Tri-4 Nations 

History 
The competition commenced in 2003 with three players, Jackie Smyth, Ian McClure and Noel Graham, three of the top outdoor bowlers in the country over the previous fifteen years. They were later joined by another big name in the game Jeremy Henry. This created discord over the name of the event with one sticking with tradition and calling it the Tri-nations while another insisted it be called the 4-Nations. 

Noel was the defending champion from 2007 and the only one to have claimed the title twice, Ian and Jeremy have each won it once with Jackie yet to open his account but desperate to add the crown to his CV.

The competition is taken very seriously with Jackie joining his church team this season to try and ensure there was no repeat of the humiliating defeat to Ian in his first game last year. Ian plays down the shortmat game but made sure he entered a shortmat tournament only two days before this event to get in some practice. Noel plays shortmat competitions throughout the season but due to the Christmas break he also decided that he needed an outing on the shortmat prior to this event. The only one who does not take any preparation is Jeremy.

These four may be friends but put a bowl in their hand and they become highly competitive beings especially against each other. This competition is not only about talent but also temperament with mind games and vocal gamesmanship employed by Noel and Ian.

Draw 
Psychological warfare commenced before a bowl was delivered with one or two of the competitors arriving late keeping the others waiting. It could have been a deliberate plan to increase the tension form the off. 

The draw was then made and immediately a protest was put in as not all were in the room at the time but the accusations flew that the protestee did not want to start against a particular opponent. The names were then re-drew but the mind games were reciprocated with another protest. Finally the order of play was agreed at the third time of asking.

A further protest was lodged regarding which tie was to commence on which mat.

The opening salvo of mind games especially between Jackie and Ian with Noel adding his tuppence worth had delayed the start by almost forty five minutes. Jeremy without doubt the quieter of the four did not enter into the shenanigans and took the role of amused onlooker.

All the protests and counter protests were immaterial but part of the psychological warfare as ultimately each competitor plays each other twice, once on each mat.

Round One 
Noel was the pundits favourite for the tournament but the late surge of money was astutely placed on Jackie as a result of home advantage and his practice regime becoming known which had been implemented from October. The bookies went into a frenzied panic and would take no further bets. To his cost the warning was taken lightly by Ian who was Jackie’s first opponent. 

Ian adopted two extremes in the mind games; on occasions he goaded his opponent then with the next comment would go overboard with praise. The well laid plans looked to have reaped dividends as Ian fought back to lead by one shot going into the tenth end and with only one bowl of the game remaining he lay two shots and informed Jackie (as he was on the mat) how much pressure was on the final delivery of the game. In the previous few ends Jackie had started to show tension losing his consistency and the lead after dominating his opponent with the draw shot. The comment brought the true competitor in Jackie to the fore, instead of delivering a drawing bowl for shot and a tie he ran the jack into the ditch to claim three shots and opened his account with a win. It was in stark contrast to his opening game last year when he lost badly to the same opponent. The win was well deserved and set down a marker to the others that Mr Smyth meant business and was not here this year just to make up the numbers as had been the case in previous years.

On the other mat Jeremy played with the eye catching white bowls which were still hot having come straight off the production line. His opponent Noel was all at sea in the first end due to Jeremy peppering the jack with precision drawing shots. Noel decided the best course of action was to run at the head, killing the end. In the replayed end Jeremy again was like a magnet to the jack and lay three bowls, Noel again fired at the head dispersing the three lying bowls and getting on the scoreboard with a count of four. Jeremy continued to plug away and was white-hot on the short heads to continually put Noel under pressure. Going into the final end it was all to play for as Noel had found his range with the draw. Jeremy won the end to claim a 9-6 victory.

It was early but after the performances in the first round of games Jeremy and Jackie deserved their wins. If they continued their form they would be challenging for the title with Noel close behind and Ian a distant last unless he upped his game.

Smyth 10 [2pts] v McClure 8
Henry 9 [2pts] v Graham 6

Round Two 
The two winners met in the second round of games with Jackie having the advantage of playing on the same mat and also knowing that Jeremy did not like the mat. Both men continued on from where they left off in their first games with some excellent drawing bowls. The game turned in Jackie’s favour as he took the lead late into the game after a loose end from Jeremy resulting in Jackie claiming a full count of four. Jackie looked set for two in a row as he went into the final end two shots ahead. Jackie put the early pressure on Jeremy who then opened the head with his second bowl to lie one. Jackie came up short with his third and Jeremy added a second. Jackie then changed hand and played a controlled running shot on the drawing hand trying to chop out Jeremy for second shot. The bowl looked as if was on target but only clipped the edge of the bowl with Jackie’s running on and breaking the ditch line. Jeremy then held his nerve on the straight backhand to draw third shot and steal the win putting him in front of the field after two of the six rounds.

