coming on Saturday to Murray Glassey (Hawke’s Bay) 25-23.

The A pair of John Roberts and Craig Johns had three wins.

Excluding the B singles, where Taranaki battled, and the B pairs, the A combinations were the best-performed in the men’s event across the six centres involved.

Those seven players were suitably rewarded with selection for next month’s event.

After winning eight games from 15 on Saturday, the Taranaki women hit the wall on Sunday.

They won two matches in the morning, but lost the lot after lunch.

Faye Gecse and Maree Gadsby, after three wins on Saturday, lost both matches on Sunday. Second singles player Rhonda Adams was the only other player to break 50 per cent, with three wins.