The players are ready and the scene is set for the Black Jacks as the 21st Commonwealth Games is set to open in spectacular style this evening, from 9.30pm (NZT), on Australia’s Gold Coast.
The New Zealand bowls side assembled last Monday, March 26, and have been building towards the opening ends on Thursday, when all of the contingent will be involved on the pristine Broadbeach greens.
Black Jacks assistant coach, Richard Girvan, himself a veteran of the past three games as a player, said the mood in the Kiwi camp was exceedingly good.
“The spirit is excellent – there is a real good vibe. It’s a great team. Everyone is mixing well and enjoying the experience together.”
The squad spent the first three nights together last week at Tweed Heads, training at the prestigious club there, before moving into the Games village on Thursday.
As is tradition, they received a full welcome from the New Zealanders already on site, complete with a haka. Since then the combinations for the first week – the men play pairs and triples, and the women contest the singles and fours – have been given a solid work out at Broadbeach.
The B2/B3 mixed pairs and B6-8 triples have trained at Musgrave Hill as well as Broadbeach.
Since being in the village, the Black Jacks had an initial warm-up against Ireland in one session, before more formal clashes against Wales and Canada.
Girvan enthused over the results, while acknowledging they were only practice matches. Against Wales, New Zealand won three able-body disciplines, while the men’s pair drew. Meanwhile against Canada, Jo Edwards was edged out 21-20, the women’s fours won 19-13, the men’s triples triumphed 22-12, while the men’s pair narrowly fell 15-13 to the Ryan Bester-skipped duo. Bester, of course, has been resident for a few years at Broadbeach and looms large amongst the opposition for the Kiwis.
“Overall, the signs are all good,” Girvan said.
The women’s singles and men’s pairs are both in sections of six, while the men’s triples and women’s fours are in pools of five. With four groups in each discipline, the top two from each will advance to the quarterfinals.
Both Para combinations are in fields of six, with the top four sides from round-robin play heading into next week’s semifinals. They will play only one game per day.
Life in the Games Village is a memorable experience, and that was especially true on Tuesday evening when the announcement of the New Zealand flag bearer, Sophie Pascoe, was made. Another high point will be at this evening’s opening ceremony, which starts at 9.30pm (NZT). Unfortunately, not all of the Black Jacks will attend, as some are required on the greens first thing on Thursday morning. Nonetheless, there will be a strong bowls presence when the New Zealand side marches through at what is expected to be just before midnight (NZT).
BLACKS JACKS IN ACTION (day one – Thursday, April 5). NB: all times are NZT.
Women’s singles (Jo Edwards): 11am v India; 2pm v Niue.
Men’s pairs (Blake Signal, Shannon McIlroy): 6pm v Botswana; 9pm v Papa New Guinea.
Men’s triples (Michael Nagy, Paul Girdler, Ali Forsyth): 11am v Singapore.
Women’s fours (Tayla Bruce, Katelyn Inch, Val Smith, Mandy Boyd): 6pm v Jersey.
B2/B3 mixed pairs (David Stallard [with Peter Blick], Sue Curran [with Ann Muir]): 6pm v Wales.
B6/B7/B8 triples (Bruce Wakefield, Barry Wynks, Mark Noble): 9pm v Wales.
