Bowls: Southern Pride triumphant after top comeback

Southern Pride came to the fore in a remarkable finish to the Super 8 men's bowls event in Hamilton yesterday.

Despite a 14-21 singles loss by Mike Kernaghan at the hands of Sean Johnson, the southerners were in control thanks to a dominant pairs display from Paul Girdler and Jim Scott.

Up 25-10 with just one end to play, and with Ken Walker's Pride triple about to complete a narrow win, the plus-15 shots differential was likely to leave the Taranaki-Wanganui four under Ray Park too much to do in their clash with Terry Scott.

But Brian Baldwin and John Reid grabbed an unlikely five to give a lifeline, and the four responded by securing the two shots needed in a fluctuating last end to claw back the deficit.

And so on to a playoff prescribed in the rules - one further end in each of the four disciplines.

It was an anticlimax, with an astonishing full house count of four to Kernaghan in the singles setting up victory, confirmed when the triple and four also won their end.

Baldwin produced two superb shots to win the extra pairs end but in vain, and having struggled to qualify for the playoffs from round robin-play on Sunday, the Southern Pride had produced a fairytale back-from-the-dead display.

In the women's event, it was one-way traffic in all but the singles as Mana Bay Coast from the Manawatu, Hawkes Bay and Gisborne East Coast centres easily beat their Counties/Auckland Blue Chips opponents.

Only Wendy Jensen stayed in the hunt throughout, holding match lie in the singles before a characteristic weighted shot from double world champion Sharon Sims wrested the Jensen bowl away for a 21-20 win in a classic encounter.

The pair of Bobbie Beattie and Mary Campbell set the tone with a runaway 33-8 win, and the destination of the title was predictable from a long way out.

Earlier, the Blue Chips had beaten top qualifier Hurricanes in one semifinal, and Mana Bay Coast had eased past long-time leaders Tri North, whose faltering end to pool play carried over into their semifinal clash.

In the men's semifinals, Southern Pride had surprised the Mainland Mariners, also top of the heap after round-robin play, Kernaghan's 21-10 win over Andrew Curtain opening the door.

Taranaki/Wanganui had earned their finals place with a 3-1 win over City of Sails, again the singles clash setting up a strong position for the winners.

- NZPA