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BRITISH ISLES
6 BRITISH ISLES
SHORT MAT CHAMPIONSHIPS
SHORT MAT CHAMPIONSHIPS

An unexpected change of venue was forced on the Welsh Associa-
tion as Bodelwyddan Castle’s bowls hall was being demolished and
replaced with new accommodation. However, the alternative Sel-
wyn Samuel Centre in Llanelli was larger and gave plenty of space
for the bowlers. Especially as this was the very first time that the
main Premier Championships and the “A” team Championships
were being staged together with 16 Mats in constant use throughout
the weekend. This large event does not suit everyone as Scotland
is being forced to stage their turn next November in England instead of a venue in Scotland.
In addition to this new joint event there were other changes for the Championships. The for-
mat of the team event was also changed with each nation playing the others twice. This was judged
to be a great success and the players welcomed the extra games as they all invest a lot of their
time and money to be selected, although older players may have felt the event was more a test of
stamina as well as skill. All rounds of play were spaced out and staggered over two days and the
following report condenses the rounds in each discipline into one report.
PREMIER CHAMPIONSHIPS
PREMIER CHAMPIONSHIPS
SINGLES - Ryan O’Neill wins for Ireland
SINGLES - Ryan O’Neill wins for Ireland
England’s Roger Wiggins opened up with an 18 - 13
victory over Wales’ Sean Hughes. For Scotland
Lawrence Moffat almost got the better of Ireland’s
Ryan O’Neill but the Irishman held out for a 15 - 14
win. Ryan followed this up in the next round with su-
perb 24 - 14 win over Sean Hughes. The wheels
came off for Roger Wiggins as he went down 17 - 8
to Lawrence Moffat who turned on the style at 10 - 7.
In the final round Lawrence also got the better
of Sean Hughes with another good scoreline at 18 -
11, ensuring his runners-up spot. This game included an 8 end scoring run by Lawrence without
reply. Wrapping up his title clinching game, Ryan O’Neill beat Roger Wiggins 19 - 14. Roger had
pushed him hard and even led 14 - 13 with two ends to go but a full house four and a two closed
off the Irishman’s championship victory. This finalised an outstanding achievement by O'Neill who
became the first player to win the Irish singles, pairs, triples and rinks titles along with the British
Isles singles, pairs, triples and rinks.
PAIRS - Williams & Jones for England
PAIRS - Williams & Jones for England
In the opening round of the Pairs, Ireland’s
Dayne Jordan & Glen Smith romped home 23
- 7 over Scotland. The big opening clash be-
tween England and Wales saw England’s
Allan Williams & Alan Jones score an impor-
tant 14 - 10 win over Lisa & Peter Rees. In the
second round Scotland found themselves
under the cosh again as England beat them
23 - 10.
In the other game, Lisa & Peter Rees
bounced back and found another gear at 10
all against Ireland’s Dayne Jordan & Glen
Smith, winning 17 - 11 in the end, finishing off
with a full house four.