Last month, talented teenage bowler Jack Breen, of Gilfach Goch, made history when he became the youngest ever winner of the prestigious Gold Cup at the annual Tenby Open Week tournament. Last weekend, he was back in the town with his brother Jarrad, attempting to complete a memorable Tenby ‘double’ by adding the Valero Pairs title to his growing list of achievements. The popular two-day event once again attracted a strong field of bowlers from across the country, including several past and present internationals, junior internationals, the current Welsh singles champion... and that ‘man’ Breen! Unfortunately, although the talent on display was among the best you could wish to see on a bowling green in Wales, the same could not be said for this summer’s fickle weather... on the Saturday at least.
Rain, sometimes torrential, driven by near gale force winds, made life distinctly unpleasant on the Sutton Street turf - not that that worried these hardy bowlers too much, though, as they simply (bravely) zipped up their ‘wets’ and got down to the business of enjoying another well-run Tenby tournament.Having said that, the conditions did cause one or two headaches for tireless organiser Lynn Rafferty, as a late downpour on Saturday proved even too much for the squeegee mops to cope with.With much of the green finally flooded, it meant a hasty rescheduling of matches and an earlier than expected start for some unsuspecting players on Sunday morning, who were perhaps looking forward to an extended lie-in!
Fortunately, though, by then the weather had improved considerably and by lunchtime, everything was back on track, with the four groups of 10, who had played on a round-robin basis, being whittled down to eight pairs (winners and runners-up from each) for the quarter-finals. Among them were three home club pairs, Ryan Thomas and Luke Guymer, John Roberts and Mike Jackson and Paul Diment and Liam Price, and yes, you’ve guessed it, Jack Breen was still there with brother Jarrad.
The first two Tenby pairs met head-to-head and Thomas and Guymer must have been fancying their chances of tournament success after sealing the fate of Roberts and Jackson with a surprisingly comfortable 12-3 victory.Diment and Price also progressed after a squeezing through by the odd shot 5-4 against Ashley Williams and Anthony Pritchard, setting up a mouth-watering clash with the Breen brothers, who disposed of Josh Hancock and and John Morgans 6-2. Jordan Driscoll and Jake Hancock were the remaining semi-finalists after accounting for Morgan and Tom Holmes 6-1, but they couldn’t stop Thomas and Guymer marching on to the final.
It was a similar story in the other semi, where hopes of an all-Tenby finalé to the competition were finally laid to rest by Jack and Jarrad Breen, who enjoyed a 7-2 victory over the home pair.And so the scene was set for the eagerly-awaited final. And what a thriller it turned out to be, with nothing separating the pairs as they were locked together at 7-7 after the mandatory eight ends. It meant an extra end, a sudden death decider, with perhaps Jack drawing on his experiences in another golden nail-biter four weeks earlier, as he and brother Jarrad snatched the all-important shot to seal a dramatic victory... a fitting end to another successful tournament, with the club expressing thanks to Valero for continuing their sponsorship of the event.
Results in the knockout stages were as follows:
Quarter-finals: Ryan Thomas and Luke Guymer 12 John Roberts and Mike Jackson 3; Morgan and Tom Holmes 1 Jordan Driscoll and Jake Hancock 6; Josh Hancock and John Morgans 2 Jack and Jarad Breen 6; Ashley Williams and Anthony Pritchard 4 Paul Diment and Liam Price 5.
Semi-finals: Ryan Thomas and Luke Guymer bt Jordan Driscoll and Jake Hancock; Jack and Jarrad Breen 7 Paul Diment and Liam Price 2.
Final: Ryan Thomas and Luke Guymer 7 Jack and Jarrad Breen 8 (after an extra end decider, the score being tied at seven-all after eight ends).