Watson's teams make it a double

Manawatu men's selector Eric Watson is experiencing a golden run with his senior and development teams with another double success on the Central Levin greens yesterday.

The senior men came home narrow winners in the quadrangular tournament held in ideal playing and weather conditions and the development squad also had to call on all their resources to grab the title.

Manager Rex Easton, after eight years with the development team, was not short of praise and the way the seniors played all three disciplines.

"Class is permanent," he said. "And the team's performances overall was full of merit."

As national finals victors at Palmerston North last season, the seniors, albeit with a couple of changes, showed a marked degree of compatibility and it was never more evident than when the chips were down.

Watson, not one to give out undeserved plaudits, was more than pleased, and especially so with the development squad.

"It is a good forerunner to the nationals again this year, but firstly we have to look to the interclub zone finals before then."

He wasn't enthusiastic about the fact that his Palmerston North club team would be hosting Poverty Bay, Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa on the Takaro greens.

"Not a good call by the centre," Watson said.

Despite the win, however, none of his players in either the seniors or the development team should rest on their laurels.

The development team were impressive when taking out the Ballinger Cup which manager Mike Hickey accepted gracefully on behalf of his mainly young and enthusiastic seven.

Singles player Ross Ellery, whose win in the final round against a tough opponent in Wairarapa's Ian Monaghan, was the catalyst for the group to claim the Morrison Cup against the Wairarapa, Wellington and Kapiti centres.

Ellery had two wins and a narrow loss to Wellington's Canterbury import Roger Glendinning, and Pat Horgan and Chris Barrett started strongly with two wins before bowing to Wairarapa duo, Les O'Donovan and Warren Fisher.

Manawatu got off to a flier with two wins and a draw (by Phillip Skoglund's four) in the first round but stuttered in the second with the lone win coming from Horgan and Barrett.

Skoglund and his team of Steve Toms, Craig Gush and David Walker made no race of it against Ben King's Wellington quartet which, with the Wairarapa four floundering, clinched the victory.

Shane Rogers led the way with three singles wins for the development team, winning 21-7, 21-18 and 21-8. Bruce Harris and Cameron Nairne, after two early losses, won their last game and Grant Simms, Mark McIntosh, Jacob Aldridge and Ted Hodgson came from 13-2 down to wear down their Kapiti counterparts to win 14-13. They earlier had two good wins.

The women's teams both finished second in their quadrangular tournament played at the Waikanae Bowling Club.

The senior side finished with 12 points, two behind winners Wellington while Wairarapa finished third and Kapiti were last.

Wellington won the development section with 14 points to Manawatu's 12; Kapiti grabbed third and Wairarapa were fourth.

Both teams' fours had strong days going undefeated. It was the first time the development fours – Robyn McGregor, Emily Grey, Sue Scott and Lyn Jensen – had beaten Wellington.