So close. It was almost a golden homecoming for the Munro family at the New Zealand bowls championships in Dunedin.
This is the fourth time that the Munros have played together as a family at the New Zealand bowls championships.
They see it as a chance to come back to their roots and enjoy each other's company again.
Brothers John (68), from Adelaide, Ross (66), from Dunedin, and Don (59), from Christchurch, are joined in the fours by nephew Brent Munro (49), from Invercargill.
They came within a hair's breadth of a national title, with Ross and John Munro losing in heart-breaking fashion in the pairs final last Saturday.
They had a two-shot lead on the board before the final end and had three bowls on the head before Black Jack Tony Grantham's last two bowls took the gold medal out of their hands.
''We are riding a wave at the moment,'' John said.
''We've had a lot of luck. If one of us fails with a bowl, someone else steps up.''
The seven children in the Munro family grew up in Dunedin and now live in different parts of New Zealand and Australia.
''We are a very close-knit family and playing together with your brothers is a special occasion,'' Ross said.
''Our three sisters don't play bowls but they are very good supporters.''
The newcomer in the team this year is Don, who has been playing bowls for only two years. He replaces older brother Ken (72), Brent's father, who had an aneurysm in his aortic valve last year and is waiting for a heart operation.
''There used to be a lot of families playing in the nationals but travel costs and composite teams has made it harder,'' John said.
John is the best-performed sportsman in the family and won two Bowls Dunedin titles before shifting to Adelaide four years ago. He has been playing bowls for 30 years. He also played 10 years of premier rugby at centre for Taieri in the 1960s.
Ross started bowls 16 years ago and has won one Bowls Dunedin title.
Ken played senior cricket for Taieri for 20 years and has won one Southland title.
