Bowls: Rookie quartet familiar with the taste of success

Paul Viggers, Sheryl Viggers, Terry Butler and Keith Redman will be the least experienced of the 32 teams in this weekend's fours tournament at Bowls Taradale. Photo / Glenn Taylor

Former New Zealand squash representative Paul Viggers is the right bloke to compare the four walls code with bowls.

"Bowls has 10 times more luck involved ... you can play good bowls all weekend and not get a result," Viggers said.

The second-year bowler earlier this month beat Bowls Heretaunga's Gavin Keighley 21-6 in the final of Bowls Hawke's Bay's Champion of Champions junior men's singles tournament. So he will be in a better position to elaborate on the intricacies of bowls when he plays three for a "rookie quartet" in this weekend's inaugural Princess Alexandra Retirement Village Fours tournament at Bowls Taradale.

"We're a bit embarrassed to be putting in such an inexperienced team but it's so hard to get to play in these events because teams have been established for many years ... but you aren't going to improve unless you play against quality players like these events attract."

Viggers is playing for a team of four former squash players. The skip is Bay View club mate and fellow second-year player Terry Butler. The two is wife and multiple national teams squash champion Sheryl Viggers, who is also in her second year of bowls. The lead is Taradale's Keith Redman, who played in the same squash team as Viggers when Hawke's Bay-Poverty Bay won three consecutive national junior teams titles in the late 1970s and early 80s.

Viggers, 53, was a New Zealand senior squash representative from 1980-86. He played the likes of former world champion Jahangir Khan and his best performance at world championship level was a fourth round loss to 13th seeded Egyptian Ahmed Safwat.

"The pressure levels in bowls are similar to what I experienced in squash. Once the pressure comes on we all react different," Viggers explained.

"Taking the calibre of our opposition into account, we'll be over the moon if we get a couple of wins this weekend. We're still finding our feet and learning ... and in saying that, when opposition teams learn of our inexperience they will be disappointed if they lose to us."

Viggers pointed out the more experienced players around the province have been fantastic in passing on tips ... "unless they are playing you".

Both he and his wife who have joint membership of the Bay View and Taradale clubs have been mentored by Barry Wakely and Joe Johanson. In addition to the junior singles title at Bay View, Viggers, who has an HR role with the Napier-based Taylor Corporation, has also won the junior and senior pairs titles.

One of the attractions for him in entering a team this weekend was long-time friend and national singles bowls champion Tony Fabling bringing a star-studded Waikato four to play. Fabling was a regular squash opponent of Viggers and Redman.

Redman, 52, took up bowls back in November.

"It was the right move after a hip injury stopped me playing squash and tennis.

"In saying that, you still have to be reasonably fit for bowls. Two-day tournaments are hard yakka ... anyone who says bowls are for old people are totally wrong."

Redman's wife Sue, another former squash player, has also got the bowls bug and Redman said the pair are grateful for the mentoring they receive from Taradale stalwart Graeme Hocking.

Fabling has the Waikato singles champion Kerry Margan, Chris Richter-Visser and another former squash player, Alan Solly, in his team. A Hawke's Bay team tipped to do well is the team of two husband-and-wife combos: former New Zealand representative Colleen Ferrick and her hubby Bruce Ferrick of the host club, and Lois and Bruce Stewart of Bowls Heretaunga.

Angela Boyd will skip a host club team of fellow New Zealand rep Richard Hocking, Wakely and Frank Grantham which is capable of securing a berth in Sunday's final.

Among the 128 bowlers are five current or former New Zealand reps and 35 current or former provincial representatives.

Each of the 32 teams will play four two-hour games tomorrow. Points recorded in these games will determine the top 16 and bottom 16 draws for Sunday.

Teams will play three round robin games in groups of four on Sunday and the top two teams after these games will play in the final.

The winning team will take home $2000, the runners-up $1000 and the plate winners $800.