Tenby v Taffs Well

 The N. D. Toy and Partners sponsored Tenby team made the swift journey east on Saturday to play the side from Taffs Well, a picturesque little village on the outskirts of Cardiff. The South Glamorganshire side had never progressed so far in the Welsh KO Shield before, whereas the Tenby side were looking to reach the last eight for the fourth time in the last five years, and knowing that a home tie in the next round would put them only one step away from the Welsh Mecca of Llandod the Sharks knew this was a must win game.

To be fair to the Taffs Well side however they were not to be overawed by the proceedings and in the early and middle stages they held their own on a decent paced green, indeed it was the former champions Tenby who were the slowest out of the blocks. On the inside rinks, John Roberts found himself drawn on rink three and after dropping a four on the first end the current Welsh international showed his usual coolness under fire and responded with a three, one and three on the next few ends.

The match then became a nip and tuck affair for the remainder of the first half and honours were even at 10 ends, standing at nine-all. It was in the second half however that the rink came to the fore. JR was supported by the bus driver Neil Dickinson together with the ‘racing snake’ Ben Simmons and the ever-impressive Joe Richards. Joe has shown over the years that he’s a class player, but a lack of consistency and the purchase of cheap alarm clocks have let him down in the past. Now that he’s a big boy and has cut the apron strings however his game is definitely improving, even if his communication skills are not.

So following a quick couple of singles, this rink won nine of the remaining 11 ends to win by 27-14. In was a far closer affair on rink four where the twins were drawn. With the exception of the silver gloved one at second, you could be forgiven for thinking that this rink belongs on the cover of Attitude magazine with the ever-impressive gun shows put on by Craig, Luke and Gerald. Fortunately for all Tenby supporters, it was their bowls rather than their abs that did the talking on what appeared to be a tricky rink. This match carried on what was the theme of the afternoon generally of Tenby being kept close until half way before coming good in the second half. Up by one at 10 ends, the twins then  took a five-shot lead only to be pegged back before a three on the penultimate end put them five up with only and end to play, and after dropping one the final score was 20-16.

Well done as well to Luke and Craig for being reselected for the Welsh Under 25s this year. Rink five was the only bad news of the day where Paul ‘Turkey’ Diment (to give him his N. D. Toy name) and his rink of Big Red, Ashley Hooper and Daisy can count themselves as unlucky to lose this match. Again at half-way, there was only one shot in the game and the Tenby rink then took a five to open up a six-shot lead. However, time and again when ever the rink appeared to be holding a number of shots the Taffs Well skip would trundle into the head and take the jack back or through to the ditch leaving Paul with an impossible draw to try and make shot or cut down. Had he have been playing former Tenby star and known roller Phil Carpenter, Paul would have had the back covered, but on such a quick green some of the saving shots pulled off seemed impossible. Indeed the Taffs Well rink over turned a six-shot deficit into a five-shot lead before some great drawing bowls by Ashley and Peter got the match back to a one shot for the final end. Sadly, it wasn’t to be and Paul suffered his first back-to-back loss in the Carruthers for many a year, losing 19-22.

It was the end rink of captain Wigan that proved to be the rock upon which Tenby built their lead however in last Saturday’s tussle. Again this proved to be a tricky rink to play on and it was some time before the front end of Cameron (Shares in MacDonald’s) White and James (my brother nicked my top) Criddle worked out which way was faster than the other. Indeed, in the early exchanges the score didn’t reflect the game where was it not for some very telling bowls by the captain himself the Tenby rink could have been losing. However, having been kept in it after the early exchanges, this rink grew into the game with all three in front contributing more and more as the game developed. By halfway with the team only nine shots to the good, seven of them were from this rink and thereafter, similar to the rink of John Roberts, the Tenby foursome surged ahead losing only one end after 10 ends and ran out worthy winners by 29-7. A remarkable score line for such a cautious skip!

Following some welcome refreshments at Taffs Well RFC, the team then boarded their respective flights home and landed a short time later in sunny Pembs. Tenby now entertain Llandrindod Wells at home a week Saturday, August 3. This means that Tenby’s famous Open Week will have to be rejigged for the second time in a few years as the current crop of players continue to show that they are a force to be reckoned with in the national team knock-out competition. Anyone wishing to support Tenby a week Saturday will be more than welcome, and whilst you at it, enjoy the cheapest bar prices the town has to offer.