Bowls: Nelson women grab handy lead in inter-club finals

The United club from Nelson enjoyed an outstanding day at the inter-club finals in Palmerston North yesterday.

Losing just one of nine matches, they have a six-point lead over the chasing pack in the women's event, and threaten to have the title sewn up with a round to spare.

But they will know that a four-point advantage at the same stage last year evaporated when the mighty Matamata side won five out of six to haul in the Nelson team and claim a third straight title on shots differential.

This time they have a bigger lead, after Marie Watson in the singles and the young international pair of Val Smith and Jo Edwards won three from three. They have each already beaten their Matamata opponents. The Waikato side have 10 points, as do Northern and Whangarei.

With two rounds to play today, all have a mathematical chance of taking the title, but it is United's to lose.

South Otago's Clinton and the Kapiti club each have four points after two wins from nine starts.

For new champion-of-champions singles titleholder Wyn McLachlan, the first match of the day brought a rude awakening. She was skip of the Clinton four who crashed to a 38-1 defeat.

In the men's event, Masterton on 14 points lead by two from Fairfield in Dunedin and another Whangarei club, Kensington. The title should go to one of those three.

Johnsonville from Wellington had just one win from six after two rounds. They recovered to be theoretical contenders on seven points, but appear to have too much ground to make up.

The fairytale is over for West Coast's tiny Blaketown club, who include four members of the Pascoe family in their seven. They came through a zone including Nelson, Marlborough and the might of Canterbury.

During an up and down day they were unbeaten in round two, with two wins and a draw. But they were winless in rounds one and three, meaning they are battling Hamilton City for fifth and sixth.