Pictures - Winners of Thornfield indoor bowls competitions

Bowls by Alan Jackson

Rugby Thornfield Indoors Bowls Club competition finals are normally held over a Friday, Saturday and Sunday but an unusual set of circumstances with a few bowlers in almost every competition they could be and unfortunately covid still causing issues meant the finals were spread out further and some will have to wait until the start of next season.

Keith Mason made a slow start to his defence of the Mens Singles, Tom Wheeler quickly 8-1 up. Mason then fought back, wiping out the deficit and moving ahead 10-8. Wheeler added a single but Mason went on another scoring spree, taking the score to 18-9, Wheeler replied with a pair of singles only for Keith Mason to score a double and single to win 21-11.

Oliver Fowler and Ewan Mason made a good start in the Mens Pairs final against Greg Sampson and Gerry Magan, leading 8-1 after six ends. Magan hit a four, Mason replied with a treble and single. Magan again scored four over the next couple of ends, again Mason responded with a brace of doubles, the score now 16-9 after thirteen ends. Five ends later the lead had increased to nine, Sampson and Magan took another couple of twos but ran out of ends, Fowler and Mason winning 20-15.

After three ends Oliver Fowler, Dave Sands and Chris Chapman held a slender two shot lead over Keith Mason, Ewan Mason and Craig Carter in the Mens Triples. A four saw the start of a spell that swung the game in favour of Carter and co, their lead seven at the halfway point. Chapmans trio chipped away at the deficit and moved ahead by one with four ends to play, the sides then exchanged singles. Carter took the penultimate end with a double to again move a shot ahead, the game came down to the final wood, holding one shot Chris Chapman drew a second right on the jack to clinch a thrilling encounter. Oliver Fowler, Dave Sands and Chris Chapman winning 16-15.

Geoff Tysall, Nigel Malka, Colin Loveitt and Geoff Melling made a good start to lead 5-2 after three ends against Oliver & Andrew Fowler, Ewan & Keith Mason in the Mens Fours, Mason and co took eleven shots over the next four ends, Melling replied with a single but Mason added another seven to reach twelve ends 20-6 up. Melling and co doubled their tally though trailed by nine with three ends left, Mason picked up a treble meaning they led by twelve with two ends to go. Up against it Melling knew they had to score big in the penultimate end but it was clear that was unlikely so they tried killing the ends, only to keep taking out their own woods, leaving Mason and co with a six and the win. Oliver & Andrew Fowler, Ewan & Keith Mason winning the Fours 33-15.

An even start saw Maureen Edwards and Jane Redfern level on three all in the Ladies Two Woods Singles, then despite playing well Edwards just could not get another shot. Jane Redfern running up the shots she needed to win the title 21-3.

Becky Lever took the first two ends of the Ladies Singles final against Jane Redfern to open up a 4-0 lead, Redfern replied with a brace of singles before the players exchanged shots over the next nine ends, Lever leading 12-10. Redfern cut the deficit down to one but Lever restored her two shot lead as the score moved on to 17-15. Another double took Lever within two shots of victory and then took the next end to leave her needing one shot, Redfern scored a single but Lever secured the shot she needed to take the title 21-16.

The Ladies Pairs final between Carol Ryan & Pat Dahlgren and Becky Lever & Maureen Edwards sung in Edwards favour with a fourth round five moving them 7-1 up. After exchanging doubles, Edwards extended the lead to eight after eight ends, four singles halved the deficit but a fourteenth end four brought it back to eight. A double and trio of singles took Lever and Edwards 20-7 up with three ends to go, Ryan and Dahlgren decided to call it quits and conceded.

After five ends John Barnett and Maureen Edwards led 6-3 against Carol Ryan and John Kilsby in the Mixed Pairs. Kilsby levelled the score and then moved ahead by a shot only for Edwards to again take the lead, the score 10-7 after ten ends. The pairs exchanged shots to leave Edwards with a seventeenth end 16-13 advantage, she took the next end with a single but Kilsby hit back with a treble and single to send the game into the final end all square. Ryan and Kilsby held three shots when Edwards with her penultimate wood fired, got the jack clean and fell on top of it in the jack. That wood was impossible to beat Barnett and Edwards winning a thrilling game 18-17.

Wayne and John Kilsby made the better start in their Related Pairs match against Jean and John Kilsby but had to settle for seven all after eight ends. Over the next four ends the Kilsbys opened up a two shot lead then increased that to nine shots with sixteen ends played. The Barnetts fought back, cutting the deficit to two shots heading into the final end. Any chance of a comeback victory was scuppered as Wayne and John Kilsby took the last end to win 19-16.

A tight start had Cormac Sheehan and Tom Wheeler 2-1 up against Jacob Mills and Ewan Mason in the Under 25s Pairs before a heavy shot resulted in the jack taking multiple ricochets to allow Mason to pick up a six. Wheeler chipped away to recover the six and move 9-7 up after eight ends, after twelve ends the scores were level on ten all. It was then Wheelers time to pick up a six followed by a braces of doubles to move 20-10 up with three ends to play. Mills and Mason took the next two ends with a singles and double leaving a very slim fightback still possible but it was Sheehan and Wheeler that scored a single on the final end to complete a 21-13 victory.

The Under 25s Singles is over two sets of nine ends and a three end tie-breaker if needed. Ewan Mason hit the ground running against Tom Wheeler, quickly winning the first set 11-1. Mason also started well in the second set, 3-0 up after two ends, Wheeler replied with a double only for Mason to score another three over the next two ends. Wheeler added a single and double to head into the penultimate round just one behind but a good display saw Ewan Mason score three to win the second set 9-5 and the overall game 2-0.

Tony Nisbett made the better start in the Over 60s Singles final against John Kilsby but Kilsby pulled back to trail 7-8 before moving into an 11-9 lead. Nisbett reclaimed the lead, the score now 15-13, despite his best efforts Kilsby couldn’t add to his tally, Tony Nisbett always able to dig out a shot to finish winning 21-13.

Despite winning the first end Greg Sampson and Howard Wilkins found themselves 10-2 down after eight ends against Bruce Truman and Nigel Hewitson. Nine ends later the deficit had been cut down to four but Truman and Hewitson soon took it back to eight with two ends to go. The sides exchanged singles to leave Bruce Truman and Nigel Hewitson with a 23-15 win.