Former Black Jack Maurice Symes has won many accolades but nothing has given him more satisfaction than winning a New Zealand title with his wife, Val.
The Marlborough couple beat Rob Ashton and Linda Ralph (Carlton-Cornwall, Auckland) 19-15 in the New Zealand mixed pairs at the Taieri club last evening.
Symes (70), a retired professional greenkeeper, played 298 test matches for New Zealand between 1985 and 1999.
He has won 55 centre titles in his career, including winning five titles and a gold star in six different centres.
His last national title was as a member of the Canterbury inter-centre team in 2010.
''It was something really special to win this title with my wife,'' he said. ''Val has been through trials and tribulations with health problems but they have been sorted out.''
It was a tightly fought final against an Auckland pair that came south with an impressive record. Ralph has won two New Zealand and six Auckland titles and Ashton He has competed in international finals in the United Kingdom on three occasions and been in three New Zealand Trans Tasman teams.
The Marlborough pair held a slender 12-11 lead when Val Symes played the decisive shot of the game on the 13th end.
They were one down on the head when Val Symes drove the jack into the ditch for three shots and drew a fourth shot with her next bowl to give her team a five-point cushion.
She rubbed it in on the next end when she drew a toucher when two down on the head.
Carlton-Cornwall drew four shots on a close penultimate end to reduce the gap to two shots.
Maurice Symes' shrewd tactics made the difference on the final end. He drew an early toucher then put tactical bowls in place to make it difficult for Ashton to change the head with a drive.
Maurice Symes also pushed the jack into the ditch twice and had the knack of drawing the shot when down on the head.
The Symes came back with a flurry in the semifinal against the Waimate-West End combination of Mata Frankum and Scott Fisher to control the last three ends to win 12-9.
Carlton-Cornwall had a comfortable 14-6 semifinal win against Barry Allison and Jill Phillips (Far North RSA). They beat the Aramoho pair of Rene Stratford and Peter Belliss 12-5 in the quarterfinals.
Frankum and Fisher beat Diane Strawbridge and Bill Harris (Kensington, Northland) 24-6, and the Symes beat Colin Rogan and Judith Seager (Browns Bay, North Harbour) 15-5, in the quarterfinals.
Section play of the singles starts at the North East Valley and Taieri clubs today and the final will be played at Taieri tomorrow afternoon.
