Monaghan's seventh gold star a rare feat

It was nothing new when Ian Monaghan skipped the winning Masterton team in Bowls Wairarapa's champion of champion men's triples event over the weekend.
For Monaghan it was his 35th centre title, an achievement made all the more notable by it also earning him his seventh gold star, a feat unprecedented in the Wairarapa.
Monaghan combined with Bill Nicholson and Warren Fisher for a comfortable 26-7 victory in a final against the Eketahuna triple of John Harmon, Kevin Drysdale and Doug Hunt.
It was his third champion of champions triples title in a glittering career which saw him win his first centre title, the open fours, in the 1988-89 season.
Since then Monaghan has won the open pairs crown on eight occasions (many of them in partnership with the late John Stroud), the open fours, open triples and champion of champions pairs all five times, the champion of champions fours and open singles four times and the champion of champions singles once.
Numerous club titles have also come Monaghan's way over
the years, including 25 for his current club of Masterton, including the singles, pairs and triples this season, and four at Lansdowne.
Twice too the long time Wairarapa representative has reached the last eight at the national fours and his talents have been recognised at the highest levels with selection in the National School of Excellence in 1990-91 and again in 1993-94, the same season in which was Monaghan was a trialist for the New Zealand senior men's team.
In other champion of champions events played in Wairarapa over the weekend Liz Bondy's Greytown team won the women's triples and the fours titles went to teams skipped by John Claydon (Masterton) and Dale Batty (Featherston).