Woolhope cemented their position on top of the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire food chain as they became the first club to complete a quadruple run of LEH victories, adding Defford to the list of losing finalists of recent years (Gloster Knights, Gorsley Chapel and St Martins), with a 46-28 victory.
Upton Bishop Village Hall once again played host to the traditional season-closing event as Defford became the first Gloucestershire team to reach the final in three years and aimed to be the first Gloucestershire team to lift the trophy since Gloster Knights in 2019.
Kicking things off in the Singles was a mammoth clash between Woolhope’s Anthony Rogers and Defford’s Saul Featherstone. A strong start for Featherstone looked to have secured vital shots for Defford as he led 8-3 heading into the ninth end. However, a three for Anthony put him back in contention and within two shots heading into the final. A short wood from Saul opened the door for the experienced Woolhope player who capitalised, picking up an incredible four to win 10-8 and put Woolhope two shots up.
In the pairs, Woolhope’s Dawn & John faced Martin & Jo of Defford. In this game, it was Woolhope who went into an early lead of 7-1 after three ends before four singles and a three put Defford 8-7 in front heading into the ninth. Once again, it was Woolhope who were able to take the crucial final ends, as they picked up a three and two to run out 12-8 winners.
With Woolhope carrying a 6-shot lead into the second half, Defford knew it was very much all to play for heading into the triples and fours. By the fifth end of both games, it was incredibly close as Woolhope held a 4-3 lead in the triples, whilst a good start for Defford in the fours saw them sitting 5-1 up, halving the overall deficit to just three shots.
With the triples ultimately finishing 8–5 to Woolhope, Defford needed a 10-shot swing in the fours, but as was the case in the first half, Woolhope finished in fantastic fashion, picking up 15 shots in the second half of the match to Defford’s 2 to take a 16-7 overall victory and secure the LEH title in a 46-28 overall victory.
HSMBA’s congratulations go to Woolhope, as well as Defford, on a fantastic final that until the last quarter could have gone either way. Thanks go to Ian Roe for organising the tournament and running the final. Whilst that concludes the club season for this year, there is still a lot of bowls to be played, with Nationals taking place this week and the ICC final the following weekend. Summer League entries are now closed, and details will be released soon. For those who head outdoors, we wish you the very best for the forthcoming summer season and look forward to welcoming everyone back to Presentation Evening on Saturday 19th September.
