LINWOOD RINK WINS

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22307, 22 January 1938, Page 14

LINWOOD RINK WINS

i N.Z. BOWLS TOURNEY AT DUNEDIN HAWERA SKIP BEATEN IN FINAL ; WELL-BALANCED PLAY BY : WINNERS [PRESS ASSOCIATION TBLEGRAM.I : DUNEDIN, January 21. Play in the rinks championship at the Dominion bowls tournament was under t conditions that were almost ideal, and the title was won for the second time r by the Linwood (Christchurch) skip, H. ' Wilson. The other members of his rink were S. J. Sneddon, F. Redpath. and P. Munn. , ; Wilson began the day with two "lives," " but lost the first to L. J. Bull (Hawera) \ in the morning. In the afternoon Wilson \ played brilliant bowls to beat D. H. Thom- ;' son in the semi-final, and reproduced that • form to score a runaway win in the final • and have his revenge against Bull, ine score was 27 points to 9, and although i the run of play was with Wilson w bom Uie afternoon matches. Wilson's performance proved him right in the top flight I of New Zealand skips. Wilson previduely . won the rinks title at Dunedin four years . ago. and Munn played second to" Haworth in the Canterbury rink whicn won last year. . ~. K _ ■ The final stages of the pairs will be ' played to-morrow. H. B. Oakey (Elmwood) ' has played his way into the final, ana ' will meet the winner of the pairs skipped ' by P. Munn (Canterbury), A. J. walker ' (Otago), H. Wilson (Linwood). and C. £■ \ Tyrrell (Roslyn). Results: — RINKS CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTER-FINALS D. McCormick, H. S. Maslln, M. I*. •Murray, L. J. Butt 21, S. J. . Sneddon, F. Redpath, P. Munn, H. Wit- : son (Linwood) 20. : A. G. Robertson. A. C. Forrest, J, 7. ! Adams, D. H. Thomson (Phoenix) 25. C. | Porter, E. Clancy, J. Seddon. R. K Allen!- " son (Caledonian) 19. I SEMI-FINALS '. Wilson 20, Thomson 18. .1 Bull, a bye. ; j FINAL - j Wilson 27, Bull 9.

I I NOTES ON THE PLAY \ (FRK39 ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) DUNEDIN, January 21. ! Wilson lost his first life to Bull in a i game in which the Hawera rink came 1 i from behind over the last heads and ! snatched a narrow win. I Aitchison's fine form on Thursday probably entiled him to favouritism , against Thomson, but the Phoenix skip played sound and clever bowls throughout the competition, and his win by no means surprised. It was a solid game ! from the beginning to the end, both rinks playing very good bowls. Thomson made a fine recovery In the match against Wilson, but the latter deserved to win. His rink played better , bowls although the luck of the game 1 was with it. Adams was the outstanding member of the Phoenix rink, which was not as consistent as it had been in previous games. Wilson began the final scoring four on the first head. He was lying two on the second head until Bull drove successfully. Bull drove at a replayed head but did not succeed. There was some great drawing on the third end. The Lin- ' wood third- killed the fourth end and ' made another attempt to burn the rei played head. He hit the jack, but it was sprung back down the rink and Wilson drew the shot to lead 7-1. Sned- ' don opened the fifth end with two per- : feet bowls, but Bull split the head. Wilson's back bowls were good, and he added '■ a third shot to lead 10-1 after five ends. ! Bull got a single on the next, but an- ' other fine bowl by Murray could not pre- : vent Wilson from getting two on the I seventh head. It was a similar story in . the eighth head. * i Luck Favours Wilson > Wilson was playing very well and I luck was with him. He drove at a close ' ninth head and broke up to lie two. Bull trailed kitty with his last bowl, but the s shot stayed with Linwood. Sneddon was ' still leading beautifully, and once again 1 put both bowls alongside the jack. The Hawera second drew one still better, but Munn forced it out and left Linwood with three shots. Bull's forcing shot saved two of them, but Linwood was leading 16-2 after 10 heads. It was a > patch of brilliant bowls by both teams. Bull got a single in the next head and then a two in the twelfth. Wilson's position was now exceedingly strong. He i got three on the thirteenth end to lead , 19-5 Both rinks were playing bowls right up to championship class. The , four--1 teenth head was more open, and when ■ Wilson's drive took out only one bowl , Bull put another one in and got three. 5 The next end gave Hawera a single. Wilson got it back on the next end, but the seventeenth, which gave Wilson three ' more, was a chapter of accidents for Bull. A two on the eighteenth head made the score 25-9. The Linwood team was still as conslstr ent as ever. Bull could not yet get any- , thing to go right. Wilson scored another ; two on the nineteenth end, and that was s the end of the game, 27-9. :. It was a handsome win for a splen- , didly balanced team. Bull's rink was . not so well balanced, but the Hawera ; skip did not by any means have a share , of the luck of the game.

