The New Zealand Women’s BlackJacks have come agonisingly close to a Trans Tasman tournament victory but have had to settle for second place due to a points differential.

The Kiwi women went into the final day of competition at NaeNae Bowling Club in Wellington with a two-game lead, however Australia were clinical in their morning matches, winning all four games to take a 9-7 lead with just two games remaining.

After a narrow one point loss in her morning match, Tayla Bruce came back with a vengeance in the Singles, securing a commanding 7-2 first-set win before sealing the victory 11-2 in the second-set against Australia’s Dawn Hayman.

The New Zealand Fours Team of Briar Atkinson, Leeane Poulson, Selina Goddard and Skip Val Smith then delivered in a critical must-win match, edging out their Australian opponents 13-11 to level the series at 9-all. However, Australia claimed the trophy by a slim three-point margin in the overall points differential.

“We put everything out there, and we’re proud that it went right down to the wire,” said Bruce.

“It’s always an incredible opportunity to play Australia, they set a high benchmark in our sport. The rivalry is strong, and it was great to go head-to-head with them over the past three days.”

The Para competition also finished in a 9-all draw, with New Zealand taking the trophy thanks to a points differential of 11.

The Mixed Vision Impaired Pair of Sue Curran with Director Marg Davies, and Kerrin Wheeler with Director Colin Wheeler, were the pick of the bunch on the final day for the Kiwis. The Pair held their composure to win a tiebreak in the morning match before dominating their afternoon match 6-4, 10-3.

L>R: Marg Davies (Director), Sue Curran (Vision Impaired), Julie O'Connell (Para), Kurt Smith (Para), Colin Wheeler (Director), Kerrin Wheeler (Vision Impaired), Mark Noble (Para), Teri Blackbourn (Para)

It was a challenging final day for the Men’s BlackJacks who were unable to keep up with an impressive Australian side.

Tony Grantham, Finbar McGuigan and Keanu Darby won their afternoon match in the Triples 17-14, however it was the only win of the day for the Kiwi men with the Australians claiming an overall 12-6 victory.

Finally, the New Zealand Development Women finished on a high, winning four of the day's six games to end the tournament just four points behind Australia who took a 11-7 victory overall. The New Zealand Development Men won their singles match but were outclassed in the day's other matches, finishing with 4.5 game wins to Australia’s 13.5.

The series was contested across both indoor and outdoor greens as players prepare for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, which will be held indoors. The event also served as an opportunity to simulate the set-play format for Singles and Pairs at the 2025 World Cup in Hong Kong, while Triples and Fours followed the traditional 18-end and 15-end formats, respectively.

The next major international event for the New Zealand BlackJacks will be the 2025 World Cup, set to take place in Hong Kong in November.