Pembrokeshire League Division One.
Tenby 124 (14 points) Haverfordwest 47 (0 Points)
The second league game of the season saw current defending Pembrokeshire League Champions, Tenby, travel to Haverfordwest. The Tenby sponsored Layton and Company Solicitors and Chandler Rogers Estate Agents won by 77 shots and took the maximum 14 points to add to the maximum haul from their first league match against Saundersfoot to storm to the top of the Pembrokeshire League with a huge shot difference of 100 shots and no points dropped.
At five ends, Tenby took control of the game and led by 27 shots. At 10 ends, the lead had increased to 48 and increased to 69 at 15 ends. Tenby stretched their lead further by the 18th end, to 81 and ran out comprehensive winners by 77 shots.
The rink of Andrew Muskett got off to a good start, containing a strong Haverfordwest combination and at 5 ends was level at five shots all. The Tenby rink pulled away to lead by a couple of shots, 9-7, then the rink charged ahead at 15 ends to lead 18-8 and at 18 ends led by 18 shots to further forge ahead and finish with a huge 24 shot margin. In fact, from five ends on, the Tenby rink defeated the opposition by 28 shots to 4. A major reason was because at 10 ends, the front end went into overdrive with Joe Richards deciding that he is not a ‘second’ but a ‘lead’ and peppered the ‘jack’ for the remainder of the game. The future is bright for this talented player and to be recognised for International honours, Joe will achieve this target quicker as a ‘lead’ than a ‘second’. Dai Spencer has developed into a quality player having represented Pembrokeshire over 30 times as a lead. Dai moving to second is a great move by the Tenby selection team as Dai can add another dimension to the team as a ‘second’ as he can ‘draw’ shots or play ‘weighted’ shots to help the team. John Roberts was superb all game and has been a major reason why this rink has been successful over the last 2 years. John is a Welsh International ‘lead’ indoor and outdoors and this rink, with three ‘leads’ (in reality), provide excellent scoring opportunities and restrict the opposition to scraps. Andrew Muskett has always been a great ‘skip’ for Tenby, but with John Roberts has formed a partnership which provides a solid basis from which to exert his repertoire of shots. Andrew has won two out of the four Welsh disciplines outdoors and last year narrowly missed out on making it three out a four which would have made him the most successful Pembrokeshire player ever in Welsh competitions.
The class of the Pat Currie’s rink carried on from where they left off against Saundersfoot. Last week saw the rink take a 16-3 lead at five ends against ‘the foot’, and that would be a hard act to follow. But not for this ‘rink’ as they led by 14 shots at five ends, 19 shots at 10 ends and an incredible 29 shots at 15 ends. The lead at 18 ends was 28 shots and at the finish, 29 shots. This rink has seen the loss of Simon Evans from the victorious Carruthers Shield team but has he been missed? Jonathan Webb has been moved to play ‘third’ in this rink and has been an inspiration. Jonathan is an experienced campaigner for Pembrokeshire in the County Team and after success in winning the prestigious club championship trophy and the Chevron Open Pairs tournament has further improved his ‘game’ which was already at a very high level. Pat Currie, multiple Welsh Champion, has been the longest serving member of the Tenby Team and has seen the lows in relegation to in 1987 to the highs of seven consecutive league triumphs finally leading to the holy grail of the Carruthers Last Year. I have had the pleasure of witnessing the great man over the years and his composure under pressure is second to none. If there has been any better ‘lead’ performance than I witnessed from Neil Dickinson on Saturday then I have suffered from a dose of amnesia. I have had the pleasure of playing international bowls with and against the best ‘leads’ available to countries and never has one played with such panache that he produced on Saturday. Neil has to be the best lead never to, surprisingly, play for his County but surely this honour will be coming soon the way that he has performed over last few years. John Baggott has to be the most competitive player I have ever witnessed on the green – outwardly anyway (!) He backhand is like silk and never I have I seen such accuracy until he reverts to his forehand. Joking aside, John has had an excellent attitude and this extremely talented player has a great personality which is infectious and makes him a very popular member of the team. John’s play consolidated all that the excellent Neil Dickinson did, and what a partnership they have formed. Never did the County Skip, Richard O’Leary, have a look in against this talented quartet.
Paul Diment’s rinks had a narrow win against Saundersfoot last week and were looking to maintain the 100% rink record. They did so narrowly by winning by 4 shots, but the rink were in the main restricted by the excellent Peter Jenkins who played them, in reality, on his own. Gerald Hewitt was steady as lead on a difficult surface but Mike Jackson was on a different planet as ‘second’. Mike’s first season as a Tenby player saw him win the Carruthers Shield but he has over the last 5 years been specialising in the indoor discipline with Heatherton. Mike, narrowly lost the Welsh ‘rinks’ title only a few weeks before and over the two games this season has proved what a talented sportsman he is. Mike having played snooker at a high level was introduced to bowls by John Roberts, and has taken to the game like a duck to water. Mike has a tremendous competitive edge to his game but also is very sportsmanlike to the opposition. His attitude is so attuned to the whole team’s that he has settled into the team as if he has been involved for years. Peter Day and Paul Diment played solid bowls as they always do but Mike Jackson was certainly a major factor in the ‘rink’ winning.
