They ran on and off in between the cloud bursts, but the Premier 1 senior men's teams representing Wanganui were unable to catch Manawatu's Northern Bowling Club during the final rounds of the inaugural combined Manawatu-Wanganui Premier competition on Saturday.
After the two November weekend meetings saw Bowls Wanganui clubteams play at home and away to their Manawatu counterparts, Saturday's last three rounds saw the sides from each province play against themselves.
At Laird Park, the Wanganui teams had to wait until after the morning downpour to get out on the green, getting through their three matchups, while over in Palmerston North the Manawatu teams experienced similar delays.
In the end, Northern had entered the day as the points leader and remained so, having scored better on their home green when the Wanganui teams travelled over on November 23.
Wanganui's Aramoho Bowling Club finished second, five points behind Northern, with Palmerston North Bowling Club coming third.
Despite being a combined competition, both Northern and Aramoho will go forward to represent their province at the Lion Foundation Regional Interclub playoffs in Wellington this coming March.
Wanganui had better success in the other grades, as Castlecliff Bowling Club won the Premier 2 competition.
In the Women's draw, played at Aramoho Bowling Club, the Wanganui East team will claim the title despite rain calling the day off early.
