British Isles International Series 2024: Ladies Day Two Report

A fantastic day for the ladies yesterday has seen them sit top of the table heading into the final day of action.

Session One: Singles and Fours vs Ireland

Singles:

Emma McIntyre gave Shauna O’Neill a good run for her money, though she came up just short, losing 21-16 to the Irish woman.

The game was always close, though Shauna pulled away between the eighth and tenth ends, scoring six unanswered shots. Emma showed her quality however, securing big counts to keep her in the game, despite not winning many ends in the tie. At 15-10 down, things looked bleak for McIntyre, though two consecutive threes gave her a chance in the game. Unfortunately, O’Neill finished strong, taking three ends to finish the game.

Dee Hoggan overcame Sarah Kelly comfortable, winning 21-13 against the newly crowned British ladies singles champion.

Flying out the traps, Dee controlled the early stages, leading 12-4, which was far too big a deficit for Kelly to overcome. Hoggan continued on form, getting to 16-4, before losing a full house to the Irish woman. This did not impact Dee in the slightest however, as she continued to pepper the jack, and deservedly win the game.

The final singles game was won 21-19 by Rachel Sinclair, against Lara Reaney. The game was close for throughout, with neither player able to pull away from the other. Rachel trailed 14-12 after 15 ends of bowls, and reeled off a three and a four, to lead Reaney by five. This proved to be the difference, as despite an Irish fightback, Rachel got over the line.

Fours

Lynn Lees, with Beth Riva, Jess Weir and Carla Banks lost out on an extra end to the four skipped by Sandra Baillie MBE. At the halfway stage, the Scots were leading by five, playing some excellent bowls, before being pegged back in the latter stages. A fantastic shot from skip Lynn in the penultimate end saw them take two shots, leading 12-10 heading into the final end. Baillie managed to make the two, and then go on to win the extra end, through a fantastic bowl from third Zoe Minish.

Megan Grantham was pipped by Chloe Wilson in an agonisingly close game of bowls. After eight ends, Megan, alongside Wendy Grant, Sarah-Jane Ewing and Dawn Anderson were 7-6 in front, before Chloe’s rink pulled out eight shots in three ends, to lead by seven, with four to go. The Scots fought hard, though it was not to be, and we had to settle for a 15-13 loss.

The final game of session one saw Gail Notman, Lawra Cox, Rebecca Houston and Kara Less overcome a strong Irish four, containing two British Isles championship competitors, in Hanna Cochrane and Ashley Rainey. Gail and co. were behind after six ends, though they went on to win seven consecutive ends, turning the score from 7-3 in Ireland’s favour, to lead 14-7. This was too much for the Irish to catch and the Scots took the win.

Final Score: Scotland 97-92 Ireland (15-9)

Session Two: Pairs and Triples vs England

A massively successful session against England saw the Scots unlucky not to take a clean sweep over the English.

Pairs

Rachel Sinclair and Jess Weir overcame Amy Pharoah’s pair, winning 18-15, after a very strong finish to the game. With the contest tight after fourteen ends, with the Scots just 13-12 in front, Jess and Rachel both contributed to an excellent four, pulling away, and winning three points for the Scots.

Beth Riva and Carla Banks were well ahead of Lorraine Kuhler in their game, although a strong finish from the English was almost enough to catch the two under 25 stars. Leading 11-4 after nine ends, Beth and Carla looked home and dry. Lorraine had other plans though, and piled on pressure, so that with two ends to go, there was only two shots in it, at 14-12. Beth and Carla produced another double however, in the penultimate end, which made it too difficult for the English to catch them.

Megan Grantham and Dawn Anderson were incredibly unlucky not to win their game against Sian Honnor, as it took an extra end to bed the Scots. Trailing the entire game, Megan and Dawn looked to have produced the goods in the penultimate end, scoring a four, to go one up playing the last. A single from the English, followed by a tight head in the extra end unfortunately handed England three points. Credit must go to Megan and Dawn though who done excellently to dig in.

Triples

Kara Lees, Rebecca Houston and Gail Notman done fantastically to beat the newly crowned British Isles ladies triples champions, Harriet Stevens, Nicole Rogers and Sophie Tolchard. Gail was able to get her revenge, after a close defeat in the semi-finals of the championships earlier in the week, as the Scottish triple worked well together to secure victory. Leading thirteen 12, with three ends to play, Gail and the team took a huge three, followed by a two, forcing the English to chase a six to force an extra end. They only managed a double, and Scotland took an invaluable three points.

Alison Lamont, Dee Hoggan and Sarah-Jane Ewing took a massive win over Rebecca Wigfield. Taking ten shots in the opening two ends, the Scottish ladies flew into a lead, before the English started to peg them back. After 12 ends, there were only two shots in it, though consecutive doubles restored a healthy lead. Wigfield and her team got back to within three, and were lying enough to force an extra end, before Alison Lamont played a world class bowl, to open the head, and win the game.

The final triple, of Emma McIntyre, Eilidh Weir and Lynn Lees were incredibly unlucky not to win their game, as they managed to force an extra end against the triple skipped by Annie Dunham. Playing the extra end, Eilidh Weir played a fantastic bowl, to sit alongside the jack and leave the Scots in a great position. This is where it stayed until Dunham’s last bowl, where she managed to peel the bowl away, taking the shot and three points for the English.

Final Score: Scotland 98-84 England (18-6)

Session Three: Pairs and Triples vs Jersey.

Knowing how necessary shots could prove to be, our ladies put Jersey to the sword in the final session of the day.

Pairs

Rachel Sinclair and Jess Weir recorded another win as a pair, beating mother and daughter Lindsey and Chloe Greechan 15-11. The Jersey side were four ahead with five ends to play, although the Scots reeled off four singles and a quadruple to fight back.

Beth Riva and Carla Banks noted a huge 15 shot win over the pair skipped by Megan Kivlin. Controlled is the best way to describe this game, where the girls looked constantly comfortable, taking two quadruples, a treble and a barrel-full of pairs to sink the Jersey ladies, who were never really in the tie.

It was a nail-biting end to Megan Grantham and Dawn Anderson’s game against Katie Nixon. The game was so tight throughout, where the pairs were inseparable, and the Scots trailed by two with one to play. A perfect three from Megan and Dawn however, managed to complete the turnaround, ending the session in style.

Triples

Ali Lamont, Dee Hoggan and Sarah-Jane Ewing were back in and amongst the points, with a 16-14 win over Rachel MacDonald’s triple. After thirteen ends, the triple were coasting, though the game was tight. In a mind-boggling end however, the Jersey team claimed a six, firing them four ahead, with four to play, which looked to take the game completely away from the Scots. They did not waiver though, and managed to record two singles, followed by two doubles in the closing stages to take the points in the end.

The last two triples games saw two massive wins. Firstly, Lynn Lees, Eilidh Weir and Emma McIntyre beat Fiona Archibald 32-8. The game started on the right track for the Scottish ladies, securing a six in the opening end. This paired with a five in the fourth and four threes over the remainder of the game largely contributed to a dominating win.

Gail Notman, Rebecca Houston and Kara Lees played on a similar level to that of Lynn and co., as they won 30-8 over Sue Cockle’s triple. Once again, there was complete control in the game, with bowls permanently in the head from Kara and Rebecca, allowing Gail to manage the game perfectly. Three fours, a three and a barrage of twos was how Cockle’s triple fell in what was an emphatic victory for the triple.

Final Score: Scotland 133-65 Jersey (24-0)