Blackjacks stepping up to the plate in Christchurch

New Zealands heroic Blackjacks lawn bowls team has positioned itself for a shot at three gold medals at the world championships in Christchurch this weekend.

After qualifying in four disciplines -womens singles and fours along with mens pairs and triples - last week, the 10-player team had to be content with a bronze medal in each. Certainly an achievement to be proud of, but the guys and gals in black are hoping to blend some silver and gold into the mix by next Sunday evening.

The local mens fours combination of Ali Forsyth, Blake Signal, Mike Kernaghan and Mike Nagy, has been a revelation, going through their nine qualifying rounds undefeated, despite some spirited retaliation from the mighty Scottish, South African and Welsh teams.

The guys answered every question asked of them, fed out a few to their own, and completed the qualification phase a tidy 153-shots up. Good thanks!

Likewise, the enigmatic Shannon McIlroy has been in red hot form, with his only blemish over three days of singles qualifying being a loss to Norfolk Islands Ryan Dixon in Round 5. However, as if to prove it merely an aberration, McIlroy went out an hour later and surgically dismembered the great South African Gerry Baker 21-1.

And of course theres world No.1 Jo Edwards and her new sidekick Angela Boyd, who powered their way into the semi finals of the womens pairs competition.

A last round loss to Englands Sophie Tolchard and Ellen Falkner was the sole indiscretion in a flawless exhibition of team bowls by the two Blackjacks.

Scotland and Australia will have teams in all four categories this weekend, while England, Malaysia, Wales and NZ have three, with Ireland, USA, Canada and South Africa in one apiece.

How the sections finished: Womens pairs:

Final standings: Sec.1: New Zealand 24 points +83 shots, Australia 18 +62, England 18 +54, Philippines 15 +58, Cyprus 15 Sq, Israel 15 -16, Canada 12 +9, Netherlands 9 -46, Namibia 6 -103, Singapore 3 - 101.

Sec.2: Wales 24 points +94 shots, Scotland 24 +58, Malaysia 18 +42, Norfolk Island 15 +46, South Africa 15 +25, Ireland 15 -2, Spain 9 -81, Hong Kong China 6 -22, Cook Islands 6 -93, China 3 -67.

Today: 9am: AUS (Kelsey Cottrell, Karen Murphy) v ENG (Sophie Tolchard, Ellen Falkner) - winner to play NZL (Angela Boyd, Jo Edwards) in semi final at 1pm.

9am: SCO (Lesley Doig, Lauren Baillie) v MAS (Emma Firyana Saroji, Siti Zalina Ahmad) - winner to play WAL (Laura Daniels, Jess Sims) in semi final at 1pm.

Womens triples:

Final standings standings: Sec.1: Malaysia 21 points +55 shots, England 21 +43, South Africa 21 +42, NZ 18 +26, Hong Kong China 18 +25, Philippines 15 +28, Namibia 6 -24, Norfolk Island 6 -37, China 6 -75, Spain 3 -83.

Sec.2: Australia 24 points +139, Wales 21 +34, Scotland 18 +68, Fiji 16 +56, USA 14 -11, Brunei 12 -7, Zimbabwe 6 -47, Ireland 6 -56, Isle of Man 0 -205.

Today: 9am: ENG (Jamie-Lea Winch, Rebecca Wigfield, Wendy King) v WAL (Emma Woodcock, Kathy Pearce, Anwen Butten) - winner to play MAS (Nur Fidrah Noh, Nor Hashimah Ismail, Azalina Arshad) in semi final at 1pm.

9am: RSA (Sylvia Burns, Susan Nel, Elma Davis) v SCO (Julie Forrest, Stacey McDougall, Claire Johnston) - winner to play AUS (Carla Krizanic, Natasha Scott, Rebecca Van Asch) in semi final at 1pm.

Mens singles:

Final standings: Sec.1: R Bester (CAN) 21 points +58 shots, D Burnett (SCO) 21 +52, A Sherriff (AUS) 21 +39, K Hasebe (JPN) 18 +22, S Bahadur (IND) 15 -5, M De Sousa (JER) 12 -5, P Bonsor (ESP) 9 -8, W Esterhuizen (NAM) 9 -30, T Priaulx (GUE) 6 -54, J Ng (MAC) 3 -69.

Sec.2: S McIlroy (NZL) 24 points +64 shots, J Tomlinson (WAL) 24 +42, F Jabal (MAS) 18 +24, G Kelly (IRE) 12 +22, J Walker (ENG) 12 +22, T Cheung (HKC) 12 -12, R Omar (BRU) 9 -28, G Baker (RSA) 9 -32, R Dixon (NFI) 9 - 33, L Paraskeva (CYP) 6 -69.

Today: 9am: D Burnett (SCO) v F Jabal (MAS) - winner to play R Bester (CAN) in semi final at 1pm. 9am: A Sherriff (AUS) v J Tomlinson (WAL) - winner to play S McIlroy (NZL) in semi final at 1pm.

Mens fours:

Final standings: Sec.1: New Zealand 27 points +153 shots, Scotland 21 +43, USA 18 -15, South Africa 15 -7, Wales 13 +41, Hong Kong China 12 -12, Canada 10 -11, Israel 9 -43, Fiji 6 -60, Brunei 3 -89.

Sec.2: Ireland 25 points +83 shots, England 21 +97, Australia 21 +69, Malaysia 15 +43, Zimbabwe 15 -17, Jersey 13 -13, Spain 9 -30, Norfolk Island 7 -44, Singapore 4 -88, Hapan 3 -100.

Today: 9am: SCO (Ronnie Duncan, Iain McLean, Paul Foster, Alex Marshall) v ENG (Louis Ridout, Andy Knapper, Rob Paxton, Sam Tolchard) - winner to play NZL (Mike Nagy, Mike Kernaghan, Blake Signal, Ali Forsyth) in semi final at 1pm.

9am: USA (Aaron Zangl, Scott Roberts, James Flower, Charlie Herbert) v AUS (Barrie Lester, Brett Wilkie, Aaron Wilson, Mark Casey) - winner to play IRE (Simon Martin, Neil Mulholland, Ian McClure, Martin McHugh) in semi final at 1pm.

- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Bowls New Zealand