Brad Morgan
29 January 2008
South Africa's triples combination of Lorna Trigwell, Loraine Victor and Sylvia Burns were crowned world champions in Christchurch, New Zealand on Sunday when they defeated Australia 15-11 in the final of the World Bowls Championships.
Although there were only four shots in it at the conclusion of the clash, South Africa's win was more convincing than the score indicates. After 13 ends, SA led 13-5 with only five ends to play.
Australia struck back on the 14th by picking up four shots, but the South African trio responded with singles on the 15th and 18th ends, while the Aussies scored one on the 16th and 17th ends, to leave the final score 15-11 in favour of Trigwell, Victor and Burns.
The competition
Twenty-four countries contested the trips, with the teams divided into two sections. The top four in each section then advanced to knockout playoffs starting at the quarterfinal stage.
Competing in Section One, South Africa finished third, behind hosts New Zealand and Wales, and just ahead of China.
The Black Jacks swept through the opposition, winning 10 of their 11 matches, while Wales finished with a record of eight wins, one tie, and two losses.
Wins
South Africa ended just behind the Welsh trio with eight wins and three losses. The eight wins included New Zealand's only defeat - a narrow 20-19 victory - and comfortable wins over Brunei (20-13), Israel (38-20), Botswana (19-11), Argentina (20-11), Namibia (18-12), and Ireland (20-9).
Northern Ireland succumbed by only two shots (18-16), while the three defeats, all tightly-contested, were to Wales (12-13), Hong Kong (13-16), and England (11-16).
Australia finished top of Section Two, with Malaysia clinching second place, Jersey third, and Scotland fourth.
Playoffs
In the quarterfinals, South Africa edged Malaysia 18-17 in a
thriller, while New Zealand sneaked by Scotland 22-21 to set up another meeting with SA.
Australia cruised to a 27-4 win over Hong Kong to also advance, while Wales saw off Jersey 22-12.
In the semi-finals, South Africa inflicted New Zealand's second defeat of the championships, winning 22-19 to eliminate the Black Jacks. Australia, meanwhile, trumped Wales 19-17.
With the title on the line, it was South Africa who responded best, losing the first end, but winning the next nine on their way to victory and the title of world champions.
Bronze medal
The Rainbow Nation claimed one more medal, a bronze, in the men's fours.
After putting together a win-loss record of only six victories and five defeats in round robin action, South Africa squeezed into the quarterfinals ahead of Jersey on shot difference.
Australia, meanwhile, topped Section Two with a perfect 11 wins from 11 outings, followed by New Zealand, Malaysia and SA.
British domination
British teams dominated Section One with Scotland, England, Ireland, and Wales advancing in that order.
SA then topped Scotland 19-12 in the quarterfinals before succumbing 21-9 to the eventual champions New Zealand, who beat Australia 20-10 in the title decider.
Despite the success of the women's triples and the men's fours line-ups, the World Championships were a disappointment for South Africa.
Disappointment
The country has a rich tradition in world bowls and its finish of seventh in both the men's and women's competitions was not up to the standard the players would have expected of themselves.
For New Zealand, playing on home greens proved a vital advantage as the home nation won gold medals in the men's pairs and fours and the women's singles and pairs.
New Zealand won the men's competition, while Australia finished top of the women's competition.
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