Noel used the advantage of knowing the pace and line of the mat to open a lead over Ian. As the ends started to run out Ian became more gung-ho chasing shots. The tactic did not work as Noel mixed his game up well with precision draws and accurate running shots when required. Ian was six adrift going into the last end and decided to adopt the risky all or bust approach. With his final bowl the competitive spirit again surfaced from Mr Smyth who after his loss decided that Ian should draw for shot or cut down as shot difference could come into the final equation. Ian ignored the pleas, missed the head and lost a count of four.

McClure was now favourite for the wooden spoon with Smyth now concerned about Graham who had found the drawing weight and Henry who topped the table.

Smyth 10 [aggregate 2pts] v Henry 11 [aggregate 4pts]
Graham 14 [aggregate 2pts] v McClure 4 [yet to get off the mark]

Round Three 
Noel despite having to change mats adjusted well and took the early initiative against Jackie who was still dwelling on the last gasp defeat by Jeremy. Then all of a sudden the ‘quality street’ sugar rush took hold of Noel who went into exhibition mode deliberately delivering a wrong bias to try and chop out his opponents bowl instead of drawing for three and closing the head. Intimidatory tactics perhaps but they had an adverse effect on Noel as he then struggled with his weight allowing Jackie back into the game. Jackie made the most of his opportunity and piled on the pressure returning to his initial plan of a drawing game which he had altered slightly against Jeremy. A nail biting final end followed but Jackie held his nerve for victory and go in front of Noel in the table vying for top spot with Jeremy if JH went down to Ian.

Playing partners Ian and Jeremy played out a sombre game as the usually very chirpy Ian was as quiet as a mouse. Two losses apparently had taken their toll as Ian was surprisingly silent dispensing with the comments and mind games eventually only coming to life towards the end of his game but only to pass comment and bait the players on the other mat. It was difficult to tell if the new silent approach was due to whom he was playing or the determination to concentrate or the result of the two previous defeats but it was ineffectual as Jeremy battled through another close game to keep his unbeaten run intact.

Smyth 7 [aggregate 4pts] v Graham [aggregate 2pts]
Henry 9 [aggregate 6pts] v McClure [still a silent 0pt]

Round Four 
Mr Smyth is such an advocate of the Champions League in football that it was hard to believe that he did not follow the same format of the group stages for the Tri-4 Nations event. Instead of reversing the order of play and playing the third opponent in two consecutive games it was back to the original opponent and the same order.

Noel started his second game against Jeremy in similar fashion to the first this time picking up a three on the first end compared to a count of four in the opening game. He extended his lead to six shots with some good conversion shots before Jeremy got on the scoreboard. The game was tighter than the scoreline suggested but Noel’s greater game experience on the shortmat was proving beneficial as he produced the full array of shots to lead 7-2 despite Jeremy excelling at the drawing shot. Something then triggered the exhibition mode again on Noel and with a fierce inaccurate drive he missed the head putting the bowl over the fender, losing three shots allowing Jeremy to level at seven shots all. Jeremy then won the ninth end to lead by one going into the last end. Mr Graham continued with his ‘wingding’ approach which resulted in him going bust as he lost a four in the final end. Jeremy won the last four ends of this game scoring ten shots to recover from his early deficit. Noel’s ‘wingding’ bowling drew the wrath of Mr Smyth who was embroiled in a tight encounter with the re-vitalised antagonist Mr McClure.

Ian was not going to use the silent method of play against Jackie and returned to his sardonic best taking every opportunity to wind up Jackie who controlled his emotions and refused to be drawn into a verbal spat choosing to let his bowls do his talking. Ian took control of the game with a count of four in a rare loose end by Jackie who had shown restraint and consistency though all his matches. Jackie immediately responded to the taunts from Ian about not having a close bowl to play four excellent bowls, at one stage removing Ian from the head, then drawing a fourth to wrestle back the initiative. In a battle royale the game again would be decided in the last end with the scores tied. Jackie had an opportunity to ditch the jack as in the first game to win but his third bowl was wide. He had another opportunity with his final delivery but reduced his weight and hooked the bowl tight to present Ian with his first win at the fourth attempt.

