The upsets finally came at the Bowls New Zealand National Championships in a wet New Plymouth as the quarterfinalists of the women's pairs were found on Tuesday.
Constant rain saw the cancellation of the men's single post section play, which will now be contested on Friday.
The women's pairs were
able to be played on the indoor green at the Paritutu club - four rinks are able to be used under the roof.
The big story was the loss of defending champion and world ranked pairs combination of Jo Edwards and Val Smith. The experienced pairing and competition favourites went down in the first match of post-section play 15-14 to Reen Stratford of Wanganui and Aucklander Linda Ralph. Stratford and Ralph went on to qualify for the quarterfinals with victory over Ann Loveridge and Marilyn Constantine.
Also upset in the first round of post-section play was the highly fancied combination of Blackjacks rep Angela Boyd and Blackjack-in-waiting Tayla Bruce who were comfortably beaten 24-8 by promising Waikato player Debbie White and current Blackjack Katelyn Inch. White and Inch booked their spot in the quarterfinals after beating Lauren Mills and Chris Budge in the next round.
