NBF - Junior Pairs Winners!!

Talk about starting at a cracking pace - we arrived at Leamington at about 11.00 to find that Joe and Ryan had a 9.00am start and had already won their first round game against Jack Vine and Oli Collins from Somerset 15 - 13 with a final end winner.

The next round had an 11.45am start and pitted Ryan and Joe against local favourites Lewis Gardner and Sam Shuttleworth. With the temperature already at 30°+, the boys saw the Warwickshire pair off 20 - 11 in 17 ends.

Next up at 2.45pm - that's right, 3 full games in approximately seven hours during a heatwave! - was the semi-final which pitted the Suffolk pair against the strong set of Fletcher Ulke and James Bowley from Derbyshire. This game ebbed and flowed up until the Derbyshire duo dropped a four near the end. Despite some vociferous support from their followers, there was no way back, with Joe and Ryan closing them out 23 - 17

The final was at 9.00am the following morning and saw Ryan and Joe face off against Ollie Jeapes (who later went on to become Boys Singles winner for the second time) and Mack May from Huntingdonshire. With the temperature rising, Joe and Ryan got off to a blistering start, going 15-0 up against the stunned Hunts pair. From then on, as Joe and Ryan commented in their BE interview afterwards, it was all about game control and playing safe shots. The match finally ended 21 - 13 after 16 ends and the boys picking up a thoroughly deserved Men's Junior Pairs title.

To see the trophy presentation click here and the interview click here . All images and video are copyright of Bowls England.

"We've played bowls for many years together ...."