WILSON'S SECOND TITLE

PERFECT TEAM-WORK OF LINWOOD RINK

OUTSTANDING DRAWING BY BOTH FINALISTS

[THE PRESS Special Service.] DUNEDIN. January 21. It was bowls of the best championship class that gave H. Wilson (Linwood) his second Dominion rinks title to-day, and incidentally ensured that only one 1938 championship will go to the North Island. Wilson's ability as a skip and the splendid balance of his rink established him among the half-dozen favourites very early in the competition, and until to-

day he had not lost a game His first defeat was in the quarter-finals at the hands of L. J. Bull (Hawera). who thus played himself into the final. The Hawera rink had had several hard games, and in the quarter-final it reproduced the fighting qualities which had previously carried it through several very tight finishes. This was a game of alternate scoring sequences. Bull began better and ran to a leaa of 14 to 6 before the Lmwood rink could knit itseff into a real combination but the Hawera No 3 player had a.bad lanse for several heads and wuson s tlam nicked up. The leading of'young sf. Sneddon was wonderfully accurate throughout the day, and he paved the way for 10 points on three ends. Bull's Brilliant Finish Wilson went right ahead and Bull was in a tight position with the score 20 to is against him, and with three heads to play* Wilson does not allow many oDoonents to recover from such handicaps but Bull was playing grandly again and he made a brilliant finish to get two on the last head and win on merit In the meantime, D. H. inomson (Phoenix) was having an equally hard game against R. K. Aitchison (Caledonion). Both rinks were at their best ana Thomson also had to come from behind with a burst of scoring to make up four points and go right away to win bv 25 to 19 on the twentieth head W TheVhoenix skip was not allowed to reproduce this form at any stage of the semi-final against Wilson. The Linwood team was then playing at the peak of its form and luck was with it. After 15 heads Thomson had scored only a two and a three, while Wilson's total was 19 The one-armed Phoenix third, J. T. Adams, was playing a great game and Thomson was his steadyself, but things would not go right for them. Wi - son built his heads cleverly, and although Thomson got Ave and four on the last two heads, he was never seriously threatened with defeat. An Outstanding Final

It was the same story in the final. Wilson got away to a flying start with four on the first end. and again toe run of play went with him all the way. Repeatedly Bull would play a running shot into a close head and get kitty away, only to have it stop surrounded by Linwood bowls. .. The game was remarkable for ine amount of outstanding drawing by both sides. The Hawera second. H. S. | Maslin, .played an excellent game, but *. Redpath and P. Munn suPP°r ted Sneddon's accurate leading so consistently that there were few ends on which Bull did not go to the mat with shot bowls to take out. It was a triumph for a team playing with perfect undertsanding and with every member in top form. Wilson was in complete command all tne way through, but lor all that the score did not do the Hawera rink justice. Experienced judges were impressed by the standard of all the skips in the final stages of the tournament, and today it was noticeable that each of them had the rink working in full harmony and was of a quiet and steady type.