Phil Carpenter won against Roger Price by 20 shots. At 5 ends they were 12-0 up and the further five ends saw them drop 2 shots but in return they managed to score 11 shots. They increased their lead to 32-3 at 15 ends and by 18 ends the lead was 35-7 and by the finish they won by 38-9. Luke Rees playing at ‘lead’ has impressed with his maturity and unflappable composure that I can see great things for this player. He was backed up by the impressive Welsh Under 25 International, Luke Guymer who once again produced a very high class performance and seems suited to the Phil’s style of play – which in the main is “play it fast”. Craig Guymer also performed well and with Welsh International Phil Carpenter in total control as ever, the Haverfordwest foursome had a torrid afternoon.
Following on from last weeks win against Saundersfoot, this was, on paper at least another stern test against a strong contender for the League Title but Tenby strolled to a record win against Haverfordwest which left their selectors ‘on the bank’ scratching their heads. One County player for Haverfordwest approached me after the game and said that he looked at our team playing and he could not see any weak link and although not overcome with joy at the result, had to sit back and admire the Tenby team in action.
After the success of last year, this was always going to be a testing season for the Tenby Team. Although it’s very much a marathon and not a sprint the Tenby team has had the perfect start with 100% rink success and a shot difference after only two games of 100 shots. The challenge of beating the Welsh Champions is on every team in Pembrokeshire and Wales’s agenda and it shows when they start the match off. But such is the confidence and players belief not only in their own individual ability but it their team mates abilities that they have risen to the challenge and have upped their performance levels. Beating sides like Saundersfoot and Haverfordwest so early in the season when they could have been caught cold was always the fear, but what a start and the question will be, can it be sustained. Time will tell, but at this moment, I cannot see anyone beating this team.
Next Saturday see’s the return of Saundersfoot at Sutton Street to play against the defending Carruthers Shield (Welsh Championship) team. The competition starts with group stages with the Pembrokeshire Teams separated into two groups. Group one features Tenby; Saundersfoot, Neyland and Milford Haven. Group two contains Whitland, Haverfordwest, Pembroke Dock and Fishguard. Saundersfoot will be looking at reversing the result of two weeks ago and will once again provide formidable opposition.
The Tenby team had been criticised for not fulfilling a full strength side in friendly matches leading up to these two league games but the Tenby Captain felt that the newspaper reports were very unfair as the team has been a victim to their own individual success’s during the indoor season with players either having a break from bowls or from still being involved in Welsh Indoor Finals and World Indoor Championship Bowls. At no time is the appearance in friendly matches a stipulation. The recent newspaper reports are quoted as “…I hope that this is not a sign of things to come”. From the recent performances from the Tenby team, I think that the team has answered this statement emphatically. The issue with friendly matches are that Tenby team players have a very heavy schedule with WBA qualification competitions, the League Matches and the qualification from the group Stages of the Carruthers Shield. Therefore any time to take to spend time doing other things is well welcomed, even this early in the season.
Rink Scores:
Rink 1: G Hewitt, M Jackson, P Day and Paul Diment 20. P D S Jenkins 16.
Rink 2: J. Richards, D Spencer, J Roberts and A. Muskett 33. Paul Jenkins 9.
Rink 3: L. Rees, L Guymer, C. Guymer and P Carpenter 33. R. Price 13
Rink 4. N Dickinson, J Baggott, J Webb and P Currie 38. R O’Leary 9.
Score Breakdown
5 ends, Tenby 37-10 Haverfordwest
10 ends, Tenby 64-16 Haverfordwest
15 ends, Tenby 97-28 Haverfordwest
18 ends, Tenby 114-33 Haverfordwest
21 ends, Tenby 124-47 Haverfordwest
My personal congratulations to John Roberts, Phil Carpenter and Andrew Muskett having Welsh International trials - which are well deserved. There is a tinge of disappointment when other players have not had an opportunity but with sustained success over the year we may see more players being involved.
The Tenby Club’s success in the Carruthers Shield Last Year has seen an invitation from the Welsh Bowling Association President who has requested that his select team play against the Tenby Carruthers Winning Team with two further ‘rinks’ being provided by the remainder of the club. Captain of the day will be the victorious Tenby Captain of last season, David Spencer and the match will start at 2pm on Tuesday May 11th.