Bowls: NZers knocked out in triples semis

New Zealand trio Rowan Brassey, Ali Forsyth and Ali Girvan have been knocked out in the semifinals of the men's triples at the Australia Open bowls tournament at Shepparton in Victoria.

The match against Jamie Philips, Mathew Philips and Steve Harris came down to a tiebreaker, with the Australian combination winning 15-7 4-10 2-1.

Earlier, the New Zealand combination won their quarterfinal against Mark Casey, Mark Berghofer and Mark Jacobsen 10-4 9-5.

The New Zealand men were looking to emulate the women's triple success of the day before, when Clare McCaul, Jan Khan and Val Smith put together an impressive 8-7 4-9 3-2 finals win over Lynsey Armitage, Beth Quinlan and Julie Keegan to take the title.