Commonwealth Games: Norfolk Island humble South Africa at lawn bowls
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Version 0 of 1. South Africa were humbled on the Glasgow bowling green by the players of tiny Norfolk Island as the country of just over 2,000 inhabitants scored a stunning victory. Taking on a team that has the pick of a 51m population, the Norfolk Island women’s four won 17-13 at the Kelvingrove Lawn Bowls Centre. Lawn bowls is a year-round pastime in the Pacific island, and the team of Tess Evans, Wendy Nagy, Petal Jones and Essie Sanchez were dominant from the early stages in their round-robin Group D match. They built a 13-2 lead after nine ends before resisting a South African fightback which at one stage saw them pull back to trail only 14-13. Norfolk Island bowls success is not an unheard-of prospect, with Carmen Anderson having won the 1996 world title, two years after claiming Commonwealth bronze in Victoria. Evans was always confident Norfolk Island would hold off the South African mid-match surge. “I didn’t feel down because I knew we were going to get there,” the Papua New Guinea-born 50-year-old said. “That is not a boast, but I believe in my team. It’s a good team. We work well together and we are really close, like a family.” The reeling South Africans put on a brave face, with Susan Nel, who was a triples gold medallist four years ago in Delhi, commending the Norfolk Island effort. Nel said: “Every team here, you have to know that they are representing their country and they will be strong. You have to expect the best.” |