British Isles International Series: Gents Day One Report

A challenging opening to the British Isles International Series sees Scotland's men chasing points heading into day two.

Session One

A tricky start to the morning saw us come up just short against Wales, playing in pairs and triples. The big bowl remained tight throughout, and there were some pivotal moments which just did not fall Scotland’s way, leading to a five shot defeat on aggregate.

Pairs

The pair of Mark Kelsey, and Gary Prunty struggled on a tricky a rink, against a very strong duo, skipped by Daniel Salmon. Finding themselves 7-1 down after four ends, a big score of a three looked like it would be enough to bring the Scots back into the game, though Salmon, and his lead Carl Wood eventually managed to pull further ahead instead.

The two teams traded shots between the sixth and ninth ends, before the Welsh pair reeled off seven shots in three ends, to lead by eleven with six ends to play.

This deficit was too much to overcome, and Kelsey and Prunty ended the game 14 shots behind.

Two rinks across saw Darren Weir and Connor Milne fight hard to save victory over the rink skipped by Daniel Davies Jr. The Scottish duo started fast, and led 9-1 after six ends, taking an impressive three shots in the sixth end itself.

They were to be pegged back though, and the game became exponentially tighter, with the Welsh fighting back to trail 10-9, before even managing to tie the game up at 12-12, with just two ends to play.

Fortunately, when required, Connor and Darren found their feet again and took a mighty three in the penultimate end, securing the three points for Scotland.

Our final pair of debutant Daniel Gormley and Iain McLean came very close to overcoming Ross Owen, and his team, as they fell 17-15 in the final pairs game of the session. The game was very tight in the opening exchanges, with the Scots just 6-5 behind after six ends. A massive four in the seventh end saw the Scots ahead, while trading ends left Iain and Danny looking comfortable enough in the contest.

Alas, it was not to be. A four in the sixteenth end saw the Welsh come from 15-11 down, to level, before they won both of the last ends, taking the points in the game.

Triples

Our first triple of new caps Aaron Betts and Liam McKay (who had previously been called up, though yet to play), along with James Hogg mounted an impressive comeback, though fell on an extra end to Jarrad Breen’s triple.

A slow start from the Scots saw them only score once in the opening eight ends, trailing 12-2, before they started to find their feet. Slowly but surely, they managed to turn the game on its head, with a big three shots in the eleventh end a standout.

Continuing on this trajectory, they took consecutive pairs, followed by three trebles in the final six ends, which forced a winner takes all scenario.

Despite their best efforts, it fell in favour of the Welsh, who truly snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

Mark O’Hagan’s partnership with Andy Thomson and Andy Dunnett was a joy to watch, controlling their game for the majority, suffering only one minor setback.

At 7-2 after six ends, the Welsh triple skipped by Christoph Klefenz could not recover, despite their best efforts.

After twelve ends, the Scots led by seven shots, and a five from the Welsh planted a small seed of doubt. There was no reason to worry however, as ten shots in five ends from O’Hagan and co. meant that Scotland cruised to victory in the end.

The final triple came right down to the wire, as Jason Banks, Andy Furye and Darren Gualtieri were chasing shots for the aggregate score.

In what was a very close game, the Scots led 15-12 going into the last end, knowing that a further three shots would see them win the aggregate score. Jason had the opportunity to be the hero, and got incredibly unlucky, as he got the wrong side of the bowl he was chasing, losing a three instead of gaining one, before going on to lose the extra end.

Session one saw an overall score of Scotland 92-97 Wales, ending in 18 points to 6.

Session Two

Session two saw another unfortunate result, despite many close games of bowls. It was clear in day one that the small breaks were just not going in our way, despite our best efforts.

Singles

In the first singles game of the day, Connor Milne fell 21-14 to Owain Dando. The game was topsy turvy, with Connor going five shots behind after two ends, before taking off in the five that followed, to lead 12-5 after seven ends. He never found himself back on the card for another ten ends however, as Dando managed to pull away to 18-12. This was unfortunately too much for Connor to come back from, and despite trading ends in the closing stages, it was only good enough for a 21-7 loss.

Iain McLean also ran Dan Salmon very close, falling 21-16 in the end. McLean was trailing for the entirety of the game, though managed to keep it close, after a slow start. After 16 ends, Iain found himself at 14-13 down, though it looked like the tide was turning. Unfortunately, a good single, followed by a pair gave Salmon a four-shot cushion, which he was able to hold onto, seeing the game out.

In a similar vain to Connor and Iain, our third singles, Mark O’Hagan also came up short, despite a fantastic showing on the green. Playing against Ryan Davies, the Scot found himself ahead in the front portion of the game. The turning point came when the Welshman made a four, in the twelfth end, to go from 12-6 to 12-10 behind, putting some pressure on Mark. Davies eventually crossed O’Hagan, with a double, followed by a treble, which was met with a further two doubles, giving Mark a deficit too great to overcome. He tried hard to fight back, though unfortunately came up just short, missing out 21-17.

