An amended, shortened format was agreed as Storm Darragh hit the UK and threatened to postpone Herefordshire’s crucial group stage match against top of the table Wiltshire. An agreed later start, allowing Wiltshire to travel in daylight to Leominster, saw permission granted from the ESMBA to put down eight mats and play all disciplines at the same time, effectively halving the length of the day and adding an additional element to an already intriguing matchup.
Following The Bull’s agonising one point defeat in their season opener at Chippenham, they were looking not just for revenge but to close the 5 point gap to Wiltshire at the top of Group 2. The singles saw Joe Loveys take a 17-7 win whilst Bryan Watkins just fell to an 11-13 defeat to split the points. Two battling performances in the pairs saw both duos lose out by just two shots to leave them well within reach of the shots bonus, as Wiltshire led 6-2 following the first two disciplines. In the triples, Luke Rawlings, Dave Watkins & John Mills completed the comeback of the season (so far!) to take a five on their final end and overturn a four shot deficit to claim victory. They were joined by the second triple of the on-debut Dave Andrews, alongside the experienced Dean Rudman & Jim Knowles in a 14-6 win. The fours reflected the half thus far as both took part in incredibly close games with Anthony Chesterton, Claire Herbert, Steve Kite & Becci Cox just losing out 8-9 whilst Alan Link, Linda Lewis, Merion Attwood & Tony Vitale won 8-7 to leave both the shots in the fours and the points in the overall match in the balance with the score level 8-8 at the halfway mark.
The Bulls knew they needed to come out fighting in the second half with the singles delivering a promising start as Loveys and Wakins both picked up wins, securing the bonus points in the process. They were joined by the pairs who dusted themselves off from the morning session to produce two fantastic victories as Lynn WIlliams & Ian Roe took a 17-6 win with Gary Peachey & David Millington Jones joining them following a strong performance of their own to overturn the four shot deficit and complete a clean sweep for both disciplines in the session, giving Herefordshire an overall 20-8 lead. It was a case of further domination of the second half for The Bulls in the triples as Mills and Knowles picked up 19-3 and 16-6 victories respectively. The fours continued their incredibly close contest in two nail biting games that saw Cox’s rink just miss out for the second time in a 9-12 loss whilst Vitale and co battled hard in a 8-8 draw that saw Wiltshire claim the final bonus points of the day.
Captain Cox thanked both sets of players for their efforts in allowing the match to take place as well as acknowledging how competitive and good natured both matches against Wiltshire had been, wishing them the very best for the rest of the season. The 27-13 (205-136) victory sees Herefordshire go top of Group Two, nine points in front of Wiltshire ahead of the final game of the season at Home to Avon in January.
