Manurewa Cosmopolitan Men go sooooo close

In a big weekend for a no. of reasons the Manurewa Cosmopolitan Men’s Bowling Club had plenty to celebrate recently.

Friday 11th Nov marked the Men’s section being 100 years since the club was originally established in Hill Rd. Subsequent years saw moves to Rogers Rd and then to the current location at the Cossie Club.

Barry Drabble and crew organised a Gala Day celebration which started in the early hours of Friday morning and continued on into the night. A gathering of current and former members arrived to enjoy a luncheon followed by a short tournament using only bowls manufactured prior to 1995. The weather only allowed us to play in the afternoon but in true Manurewa style the extra time did not go to waste and a lot of fun was had by all. Thanks to our very generous sponsors for the day.

Following the 100 year celebrations the Manurewa Mens Interclub side competed the next day (8am sharp) in the Bowls NZ National Interclub Finals ‘22 at Browns Bay B.C.

A quick check by Bill Jones (Manager) to make sure everyone had recovered from the day before and away they went over the next two days leading the competition from round one right through to round 5 where they took on Elmwood Park (Canterbury). On the way through the 7 players performed brilliantly to beat Alexandra; Birkenhead; Paritutu & Hastings who were representing their regions.

Going into the last round (5) both Manurewa and Elmwood were unbeaten meaning the winner of rd 5 was going to take the title home. Shane Drabble & Steve Bicknell fell behind in the pairs contest early and were unable to recover. Having to win 2 of the 3 disciplines to win the round was always going to be tough against the start studded Elmwood side but big efforts from David Clark (singles) & Bryn Morgan, Logan Clark, Rio Bond & David Parker (Fours) saw them leading their disciplines early in the round. Unfortunately the singles went Elwood’s way 21-19 and the fours lost 13 -10 so it was not to be for the Manurewa side.

A big thankyou to all the supporters, Manurewa showed that a small centre can punch above it’s weight and take on the best.

The club is very proud of it’s team and special mention to Logan Clark , David Parker & Rio Bond who are all very early in their bowling careers but showed true grit & determination to perform at the highest level.