Boyd leads Burnside four to national title

Burnside’s Mandy Boyd and her team of Angela Boyd, Leigh Griffin and Kirsten Edwards won the New Zealand women’s fours championship in Wellington yesterday beating Queenstown’s Margaret O’Connor and her team of Anne Dorreen, Linley O’Callaghan and Christine Buchanan 20-13.

Boyd was in front 14-9 after 13 of the 21 ends.

In the semifinals, O’Connor beat Lynlea Rogers, Ailsa Lindsay, Christina Bryan and skip Sheryn Blake (Terrace End)

32-15, while Boyd beat Hinuera’s Jocelyn Holten, Angela Stephen, Carol Cox and Debbie White

19-15, after the difference had been two shots playing the last end.

Meanwhile, in a spectacular finish, Dean Elgar and his team from the West End club in New Plymouth won the men’s fours championship.

Elgar, who was teamed with clubmates Neil Candy (second) and Bruce Hall (third) and Gavin Scrivener (Aramoho, Wanganui), defeated Michael Kernaghan (North East Valley) 23-22 in the decider.

But with just two of the 21 ends remaining it looked like Kernaghan and his team of Roger Stevens, Andy McLean and Andrew Kelly were heading for victory. However, Elgar, who the national singles title two years ago in a similar, come-frombehind, dramatic fashion, had other ideas.

One down on the head, he drove the shot bowl, dislodging the jack into the ditch for four shots.

Kernaghan didn’t reduce with his last and Elgar added the bonus to tie the game all up with one end to play.

Scrivener set Elgar’s team superbly on the last end with two close bowls, Candy drew the shot itself and the side then added in the cover. Kernaghan’s side attempted to reach through on the narrow side without success and the skip’s first bowl, a draw, was short.

Kernaghan changed to the wide forehand with his last bowl, running through the head. He moved the jack, but Elgar’s first bowl then became the closest and the championship winner.

That was appropriate in most respects as Elgar had produced a number of huge shots in the game.

In addition to the five on the penultimate end, he had scored a further handful on the seventh end when he trailed the jack and also picked up a four on the 17th end with a stunning drive.