Bowls: A medal-winning day for the Kiwi teams

New Zealand are assured of medals after the triples and pairs teams went unbeaten in Ayr, Scotland, yesterday.

Sean Johnson, Rowan Brassey and Gary Lawson will take on Scotland in tomorrow's triples final after wins over the Philippines and Kenya.

The pair of Russell Meyer and Paul Girdler came agonisingly close to doubling New Zealand's joy before being forced to settle for a bronze medal, repeating their achievement from four years ago.

A win over South Africa in morning play had set up a final-round showdown against Ireland, with New Zealand needing to win by seven shots to make the gold medal playoff.

In a high-quality match, New Zealand led 9-1 and 15-7, but Ireland closed the gap and the final scoreline of 16-12 had the losers celebrating harder than the winners, a clash with Canada in the final the reward.

The NZ triple have flourished after a forgettable opening day. A draw against the Philippines and a loss to Namibia prompted a tactical switch, Sean Johnson moving to lead and Rowan Brassey to No 2 for skip Gary Lawson.

They have been unbeaten from that point, and will approach the final with confidence.

New Zealand are the defending champions, and the unflappable Brassey, at his sixth world championships, was part of that winning combination.

Scotland were also unbeaten in the second stage to qualify top of their group.

Jim McIntyre at lead and skip David Peacock will be joined by Willie Wood, 66, in his eighth world event, plus an expected crowd of thousands.

The New Zealand pair also benefited from a tactical change for the last three matches, as Russell Meyer went to skip, and Paul Girdler was asked to lead.

Manager Peter Shaw said the team would not have won bronze in the original Meyer-Girdler batting order, in operation since 2000.

"Paul was a bit shellshocked when we suggested the switch. But we talked through the way we have been playing in an honest and open fashion."

- NZPA