TRIPLES Review

It was anticipated that the triples would be hotly contested with some established names due to meet in the opening couple of rounds. There was also the expectation that a less well known triple or an up and coming name would come through the pack.

One of the favourites was the triple skipped by Ryan O’Neill from North West. They have quality and although not at their best they did enough to beat the triple from Monaghan. Their second game was an excellent game against 2003 winning skip Jonny Wilson. Wilson had control of the game leading 9-5 after six ends putting O’Neill under pressure to win the remaining ends. The North West trio claimed a very welcome three on the seventh end to throw the game wide open. O’Neill’s crew played attacking bowls in the eighth end and seemed to unsettle their opposition who followed suit. The North West triple killed the end twice in the pursuit of the killer bowl and perhaps a count. They then had to revert to the draw but claimed the shot as Wilson’s final bowl did not fall in. This set up a last end decider with both sides locked at 9-9. The jack was placed long but the North West trio wisely decided that with two no-heads already against them the draw was a better option rather then trying to ditch the jack. Surprisingly West Down also opted for the draw despite being drawn into an attacking game only a few ends earlier. The head initially favoured the West Down triple however their opponents managed to disturb the head ultimately leading to the North West trio claiming shot. In their quarter final tie they came up against a Western triple skipped by J McVitty. After returning to the game a couple of years ago Jimmy McVitty is starting to get back to the standard and consistency that made him a serious challenger. He fought hard to win his opening game against M McSloy and a count of six in their second game allowed them to comfortably manage the game and progress to the quarter final by defeating A Duncan.

The Armagh triple skipped by Andrew Hughes lost in the first round to the Duncans’ from Mid Antrim who controlled the game from the start. Duncan looked to be in good form but the Western rink had their number in the next round with the assistance of a six in the early part of the game.

Perseverance is always a top priority when playing Andrew Steele from Donegal and the Foyle triple skipped by P McCallion had enough to see them through to the second round where they lost out to Paul Duff from Oriel who had overcome Nicky Haire from Lisburn in their opening game.

Mid Ulster’s representatives were in top form as they comprehensively defeated DJ Dilworth (East Antrim) with Hill, Jordan and Wilson all impressing. The question was could they continue their excellent form, if they could, it was going to take a special performance to defeat them. Often in top quality fields it is preferable to start off well then built on the opening performance and improve with each game, the Wilson triple set the opening round standard which was going to be difficult to reproduce in every game. They maintained their form and consistency in their second game as they were challenged by the formidable triple skipped by Alan Laughlin. This win put the Wilson trio into the quarter-finals but also made them into serious contenders.

In the bottom half of the draw North West’s second triple skipped by Nishy Logue received a bye then had to face another triple in the ‘one to watch’ category skipped by Derek Spratt. The Mid Tyrone trio squeezed past JR Graham in the final end of their first round game. They then had another very tight encounter which had to be decided with an extra end. Logue was in fine form and produced two excellent pressure bowls to claim a place in the quarters. Rodney Kane came through his opening game against Liz Bruce but could not find the consistency in their second game as they fell to a very competent triple from Larne skipped by Geoff Falconer. In their first game the Larne trio had a topsy turvey game against I Ross. Larne took the lead but then lost it when they conceded a count of four but immediately hit back to claim their own four count. The Northern crew hit back to narrow the gap but then a full count of six on the seventh end for Falconer secured the victory. A good drawing game plan saw them through their second game and into the quarter-finals to face Logue.

In the last quarter of the draw K Blakely from South Down beat M Caughey and then G Eaton in close encounters to set up a match with Dessie Hamilton who had received a bye through to the quarter-final.

The draw was punctuated with withdrawals with the majority of triples who received byes preferring to have played their designated game. The vast majority of withdrawals come from Cork and Meath zones and is common place each year. No doubt it is due to the substantial travelling involved. It is time for the competitions committee to address this problem. It is unfair for an association to ask one or two sections of their organisation to travel the length of the country every year. Either alternate venues are found or the association is split into two sections with one finalist coming from each. The latter option is a last resort and not conducive to an open national draw.

The matter of withdrawals is ongoing and is obviously being ignored otherwise attempts would have been made to address the problem.

In the quarters O’Neill played McVitty and the North West triple had to again raise their game as their western opponents gave them a tough game. The Wilson bubble burst against Paul Duff who missed very little and who was ably backed up by his two unheralded colleagues, Duff’s display set-up a semi final encounter with O’Neill.

Logue and his cohorts were finding it tough going in the quarter final against the Larne triple who settled into the pace of the mat quicker to claim an early lead. The anxiety was clearly showing on John Devine, the North West lead, however this was offset by the calm exterior of Daly and Logue. As the game went on Devine became more animated with the game now level pegging. Both triples responded to the quality of their opposition ensuring only singles were scored over the concluding ends. Simon Beggs, the Larne second may have been the youngest on the mat he excelled in the pressurised environment. With the final bowl to play the North West triple lay game however Falconer delivered a precise bowl to nudge in for shot and take the game into an extra end. The North West triple put the pressure on with each deliver and claimed their second win via a tie end.

Dessie’s Hamilton’s rink hit their straps from the off to take the fourth semi-final spot however they could not maintain their momentum as the Logue trio continued to battle for every shot ensuring that if they lost an end it would not be with a count. Devine, Daly and Logue possibly wasted fewer bowls than any other triple on the day to go through to the final.

They play their club mates Karen O’Neill, Leigh Harrison and Ryan O’Neill who did not put a bowl wrong in their semi-final putting an end to the impressive run of Duff and colleagues.