Intercentre teams separated only by differentials

junior women: The Gisborne-East Coast team who played Hawke’s Bay junior women are pictured with Don Oates at the back. In the middle are (from left): Lyn Trueman, Kandyce Bevan, Holli Elkington, Diane Oates, Joy McFarlane, Kathryn Flaugere and Lucy Shanks. Front: Paige Richter, Joan Gledhill and Libby Clay.

Both teams had 20 points at the end of play but Hawke's Bay had the better differential and it won them the fixture.

This was the second successive year Hawke's Bay had won this fixture. On this occasion it was played on the Wairoa Bowling Club greens.

This year the centres agreed to include junior players with eight years of playing experience or less.

The Gisborne-East Coast women's team comprised Diane Oates, Libby Clay and Joy McFarlane of the Gisborne Bowling Club; Holli Elkington of the Tolaga Bay club; Lucy Shanks and Paige Richter of Kahutia; and Kandyce Bevan, Kathryn Flaugere and Joan Gledhill (reserve) of Poverty Bay. Selector/manager was Lyn Trueman.

The men's team comprised Tim Sherriff, Geoff Pinn and Peter Clay of the Gisborne club; Vern Withey of Wairoa; Andrew Ball of Poverty Bay; and William Murray, Ray Young and Leighton Shanks of Kahutia. Selector/manager was Arthur Hawes.

In the women's singles, Richter (the youngest player in the team) and Shanks — both of whom have substantial experience in the sport — played some brilliant bowls. They led comfortably throughout their games.

Shanks won her game 25-16 and Richter won hers 25-7, which really helped the women's team differential. These two then skipped the women's teams in fours in the second round, again winning both games.

Shanks was the only bowler in the Gisborne-East Coast junior women's team to win all of her games on the day.

In the men's pairs, skip Sherriff and third-year bowler and clubmate Pinn played well together. They beat their Hawke's Bay counterparts 25-14.

Another great pair to watch in the men's team were Withey (skip) and Young, who played superbly well together to win their game 20-14.

Hawkes Bay's plus-11 differential was the deciding factor. Gisborne-East Coast's differential was minus-11.