Bowls: Kernaghan celebrates games selection with singles repeat

Mike Kernaghan has become only the fourth player to retain a national singles bowls title with his 21-14 victory in the evening sunshine over Dunedin and former North East Valley clubmate Terry Scott at Taieri yesterday.

The last player to do the double was Phil Skoglund, who went on to make it a hat-trick with wins in 1970, 1971 and 1972.

And it was double delight for Kernaghan, who - minutes before taking to the green for the final - was told by convener of selectors Peter Kean that he would take the coveted singles berth at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester later this year.

Scott established a handy 9-4 lead before Kernaghan won seven of the next eight ends to go 14-10 up.

Scott pulled it back to 14-13, but Kernaghan applied pressure, always there or thereabouts on the draw, and Scott was forced into attacking.

Kernaghan clinched the win with a single on the 25th end.

Rowan Brassey's composite Auckland side took the fours title as expected, but were pushed all the way by their Invercargill opponents under Ian Brown, before winning 23-18.

The southerners got out of the blocks fastest, leading 9-2 after six ends.

But Brassey swung into action over the next three.

First he rescued the seventh end as Brown threatened to extend his lead, turning three down into two up.

On the next end he nudged the jack back to a waiting posse of his own team's bowls, for a count of six.

A three on the ninth end completed the turnaround and the shellshocked Brown four had seen a possible 12-2 advantage become a 13-9 deficit.

To their credit they hung in, changing tactics to attack the head more, and were rewarded on the 17th end when a Brown run split the Auckland front bowls and kissed the jack back for a count of five.

A single to Brown on the 18th end brought the teams level, and although two tight ends resulted in Brassey shots, Brown went into the last end just two adrift.

But the head was controlled by the Auckland side and in forcing for the two he needed to take the game to an extra end, Brown conceded a three, offering a flattering look to the final margin.

The victory gave Brassey his sixth title, five of them in the fours. It was Ross Haresnape's third nationals win, after pairs success in 1991 and fours with Brassey in 1995, and a first for Kerry Chapman and 20-year-old Jamie Hill.

Brendan Gibson and Grant Wakefield won the pairs final, 17-16, in an epic battle with Johnsonville clubmate Rob Ashton and lead Eddie Irving, of Naenae.

The game was locked at 16-16, leading to a nailbiting extra end, when Ashton missed a final drive for Gibson and Wakefield to take the title.