Bowls: Silver star for Matthews after fours win

Neil Walker (Waihola) delivers his bowl in the fours at the New Zealand club championships at the...
Neil Walker (Waihola) delivers his bowl in the fours at the New Zealand club championships at the Westpac Bowls Stadium on Saturday. Looking on (from left) are Colin Rogan (Browns Bay), David Robinson (Waihola) and Brian Wilson (Browns Bay). Photo by Craig Baxter.
Serena Matthews returns home to Ashburton with a Bowls New Zealand silver star after winning the women's fours in Dunedin on Saturday.

It was the icing on the cake for Matthews (42), who was a key member of the unbeaten Dunsandel team that won the national club title at the Westpac Bowls Stadium.

Matthews has played bowls for 15 years and has won six national titles. The fours win was her fifth outside the open national event and qualified her for a silver star.

She has won the singles, pairs and fours, and has been in winning club and intercentre sevens teams.

Matthews, Karolyn Boon, Pam Clarke and Sandra Keith won all their five games. The Dunsandel four beat Browns Bay 15-11, Massey Avenue (Wellington) 25-3, St Clair 14-12, Gisborne 14-9 and Omanu (Bay of Plenty) 11-10.

Keith, Matthews and Boon were in the Leeston triples team that won the title two years ago.

It was the third national title for Boon and the first for Clarke.

Keith (46), one of the unlucky players to miss selection for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, has won six New Zealand titles in the last three years.

She has also been runner-up twice and been in two semifinals. Keith also won the world champion of champions singles title on a slow green in Cyprus in 2012.

''I was disappointed to miss selection for Glasgow,'' she said.

''The ultimate goal is to represent your country at World Bowls or the Commonwealth Games. But I just have to accept it and move on.''

The Browns Bay team of Brian Wilson, Colin Rogan, John Walker and Neil Fisher was unbeaten in the men's club fours.

Browns Bay beat West End (Taranaki) 18-5, Palmerston North 20-6, Motueka 26-8 and Waihola 23-5.

Waihola's Lui Gunderson, Neil Walker, David Robinson and Brendon Hollander drew their first game on Saturday against Palmerston North (13-13) and were unbeaten before their final game.

But they were outclassed by Browns Bay.

It was the first national title for all members of the Browns Bay team.

Rogan turned 67 on Thursday and it was a special present to win the title in his old home town. He retired from the Inland Revenue Department five years ago.

''We have been looking forward to it since we won the North Harbour and the regional fours,'' he said.

Rogan started playing bowls in 1994 and has won a record 27 North Harbour titles.

He grew up in Dunedin, where he was educated at Christian Brothers High School and played premier football for Northern from 1966 to 1968. He left Dunedin to work in Wellington in 1971 at the age of 24.

Rogan had come close to a national title in 2009, when he was beaten in the semifinals of the open singles by eventual winner Richard Collett (Papakura).

Fisher (63), the skip of the Browns Bay four, started playing bowls in 1989 and won seven Auckland titles before transferring to the North Harbour centre.

Walker (69), a retired bank manager, started bowls in Wanganui 30 years ago and has won 22 North Harbour titles.

Wilson (49), a warehouse manager, has only been playing bowls for eight years and is the baby of the team.


National club fours
Final placings

Men: Browns Bay, 1; Waihola, 2; Palmerston North, 3; Motueka, 4; West End (Taranaki), 5.

Women: Dunsandel, 1; Browns Bay, 2; St Clair, 3; Gisborne, 4; Omanu (Bay of Plenty), 5; Massey Avenue (Wellington), 6.


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