The spoils in the finals of the Fours were split between the Aotearoa Māori and Australia Performance Pathway teams on the penultimate day of competition at the Oceania Challenge bowls international in Auckland.
It is the second Oceania Challenge which features national teams from Cook Islands, Niue, Norfolk Island, Samoa, Tokelau and Tonga, the Australia Performance Pathway team and two from New Zealand – an Aotearoa Māori team, and a New Zealand Under-26 team.
The young Australian combination edged out the Aotearoa Māori men in the Fours final, but that was reversed in the final of the women at Royal Oak Bowling Club .
The Aotearoa Māori quartet made a strong start in the men, the young Australian nerve to grab an 8-7 first set. While the game remained tight, the Australians, led by some spectacular shots from skip Cohen Litfin, claimed the second set 11-4 and the Fours title.
“They came back late in the first set but we played a really good final end to get the win there,” said Litfin. “The second set they played well and we were getting a little worried. Their skip got a stiff result on the fourth end to give us four shots which was unlucky for him but gave us the leeway to push the second set.
“This win means absolutely everything. This is the breeding group that go on to the Jackaroos, so this win will be a boost for their experience. And another big day tomorrow with the pairs and triples – that’s what we live for isn’t it.”
The semifinals proved a nailbiter with the penultimate bowl from Aotearoa Māori skip Gregory securing the crucial shot to give his side the 4-3 win in the deciding tiebreak end.
His team had won the first set 9-5 over Cook Islands, who responded to win the second by the same margin to move to the tiebreak. That was in the balance until Gregory’s final bowl to not only win the shot but wrest the Cook Islands’ counter and gain the vital shot for overall victory.
Tonga took out a topsy-turvy match for the bronze medal, winning 3-2 in the tiebreak after sharing a set each.
The Aotearoa Māori combination of Lisa White, Dayvinia Mills, Gaylene Kanawa and skip Agnes Motu proved too experienced for Australia Performance Pathway in the women’s Fours final, winning two sets to nil, 8-1 7-1.
“My team upfront made my job a lot easier,” said Motu. “All I had to do was add or play the percentage shots.
“They have been fantastic and we have not lost as game in the Fours and I am proud of them.
“We had to change greens from playing at New Lynn to the finals here at Royal Oak and we adapted well, playing well on both surfaces which were quite different. We adapted well and that was probably the key.”
Tonga won the bronze medal in a tight match against a game Norfolk Island combination, winning 2-0 (10-9, 7-4).
The final day on Sunday features the semifinals and finals of the triples and pairs, with New Zealand and Aotearoa Māori well represented.
In the men’s pairs, Aotearoa Māori and Samoa are through with two wins in section one, while New Zealand with a perfect four wins and Tokelau with two wins go through in section two.
In the women’s pairs New Zealand had four wins and Australia three to advance in section one, while Norfolk Island had three wins and Aotearoa Māori two wins in section two.
In the men’s triples Aotearoa Māori and Samoa are through in section one with two wins, while Australia and New Zealand advance in section two with four wins and three wins respectively.
In the women, Australia topped proceedings with four wins and Samona with three to move to the semifinals in section one, while Norfolk Island win three and Aotearoa Māori two to make the semifinals from section two.
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