Fours

Our first rink of Darren Gualtieri, Danny Stevenson, Liam McKay and James Hogg, came excruciatingly close to three points for Scotland in a game in which they performed well.

The side were slow from the block though, and after six ends trailed 6-3 in the game, against Ross Owen’s four. A fantastic five however, brought them right back into the contest, which they would lead until the thirteenth end. The side lost a three, to go from 11-9 ahead to 12-11 behind, before trading twos in the final two ends, to lose the game by just one shot.

The second four suffered a similar fate, as Darren Weir, Dylan Robertson, Andy Thomson and Jason Banks fell 13-12 In the end, despite yet another close game. The game was nip and tuck in large portions of the contest, with the Scots 8-7 in front after ten ends. However, a Welsh quadruple in the eleventh saw them take cruise control, and run away slightly, leading 13-8 with two ends to go. Jason played selflessly however, keeping his eye on the big board, and communicating with the other rinks on the green, as he managed to claw back four shots, missing out by just three, leaving it in the other rinks’ hands.

Our final four brought the only points of session two, however, their emphatic win also nearly handed us the aggregate score too!

Mark Kelsey at lead, with Gary Prunty once more, more than made up for a turbulent first session, with a 21-6 victory in the fours, alongside Ryan Gualtieri and Andy Furye. After seven ends, the Scots led 18-0, and it could have been more. From then on, it was about game management for the four, ensuring that if they were to lose an end, it would never be more than a single shot. They worked hard, though the Welsh worked back to 19-5 after thirteen. A double in the penultimate end made the aggregate look plausible, however, another single from Mark Harding’s four meant that Scotland had to settle for just three points.

Session Two Score: Scotland 93-96 Wales, ending in 21 points to 3.

Session Three

After only nine points in the first two games, an impressive victory was necessary to give us a chance at lifting the series trophy.

Singles

Andy Dunnett saw an emphatic win in the first singles game of the evening session, beating Derek Boswell 21-14.

A close start saw the men level at nine, after ten ends. Andy then decided to turn it up a gear, taking nine unanswered shots in five ends, to lead 18-9, putting Boswell under immense pressure. To close the game out, Dunnett and Boswell would trade ends, though it was a clear victory for the Scot in the end.

Mark O’Hagan managed to get his first singles win of this year’s series against Mark Kaleta too, overcoming the Jerseyman 21-15.

O’Hagan trailed for the vast majority of proceedings, finding himself 10-5 behind after 11 ends, despite throwing some incredible bowls. The two men traded shots until Kaleta led 15-10, and O’Hagan decided to turn up the heat. Scoring in all of the final six ends, Mark recorded 11 shots, with two trebles, a double and three singles being enough claim the points.

Iain McLean made it three singles wins from three, as he overcame Scott Ruderham 21-12. In what was a 24-end thriller, McLean found himself 10-6 behind at the halfway point. He held his nerve however, biding his time, and seizing his opportunity. Between the fifteenth and twenty-first ends, McLean managed to score ten unanswered shots, turning his game from 11-7 down, to leading 17-11. From then on, it was full steam ahead, as he dropped just one more shot en route to victory.

Fours

Connor Milne, and his team of Jason Banks, Danny Stevenson and Daniel Gormley all romped to a 24-11 victory over Malcolm de Sousa. However, they did not have it all their own way, as they trailed 11-9 at the halfway mark. Lacking fear, the Scottish four never lost another end, and reeled off a four and two trebles, among a host of other scores, as the quality of the four men shone through, ending in the aforementioned 24-11 scoreline.

Gary Prunty’s four, which was slightly changed from session two, seeing Liam McKay join him, alongside Ryan Gualtieri and Mark Kelsey, recorded their second win from two in the fours, trumping Ross Davis 15-9. A fast start saw them romp into a 10-1 lead after five ends, which was far too much for the Jerseymen to overturn, and despite picking up eight shots in the remaining nine ends, the Scots also secured five singles, to keep the scoreboard ticking over, as they cruised to victory.

James Hogg, along with Andy Furye, Andy Thomson and Aaron Betts, were the only Scots to face defeat in the final session, despite a valiant effort against Greg Davis and his Jersey team. The game was close after seven ends, as the Scots trailed 6-5, before Jersey strung together a single and a double, to extend their lead. The eleventh end was the killer for Hogg and his team, as they lost three shots, sending them six behind, which was a deficit they could not overcome. The final four ends saw both sides score two singles, as Jersey ran out 14-8 winners.

Session three final score: Scotland 110-75 Jersey (21 points to three)

After Day One: Scotland have 30 points with a shot difference of +27.

It is still all to play for going into day two.

‘Mon Scotland!