The title was firmly in the hands of Jeremy who had four wins. He could only give the crown away if he lost his last two games. Noel and Ian were now out of the reckoning and battling for the wooden spoon. Jackie meanwhile had the most important game of the day ahead of him. He would take on Jeremy with the pressure firmly on him to produce a win and keep his slim title hopes alive.

Henry 12 [8pts] v Graham 7 [2pts]
McClure 13 [2pts] v Smyth 10 [4pts]

Round Five – Do or Die for Wibbly 
After four ends the title was in the bag of Jeremy as he took a 6-2 lead. In similar situations Jackie has lost his composure displaying negative body language while reverting to ‘buckshots’ but the effects of the flu and mass doses of medication ensured he was more subdued than normal helping to keep his emotions in check and his concentration at it’s peak to fight back and lead by two shots going into the final end. Jackie played a very good containing last end matching Jeremy bowl for bowl and forcing Jeremy to choose between a draw for one shot and a loss or go for the miraculous, get a tie and win the championship. Jeremy never takes a backward step and does not play conservative bowls, he has the killer instinct and would rather give it a go rather than reflect on the ‘what ifs’ later. He went for the championship but was unsuccessful. The old warhorse had kept his hopes alive.

In the game between the also-rans Noel was confident that he had avoided bottom place with a narrow win over Ian despite still employing the controversial hit or miss running game. Exhibition mode was also deployed as he played running shots with his left hand, an option also employed by Ian. In one end Noel struck the jack plumb sandwiching it between two bowls resulting in his bowl jumping over a bowl to lie shot. After this win he was relishing the opportunity of beating Jackie in his final game to finish any dreams Jackie had of lifting the title.

Smyth 13 [6pts] v Henry 7 [8pts]
Graham 8 [4pts] v McClure 7 [2pts]

Round Six – History could be made 
Noel dispensed completely with his competitive temperament in the final game and took a leaf out of the book entitled Wind-Ups and Gamesmanship written by IM CC Lure. He continued the all or nothing approach interspersed with the odd draw and even rushed his delivery to speed up the game possibly trying to break Jackie out of the determined mood he had shown and the drawing rhythm that Jackie was persevering with to great effect. JS was undaunted remaining solid as a rock with his emotions in check ignoring the jovial attitude adopted by Noel to claim the win. Now he had to wait on the outcome of the other game which was way behind as is normal with the deliberating Ian in play.

Chirpy Ian again disappeared against Jeremy. There was no hint of a sardonic, ironic, tongue-in-cheek or sarcastic comment aimed towards his opponent. The irony in this game did not come from verbal exchanges but the fact that Jeremy was unable to maintain the machine-like drawing form of the previous games while Ian found his best form of the day including appropriate decision making. Ian finally produced the pugnacious mindset and combined it with his competitive spirit to steal the title away from his playing partner of many years [and triumphs] handing the Tri-4 Nations to the serious natured Smyth on shot difference.

Graham 7 v Smyth 14
McClure 12 v Henry 3  

Competitor	F	A	SD	Pts
Jackie Smyth	64	51	13	8
Jeremy Henry	51	54	-3	8
Ian McClure	50	54	-4	4
Noel Graham	47	53	-6	4

 
Observations
The introduction of a one end or one bowl [each] tie break would be a fitting climax and add to the intrigue in the event of a tie on points at the top of the table. Changing from shot difference takes out the criterion which is outside the control of the winners [eg performance of their opponents] leaving the final outcome in the hands of those joint top of the table. The following are examples of criteria that arguably may have had an influence on the outcome:

Noel being affected by his ‘quality street’ sugar rush
Ian finding form for one game only
Ian being distracted by thoughts of Lynn and not able to give each game his full attention.  

It was a surprise to see the quality and precision of the drawing game from Jeremy considering how proficient he is at the firing shot in the longer formats of the game. He used the firing shot rarely. A gentle giant unfazed by any gamesmanship.

Serious Smyth adopted a similar drawing approach and overall was the most consistent player on the day narrowly edging out Jeremy who faltered in one game only.

Noel showed with his tactics that he competes more often on the shortmat circuit, firing at the heads significantly more than the other three. It should not have been a surprise considering the positive attacking approach adopted by the majority of players who play competitive singles. The quiet man he is not; constantly adding fuel to the raging fire between Wibbly and the Portrush Professor

Ian is a competitive beast and shows no mercy or favouritism. He is never short of a quip nor a stern stare. Like Jackie he can be tetchy but not to the same degree.  

An excellent day of bowls with the craic priceless.

How the winner ended up having to pay for dinner is a mystery, this historic occasion should have been his celebration.