Pontrhydyfen 74 Tenby 76

Tenby travelled to the birth place of Richard Burton on Saturday to take on the mighty Pontrhydyfen BC, or the ‘Bont’ as they are commonly called.In 2010, the Bont travelled to Tenby who, at that time, were reigning Carruthers Shield champions. On that wet Saturday afternoon they suffered their biggest ever Carruthers Shield defeat by 44 shots (93-49).On Saturday, they had a chance of revenge on their own green. Having won the Carruthers Shield a record seven times, and having no fewer than 10 Welsh internationals from a possible 16, including of course those legends of Welsh bowls, William Thomas and David Wilkins, the Bont were certainly favourites to despatch the young Tenby side.

As the game commenced, both sides failed to establish a clear gap. At five ends, the Bont held a slender one shot lead (16-15) and at 10 ends, the home side still maintained that advantage (37-36).Incredibly, the ‘Bont’ could not escape the (Tenby) Sharks, and at 15 ends still held a one shot advantage (54-53). The Sharks then made their move and crept into a four-shot lead at 18 ends (65-61) and at 20 ends the Bont rallied to lead by two shots thanks to a count of five shots.

Andrew Muskett’s rink was first to finish and scored a single on their last end to reduce the score to one. John Roberts conceded a single to bring it back to two shots. Craig Guymer’s rink scored a three against the William Thomas rink to give Tenby the smallest of leads. With Paul Diment still on, it was still all to play for and Cameron White’s opening shot could not have been more perfect. A front ‘toucher’ - dead centre. Paul immediately went on the defensive and got Aaron Lloyd to position his bowls at the back of the head, with Ashley and Paul then playing a combination of covering bowls and ‘blockers’.

Welsh international Jeff Wilkins had one shot to play and decided upon a drive. He narrowly missed, with the further shot securing Tenby’s passage to the next round by the narrowest of margins. Tenby have now played two games and won both by scoring 76 shots. The first 76-75 and the second, 76-74. A further away game in the last 16 against Taffs Well of South Glamorgan is next, but Tenby look good for their fourth semi-final appearance since 2009 after impressive performances against two tough opponents.

Tenby rinks were:

Luke Rees, James Criddle, Peter Day, Andrew Muskett.
Cameron White, Aaron Lloyd, Ashley Hooper, Paul Diment.
Neil Dickinson, Ben Simmons, Joe Richards, John Roberts.
Gerald Hewitt, Mike Jackson, Luke Guymer, Craig Guymer.