Stuart Campbell delivers a bowl at Bowls Wairarapa Open Triples. Campbell combined with Peter Ireland and Les O’Donovan to successfully defend their title. PHOTOS/JADE CVETKOV
BOWLS
CHRIS COGDALE
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Featherston’s Peter Ireland and Dale Rowe walked away with the major trophies from the Rosewood Funeral Home Bowls Wairarapa Open Triples held at Masterton Bowling Club over the weekend.
For Ireland and Featherston teammates Les O’Donovan and Stuart Campbell it was their second consecutive triples title.
The trio were one of six teams to qualify on Saturday for post-section play, and they made the final with a 19-9 victory over Doug Bennett’s composite team in the semifinal, after drawing the quarterfinal bye.
In the championship decider, they came up against Gavin Hamlyn’s team, who progressed with a 16-14 win over Rob Bennett from Victoria, Wellington in the quarterfinals, and a 24-11 semifinal win over Gary Caffell’s Masterton combination.
The collective experience of Ireland, O’Donovan, and Campbell was evident in the final, against the less experienced opposition, and they controlled the game from the outset, coming away with a comfortable 19-12 win.
Just making the final was an outstanding achievement for the Carrington trio of Hamlyn, who has only been bowling for a year, and teammates Geoff Balmain and Roger Smeaton, both junior bowlers with less than five years of bowling experience.
The formidable combination of Rowe, the experienced Fiona Mancer and talented teenager Olivia Mancer were unstoppable in the women’s championship, scoring two convincing wins on Sunday to lift the trophy.
The composite team were one of four teams to qualify for Sunday’s post section play and cruised to the final with a 27-9 victory over Diane Haswell’s Lansdowne team.
In the decider, they met Robyn Schischka’s Masterton team, who had beaten Tanya Wheeler’s Martinborough combination.
Rowe and the Mancers were rarely threatened in the final and pulled away to win 23-8.
For Rowe and Olivia Mancer, it was their second Wairarapa Open championship together, having combined to win the 2019 open pairs title.
