Sue Hodges was the master tactician who called the shots for Tauranga South when it won the New Zealand Club bowls women’s fours title in Dunedin yesterday.
The Bay of Plenty team of Margaret Reed, Hodges, Robyn Davis and Jenny Welch came from behind to beat Queenstown’s Margaret O’Connor, Christine Buchanan, Jane Anderson and Debra Lloyd 15-13 in a tense final.
After 10 of the 15 ends, Queenstown had the upper hand and led 13-8. But Tauranga South scored seven shots on the last five ends to win the game.
"We knew Queenstown would be tough but we had to fight in all our games and backed ourselves," Hodges said.
"But we had to dig deep."
With the scorecard against them, they had a team conference and went back to basics.
"We knew we had to keep it tight at this level on these greens and stick to the draw," Hodges said.
Tauranga put shots around the jack and Queenstown was forced to play more upshots and drives. But they were not accurate enough.
The fourth end was also decisive for Tauranga South when lead Welch pushed the jack into the ditch and all of Queenstown’s attempts to draw the shot ended up in the ditch.
Hodges has been runner-up in national events four times. It was an emotional moment when she claimed her first national title.
It was also the first national title for Welch, who lives in the small Waikato town of Ohinewai and travels 1hr 30min to Tauranga for bowls each week.
It was the third national title for Reed and Davis.
In the semifinal, Queenstown beat Bay View (Hawke’s Bay) 11-5 and in the quarterfinal it beat Terrace End (Manawatu) 16-5.
The men’s fours was won by David File, Steve Goldsbury, Lofty Hurell and Duncan McPherson (Te Karaka, Gisborne East Coast) who beat Ces Bell, Ken Smith, Bruce Ferrick and Frank Grantham (Taradale, Hawke’s Bay) 15-10 in a tight game.
It was File’s fifth national club final title and gained him the Bowls New Zealand silver star.
It was the second title for Goldsbury and McPherson, who won the triples at last year’s championships with File. It was the first national title for Hurell.
File, a former Black Jack, was a shrewd tactician who controlled the game and played the telling shot when it was needed.
Te Karaka took charge of the game from the fifth to the 10th ends, when it scored nine shots on six ends to lead 12-5.
File demonstrated his class on the 10th end when the jack was in the ditch. He drove out Taradale’s second shot to turn one shot into three.
On the final end, Taradale draped five shots around the jack, but File spoilt its head by drawing second shot. In the quarterfinal, the Kaikorai four of Nigel Birkbeck, Jonty Horwell, Regan Larkin and Joe Gordon beat Mount Maunganui (Bay of Plenty) 10-4 but lost to Taradale 8-6 in the semifinal.
The North Otago four of Bruce Kelly, Dave Smillie, Gordon Brown and Hugh Catto (Phoenix) lost its quarterfinal to Te Karaka 9-5.
NZ Fours
Club champions
Men: David File, Steve Goldsbury, Lofty Hurell, Duncan McPherson (Te Karaka, Gisborne East Coast).
Women: Margaret Reed, Sue Hodges, Robyn Davis, Jenny Welch (Tauranga South, Bay of Plenty).
