KEY POINTS:
A delighted Russell Meyer admitted yesterday that winning the national men's singles title was something he'd always aimed at.
Meyer yesterday dominated Johnsonville's Brendon Gibson at the Papanui greens in Christchurch winning 21-15, leading from the moment he took a three on the first end.
There are few
sportspeople in New Zealand sport as relaxed as Meyer but he said winning the singles title was something special for him.
"Most of the guys who have played for New Zealand have won the singles title - probably Rowan Brassey is the only major title winner who hasn't," Meyer said of the prestige associated with the singles title.
Even though the World Championships are straight after the nationals finish, he'd approached these championships as he had any other.
"Obviously you want to win - it's no different really," he said. But he did admit that there was an expectation from the public and other bowlers that the Black Jacks should do well and that had added a bit of extra pressure.
Meyer said he had used a set of bowls he'd acquired only a day before the pairs began but that "they'd worked out real good".
This was a title Meyer really wanted to win. His impressive record included four world championship bronze medals, Asia Pacific singles and pairs titles, the national pairs title in 1997, the New Zealand Champion of Champion singles and the 2006 Australian Open singles in 2003. But until yesterday the national singles title had always eluded him.
But considering Meyer has been playing bowls for 19 years, he's attended relatively few nationals.
"I've only been to five or six."
Meyer began the final as though he wanted to finish early, racing out to a six-shot lead in the first three ends and, from that point, he didn't relinquish his advantage. Gibson stuck tenaciously to his task, drawing with reasonable accuracy, but neither player reached the giddy heights of the previous day's play.
"It ended up being a bit of a grind really, hanging in there and making sure I didn't drop a couple of ends in succession," Meyer said.
He slipped out to a 20-13 lead, let Gibson come back into the game briefly when he dropped two on the 18th and 20th ends but, with two touchers on the final end, Meyer obviously decided "enough is enough" and closed the game out at 21-15.
The win completed a dozen straight wins for Meyer at the nationals, confirming that he is in great touch going into World Bowls, and he must have a strong chance of making it a double title when he plays in Gary Lawson's favoured four next week.
