Record ninth bowls title for Unkovich

Press, 13 January 1986, Page 38

Record ninth bowls title for Unkovich

By

KEVIN McMENAMIN

It was that man again, the incomparable Nick Unkovich, who had the final say when the Rothermans national bowls tournament ended on the Woolston W.M.C. greens in Christchurch yesterday.

Ukovich, who turns 63 this week, won the fours for a remarkable eight time, six of them coming in the last eight years and he is now the first man to skip the winning four in three successive years. But this latest victory was sweet for another reason. With his one nonfours title, the singles in 1979, Unkovich now has nine national titles, one more than the record he previously shared with Phil Skoglund. The famous Unkovich chuckle, which is usually a sure sign that he has a game under control, was late in coming yesterday and it was only on an extra end that he beat Ken Watson (Linwood), who along with his second, Sonny Calder, was chasing a second fours title.

However, they were left matching their 1980 second placing after Unkovich had won a dramatic extra end.

Unkovich, who had the same team — Chris Tracey (58), and Lou Musin (60), from his Rawhiti club, and Jack Somerville (58), of Rewa — which he won with last year, said afterwards that it was the best final in which he had played. “I always felt confident, that’s my way, but it is hard to be all that confident when you are playing an extra end. It’s wide open then,” said Unkovich, whose victory enabled him to maintain his record of never losing a Dominion final. Being the most successful bowler in the history of the tournament was satisfying, said Unkovich, but added that fours was very much a team game and he owed a lot to the men who had been his partners. He said that “all going well” he would be playing in the championships for a few years yet and his goal now would be a tenth title, and so become the first man to add a bar to his gold star. The final was played under thick cloud, the light rain turned to heavy drizzle for the last hour of the four-and-a-quarter hour contest. However, despite the conditions there was some fine bowling, with Somerville probably the outstanding player.

All eight finalists had their share of good shots, but it was those by Somerville in the middle to latter stages that gave Unkovich a

break which appeared to be a winning one as the game came towards its end. After four ends it was 4-4 and after seven, 9-9. Threes on the eleventh and twelfth ends gave Unkovich a 16-12 lead at the tea break, and another three on the fifteenth end extended his advantage to 20-13. But then Watson, whose other two players were Glen Miller and Roy Bailey, struck back with a four, it was a great wrest shot by Watson that got the four, and he had burnt the first attempt to play the head after he had been left two down when the jack was moved sideways. The game looked to be running away from Watson when he lost the twentieth end and fell six behind, 1824. He actually held two close shots on this end until Unkovich got them both with a drive to score a single himself. For a time on the twentysecond end Watson had hopes of a four, but a great bowl by Somerville reduced the count and then an Unkovich drive cut it back to only one shot. Going into the last end Unkovich led, 25-21, and heh appeared to be in little danger after the first eight bowls had been played. But then Bailey came to the rescue with a tremendous bowl to push out Unkovich’s second shot and sit for two. To these Watson drew two further close shots and the four for the tie stood when Unkovich missed with two drives.

The crowd, which was of excellent size considering the weather, gave a roar akin to one which greets a Robbie Deans goal at Lancaster Park when Calder

drew the shot, a toucher, on the extra end.

However, the glee was shortlived. Musin, with a fortuitous rub off a front bowl, replaced Calder’s bowl with the next delivery. Somerville and Unkovich each drew further shots as Bailey and Watson tried to sit the shots, or get the jack back, where they had a great chance of victory. But the task was beyond them, and it was a much-relieved Rawhiti team that watched Watson’s final drive slip through the head. In the semi-finals yesterday morning, Ukovich had an easy win over Peter Rose (Burnside), whose team was Bill Devine, Tom Brady and Ken Shivas — Rose, Brady and Shivas coming within one game of their second final; they lost the first to Skoglund in Dunedin 10 years ago. Unkovich was ahead, 17-4, after eleven ends, 24-8 after eighteen and he coasted home against a team which failed to produce the excellent form it had shown in beating Morris Nairn (Leeston) in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

The other semi-final was a much more interesting match. Pat Doig and his Papanui team of Owen Tomlinson, Eric Houston and Warner Barber stuck with Watson for seventeen ends, at which point Watson led, 15-13.

But the Linwood four won the last seven ends, although on two of them Doig was most unlucky to have drives which hit the jack roll just out of the rink. Results.—

Ffith round: K. Watson (Linwood) 24, M. Moffat (South Brighton) 11; P. Beiliss (Aramoho) 26, D. O’Connor (Okahu Bay) 18; B. Drabble (Manurewa) 29, K. Gash (Gratia) 14; P. Doig (Papanui)26, K. Schroder (Balclutha), 9; P. Rose (Burnside) 19,1. Dickison (Kaikorai) 18; M. Nairn (Leeston) 24, R. Fridd (Woolston Park) 23; N. Unkovich (Rawhiti) 26, J. Walsh (Taieri) 16; N. Grgicevich (Hillsboro) 26, P. Skoglund (Northern) 9. Quarter-finals.— Watson 23, Beiliss 17; Doig 23, Drabble 15; Rose 24, Nairn 11; Unkovich 28, Grgiceich 13. Semi-final: Walson 24, Doig 13; Unkovich 26, Rose 13. Final: Unkovich 28, Watson 25.