Lawn bowls: Jo Edwards stars in Blackjacks triumph

The winning bowls team. Photo / Supplied

Just days after the NZOC was presented with a major international trophy by the IOC for its contribution to promoting women in sport, Commonwealth lawn bowls singles champion Jo Edwards struck another blow for Kiwi sportswomen by starring in the New Zealand Blackjacks triumphant team at the 2015 Australian Premier League (APL) in Brisbane.

Edwards, the only woman competing in the eight-team tournament featuring 24 of the world's top players, played some top quality bowls alongside her countrymen Ali Forsyth and Shannon McIlroy to grab the title in a thrilling final from the Adelaide Endurance at Club Pine Rivers.

Branded as lawn bowls' answer to Twenty20, the APL, launched in 2013, has received rave reviews for its popular quick-fire, two set, five-end format, which includes substitutes, a 30-second shot clock and a one-end tie break if required.

Yet it was Edwards' high-level of performance against the men that perhaps most caught the eye during four days of pulsating competition, and her success in Queensland undoubtedly represented one of the high points of her long and glittering career, which has also seen her snare two World Pairs gold medals, two Commonwealth crowns and a host of other titles.

"I've been pretty lucky enough to a win a few things in my career but this will hold a special place in my heart," says Edwards, 45, "Winning the world title is probably my highest achievement, but this is pretty close."

From the launch of the inaugural APL in 2013, Bowls NZ CEO Kerry Clark was keen for the New Zealand Blackjacks to enter the event - which also includes seven Australian-based teams - and to do so with at least one female participant.

The Bowls NZ board accepted his recommendation and Edwards has lived up to expectations by consistently matching the best men with a series of outstanding performances in the tournament.

"For us it is all about promoting one team and that our preparation and support for teams whether men or women is equal," Clark explains. "The APL and selecting Jo gave us the opportunity to reinforce that. The fact that Jo was equal to or better than most of the bowlers, demonstrated that bowls is a sport that can be played equally between men and women at that top level."

Edwards, who also featured in the two previous editions of the APL in 2013 and 2014, says it was no straightforward task to be playing alongside the men. The more attacking nature of the men's game took time to adjust to while her husband and Bowls NZ national coach, Dave Edwards, admits Jo was initially "a bit daunted" by the prospect of playing with the men.

However, according to Edwards, his wife's work with Bowls NZ mental skills coach John Quinn has played a massive part in smoothing the transition.

"We have just got Jo to focus on the process and immerse herself on her own game," he explains. "All Jo can do is go about her own role and not be effected by other things."

Edwards' assimilation into the three-strong line up was helped further by her close relationship with her two team-mates whom she has known well for years. For much of his career Forsyth was based in Edwards' home town of Nelson while McIlroy, the third member of the team, has lived in the same South Island city for the best part of the last decade.

Jo Edwards and Shannon McIlroy celebrate.

A further strength of the team, according to Edwards, is they all play a clearly defined role. She says her role is as an "out and out lead", Ali is the "skip" with Shannon's role somewhere in between the two.

She says they are happy in their individual roles with no animosity or awkwardness towards her from the team.

"The boys accepted me as one of their own and really embraced me," says Edwards.

During the tournament the Blackjacks were the superior team, topping the ladder after the round robin section with nine wins out of 14. They lost out to Adelaide Endurance in the semifinal, only to bounce back and defeat the Melbourne Roys via a tie-break in the preliminary final before avenging their earlier defeat to the Endurance in the final courtesy of a stunning final bowl of the match by Forsyth.

Edwards' husband says his wife has a natural flair for the game coupled with an insatiable competitive instinct, yet he insists it is her all-round "professionalism" thath marks her out from many of her rivals and offers a great example to female and male players alike.

"She takes good care of her nutrition, she run or walks 6km five mornings a week and spends one-and-a-half hours on the green practising every day," he says.

"Each practice session she has a key objective, whether that is working on her backhand run shots or the drive," he says. "She does not just chuck down bowls for the sake of it. She always challenges herself at training and puts lots of pressure on herself."

Bowls, unlike more physical activities, is a sport in which men, theoretically at least, have no advantage over women. So will Edwards' success usher in a new era of top female bowlers competing and thriving against the world's best men?

"I don't believe a woman should be any worse than a man, but the fact is that across the board the guys do play to a higher level," says Edwards, whose next major challenge is competing at the Asia Pacific Championships, in Christchurch from November 24.

"I don't know why that is and it is bloody annoying. What I want to show to others is that if you dream and practise hard it doesn't matter whether you are a bloke or a Sheila, you can play great bowls."