Bowls: Scott targeting 10th title

Terry Scott has a 10th title as his target when he returns to the Bowls Dunedin intercentre sevens team this week.

Scott (60) is a key member of the Dunedin team that will compete in Christchurch from Thursday to Sunday.

He won his ninth title in 2005 and last competed in the intercentre event in 2006. The demands of being a national bowls selector have kept him out of the event since then.

''I'm looking forward to it. I have a passion about the intercentre event,'' Scott said.

Scott won his first intercentre title in 1982 and has won more intercentre titles than anyone else.

Two other members of the fours team are Mitchell Will and Andy McLean, who are members of Scott's North East Valley team that has won the Bowls Dunedin open fours for the past two years.

The other member of the team is Craig McCaw.

The men's intercentre event was first held in 1970 and Dunedin has won a record 13 titles.

Central Otago won the event in 1976 and is the only other bowls centre in Otago to win the men's title.

The Dunedin team has been strengthened by the return of Scott and New Zealand singles champion Mike Kernaghan, who will skip the pair with Rodney Fleming as lead.

The fourth international in the team is Shaun Scott, who will play in the singles.

He won the New Zealand singles title in 2011 and 2013.

Canterbury won the title last year but the strongest opposition to Dunedin this year is expected to be Wellington.

Its fours team is skipped by former international Gary Lawson and includes Raymond Martin and Richard Corry, who were in the team that finished runner-up in the New Zealand championship fours in January.

This is the third year of the new format in which all centres compete in the finals.

In the past, only the six regional winners competed for the title.

Three members of the Black Jacks who are based in Australia - Richard Girvan (Auckland), Ali Forsyth (Nelson) and Mike Nagy (Bay of Plenty) - will be competing in the event this year.

The Central Otago women's team of Linley O'Callaghan (singles), Christine Buchanan, Imela Holdom (pairs) and Lyn Somerville, Rhonda Hurley, Angela Wilson and Margaret O'Connor (fours) is the strongest team from Otago and will be a contender in the women's event.

The hot favourite to win the women's title is Nelson, which has Commonwealth Games representatives Joe Edwards, Val Smith and Amy McIlroy in its team.

The women's event was first held in 1991 and has never been won by an Otago centre.

 

 


Intercentre bowls
Christchurch, March 26-29

Otago teams to watch. -

Dunedin men: Shaun Scott (singles); Rodney Fleming, Mike Kernaghan (pairs); Mitchell Will, Andy McLean, Craig McCaw, Terry Scott (fours).

Central Otago women: Linley O'Callaghan (singles); Christine Buchanan, Imela Holdom (pairs); Lyn Somerville, Rhonda Hurley, Angela Wilson, Margaret O'Connor (fours).


 

 

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