O'Donovan chalks up a notable ton

Featherston Bowling Club stalwart Les O'Donovan chalked up a notable "ton" last weekend.
By winning the senior men's pairs championship with Bernie Kelly on Saturday O'Donovan notched his 100th club title and he made it 101 the next day when he combined with Kelly and Len Le Gros to win the senior men's triples championship as well.
O'Donovan was typically under-stated in reflecting on a feat which had its beginnings in 1978, his first year in junior ranks.
"I haven't really worried about numbers, it's more a matter of playing as well as you can and hoping you come up with the right result," he said.
"And you need good players to play with too, you can't do it all on your own."
O'Donovan was still actively involved in rugby when he was first introduced to bowls through a side bet with Featherston identity Joe Ward.
The two were having a "quiet drink" at a pub when Ward not only suggested O'Donovan should take up bowls but offered him the challenge of a singles game with the extra incentive of a 10-point start.
Never one to back down from a challenge O'Donovan took the bait and while the result of that first clash with Ward still remains a mystery both men claiming to have won O'Donovan was instantly sold on the game.
"I really liked it, it was more technical than I had thought," O'Donovan said. "There was a lot of skill involved, it certainly wasn't as easy as it looked."
So impressed was O'Donovan in fact that he became an official member of the Featherston club "on the spot" and club titles came thick and fast from then on and in all disciplines too, singles, pairs, triples and fours.
He has 19 centre titles-enough for three gold stars and hates to think how often he has filled the runner-up spot in centre events. "It would probably run into the hundreds too," he quipped.
Representative selection came quickly as well, first as a junior and then from 1982 onwards as a senior. O'Donovan is unsure just how many fixtures he has played for Wairarapa at the latter level but estimates it would easily run into three figures.
And he has also made his mark on a higher stage with last season a notable example of his ability to foot it with the best players in the country. Then he won the Wairarapa champion of champions singles title and then the zone title against the top players in the central region.
Singles is a game which O'Donovan particularly enjoys but ask him his preferred playing position and lead in a pair is "very probably" top of the list. "You put them as close to the jack as you can and then you get to direct what the skip does &you; are always in the game when are leading a pair," he said.
O'Donovan sees consistency as being a key word for anyone wanting to make a name for themselves in bowls with the idea being to put each bowl where you plan it to go time and time again. And when there was a need to play aggressively there should be no hesitation in doing so. "Sometimes attack is the only option, especially if the head is building against you. You can't afford to sit back and hope things will change, you have to make it happen yourself."
But of all the aspects of bowls which Les O'Donovan finds enjoyable none surpasses for him the friendships you make, both on and off the green.
"Everywhere you go there are interesting people from all walks of life, the camaraderie is the best part of all," he said.