Bowls: Mind over matter for 'water-boy' bowler

SAFETY FIRST: Mike Phillips reckons there's more mental strength associated with bowls than rugby. PHOTO/Duncan Brown

DIG into the sporting CVs of members of the Hawke's Bay men's under-8 years bowls team which will take on Wairarapa tomorrow and Mike Phillips knows exactly where he fits in.

"It's just like in rugby. I'm the water boy among this lot by far," Heretaunga's Phillips said.

The "water boy" for the Havelock North premier rugby team for more than 10 years, Phillips, will be playing alongside former world-ranked squash player Paul Viggers, professional golf coach Brian Doyle, former rep golfer Grant Hall and former rep rugby player Lloyd Fitness in a team which also includes Greg Hodges and Gavin Keighley.

However, this doesn't mean third-year bowler Phillips, 54, won't have the same input into strategies during the Bowls Heretaunga-hosted Richard Johnson Trophy fixture as his better known teammates. Just as is the case in rugby, where Phillips was a Hawke's Bay championship-winning colts coach, he is a top tactician when it comes to bowls.

"You require more mental strength in bowls than in rugby. One's mental strength can be the game-breaker," Phillips explained.

"You can get a decent physcial workout too. Often you can spend eight hours a day walking up and down the greens."

A project manager for Fresh Meats Ltd, Phillips, was encouraged into bowls by his brother-in-law Mike Le Geyt who is a long-time Hawke's Bay rep in indoor and outdoor bowls.

"Mike told me not to wait until I was 65 before I took it up. I started playing and took an instant liking to it," Phillips said.

Playing with Lyndon Carrington, Phillips, won Heretaunga's men's junior pairs championship and the Hawke's Bay centre's junior champion of champions title.

"With bowls it doesn't matter whether you are 15 or 70 you can still be competitive. Age is no barrier and size is no barrier," Phillips said.

While the Hawke's Bay men and women will start as favourites tomorrow because they have the advantage of having played in the indoor venue more often than their opponents, Phillips said the visitors won't be taken lightly.

"You don't know what they will bring. Often when you go in as favourites you start 10 points behind because that's how much the opposition want to beat you. I remember last year we beat Wairarapa by a measure on the last bowl of the fixture," he said.

The father of two is grateful for the coaching he has received from Bowls Hawke's Bay stalwart Graeme Hocking over the years.

"I nicknamed him the headmaster one year because he gave us a grilling at one tournament when we didn't perform. You pick up bits from other bowlers too ... nobody holds back what they know."

Phillips has earned the nickname "Safety" because he is a percentage player. He will lead for pairs, triples and fours combinations tomorrow.

Previously the fixture catered for Hawke's Bay and Bay of Plenty under-5 years men's teams. However, when Bay of Plenty withdrew because of the high travel costs it was changed to include Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa men's and women's under-8 years teams.

HB team, men: Grant Hall (Havelock North), Greg Hodges (Havelock North), Lloyd Fitness (Taradale), Paul Viggers (Taradale), Mike Phillips (Heretaunga), Gavin Keighley (Heretaunga), Brian Doyle (Havelock North). Selector: Dave Palmer.

Women: Karen Barton (Napier), Patsy Fraser (Kia Toa), Chris Telford, Michelle Robinson (both Napier), Shirley Passey, Faye Lacey (both Havelock North), Linda Sowersby (Kia Toa). Selector: Liffy Law.