AFTER wearing out two new dart boards in his parents’ garage, a nervous Tahuna Irwin, just turned 18, put it to his grandpa that he was ready to play club darts with the big boys.
He membered-up at the Gisborne RSA and got started on the Right Track under theguidance of some fairly no-nonsense characters. A year later, he’s ranked No.1 and is point player for 2NZ Bulls, who are in second place overall in the Gisborne Club Darts Tuesday night competition.
Of a quiet and pleasant disposition, Tahuna is earning quite a reputation as the one to beat, but his feathers are seldom ruffled, as he lets his darts respond to blustery challenges. After 10 weeks of competition and going into a bye, he sits on 79.5 points, 12 points ahead of second-placed Joe Kiri of Mavericks. Lorenzo Kaa and Matt Reedy are not far behind.
Done & Dusted still hold the lead in the competition with nine from nine. Their top woman, Sha Hohipa, leads the women with 52.5 points, three ahead of the Bulls’ Lorna Wynyard.
Last Sunday, 17 women and 28 men vied for the women’s and men’s Region 7 teams. Every game was contested with vigour and some fresh-faced surprises were in the mix when it counted.
Age is no barrier in darts, and standout qualifiers for the men’s team were 10-year-old Renata Leach and Tiniroto newcomer Thao Duncan.
The teams — Women: Sha Hohipa, Karlia Waikawa, Lorna Wynyard, Syndi Barbarich, Tina Aspalter, Angela Leach (captain), Sina Irwin, Chae Whaitiri and Georgina Osborne (manager).
Men: Corey Kaio, Harley Ngarangione, Joe Kiri, Tahuna Irwin, Kayne Arahanga, Brian Leach, Thao Duncan, Lorenzo Kaa, Renata Leach, Dice Torrey and Tom Irwin (manager).
