Bowls: Bay-born sisters shrug off monkey from the back

Sisters Angela (left) and Mandy Boyd, the new women's pairs bowls champions, have strong links with Hawke's Bay. Photo / File

National women's pairs bowls champions Mandy and Angela Boyd have Canterbury beside their names these days but the toasts were flowing for them in Hawke's Bay last night.

The Boyd sisters captured their first national pairs title with a comfortable 20-10 win against Wellingtonian Nicole Toomey and Canterbury's Katelyn Inch at the Browns Bay club in Auckland yesterday.

The 19-year-old runners-up conceded during the 17th end.

Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Mandy, 23, has been Christchurch based since the middle of last year after moving there to be with her partner and fellow bowler Lance Pascoe. Angela, 28, the oldest player in the final, joined her sister at the Burnside club at the start of this summer.

"Angela was my captain and No1 for two years. She's been texting me her results every day from the nationals to date ... I'm sure everyone in the Bay is thrilled for the pair of them," Hawke's Bay women's selector Jim Bentley said as he toasted their victory while cooking a family barbecue in Hastings last night.

"Angela went down there to improve her bowls but her heart is still with us. There were a few tears when she left," Bentley added.

Equally as delighted as Bentley was Bowls Taradale stalwart Wilma Ennor, who managed Mandy when she won the national secondary schoolgirls singles title during the 2009-10 summer. "It's absolutely magnificent. I just can't believe it, but at the same time I know how hard they have worked for this title," Ennor said.

She remembers Mandy taking up bowls as a 13-year-old and Angela starting later after considerable success as an indoor bowler. Ennor was thrilled with the progress of another Bowls Taradale player and product of her secondary school programme, Richard Hocking, at the nationals. Hocking qualified for post-section play in the singles and pairs.

Early childhood teacher Mandy was the outstanding player in the final, which could have finished earlier but Toomey kept killing ends when she and Inch trailed by 10 and the chances of a comeback were virtually impossible.

It was an emotional win as the sisters were beaten finalists two years ago and despite plenty of success they have had their disappointments. Angela was a beaten semifinalist during singles play earlier in the nationals.

For skip Mandy it was her third national open title and first in the pairs as the others have been in fours, and Angela's second, the previous one also being in fours. Early exchanges in the final favoured the composite pair and a four on the sixth end gave them a 7-5 lead.

Inch had the better of Angela at that point, but Mandy was able to keep the sisters in touch with her push shots. Mandy trailed the jack for two on the 10th and then killed the next. On the replay the Boyds scored a three to lead 14-8.

Toomey kept in touch with two singles and held three on what was the crucial 14th end. Mandy ran the jack into the ditch and added the bonus, three shots blowing the score out to 17-10.

A two and a single to the Boyds was retorted by two burns from Toomey, but it was to no avail, with one end left unplayed.

The sisters were to start the fours today when they will be joined by Kirsten Griffin, the daughter of yesterday's singles winner Leigh Griffin, and Sophia Fisher, from Manawatu's Himitangi Beach club.