Connaught Bowls Club

CONNAUGHT B v HINGHAM GREEN

Connaught 'B' beat Hingham Green away on Monday 26th March by 67- 63 and 6-4

Mat 1 Alan Marshall, Jack Marshall and Len Thurston lost 16-13 against J Higgs

 

Mat 2 Ralf Ramm, Joyce Hazell and Heather Winup lost 21-17 against E Herbert

 

Mat 3 Joe Li-Rocchi, Steve Hall and Peter Hambling won 20-12 against N Thorpe

 

Mat 4 Alison Rush, Phil King and Marie Head won 17-14 against P Groombridge

Connaught B approached the final match of the season with determination as they wanted points to secure a reasonable position in the table.

Alan Marshall's block had a very slow start and found the Hingham mats difficult to adjust to. 8-3 down after seven ends turned into 12-3 down after ten. Whatever Connaught tried didn't come off and it looked like they were heading for a heavy defeat. Connaught then won three of the next four ends to be 14-8 down after fourteen. This seemed to bolster the Connaught trio and give Hingham the jitters. Connaught picked up a four on the seventeenth end to draw to within two shots of Hingham with one end to play. This was the last mat to finish and the message given was to keep it tight to enable an overall shots victory. This they did dropping 1 on the final end. Well done to this trio for fighting back and keeping concentration.

Ralf Ramm's block found themselves 4-1 down after three ends. Then this trio clicked with all three players playing solidly and the Hingham skip not in the game. The next six ends were won with 15 shots to no reply to give a lead of 16-4 after nine ends. A collapse then happened on the scale of Lehman’s Bank. Connaught only won one further end by a single shot to enable Hingham to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Connaught lost ten ends with 5x3's dropped, tightness of the heads again let them down. A disappointing result, they knew they had a lost a game they should have won, three sad lonely faces sat on the edge of the hall watching proceedings unravel!

Joe Li-Rocchi's block started well with a 3 on the first end. They then proceeded to drop a 4 on the next! Connaught then struggled to stay in the game with all three players not playing badly but not taking opportunities by protecting woods. Heads were kept tight but Connaught were down 9-5 after eight ends. Steve Hall then switched to skip to allow Joe to concentrate on his drawing game. For whatever reason things then clicked with Connaught winning five ends in a row to be 15-9 up after thirteen ends. A 4 on end fifteen for Connaught killed the game and was consolidated by a 1 on the fifteenth. Connaught were then on match shot difference watch and although lost the last two ends, due to good woods from the Hingham skip, only singles were conceded. Again a good performance showing versatility in positions and supporting each other. Concentration and determination were needed and given.

Alison Rush's block again had difficulty adjusting to the mats and found the Hingham skip in fine form. 4-1 down after two ends turned into 10-3 down after seven. Marie and Phil then managed to support Alison who in turn dominated the Hingham skip winning four ends in a row to be 10-9 down after eleven ends. Confidence was high and Connaught led 13-11 after fifteen ends. The Hingham skip, keeping the team in the game, hit back with a 2 to drew level at 13-13. With the game on a knife edge Connaught then picked up a 4 to virtually kill the game. A dropped single on the last end was enough to give Connaught victory the match.

This was a tough evening of bowls with Hingham playing above their league table position. Connaught always start badly at Hingham and in previous seasons this may have seen a collapse. Connaught B have shown determination this season and have kept concentration generally throughout. This concentration and belief allowed Connaught to pick up a 6-4 victory which should be enough to give them fifth position in the league, heady heights! Well done to the squad and the skip has written his last match report of the season and will go and lie down in a darkened room!

CONNAUGHT B v  WYMONDHAM

Connaught 'B' lost to Wymondham away on Sunday 18th March by 29 - 101 and 0-10

      Mat 1  Alison Rush, Phil King and Heather Winup  lost 26-11 against M Linsdell

      Mat 2  Joyce Hazell, Jack Marshall and Moira Eades lost 31-3 against D Phillips

      Mat 1 Joe Li-Rocchi, Steve Hall and Peter Hambling lost 19-12 against C Mann

      Mat 2  Alan Marshall,  Ken Lurcock  and Len Thurston lost 26-7 against B Saunders

Well it was Christmas all over again...........no not going mad (should I say madder) but we received our annual stuffing away to Wymondham.

Before the break Alison Rush's block had a bad start finding themselves 6-1 down after three ends after dropping a 5 on end two. Alison, Connaught's most experienced skip immediately hit back with a 4 on end four to be 6-4 down. Mark Linsdell was playing his normal 'noisy' game but not backed by accurate bowls. Pat Saunders became unwell and sat out for two ends trying to recover. Alison saw an opportunity and pulled back to 9-9 after nine ends. However, poor support for Alison and  with Wymondham playing solidly meant that this was the closest that Connaught got. Connaught dropped 1x5, 1x4, 3x2's and 2x1's which was Connaught's undoing in the final nine ends and a major collapse. Dropping 14 shots on three ends cannot be given against strong opposition.

Joyce Hazell's block had somewhat of a disaster. Joyce, standing in for Ralf Ramm probably wished she hadn't. Moira at lead played some good woods as did Jack at two, but loose heads and opportunities not taken allowed the ever experienced Wymondham Skip Debbie Phillips to come in time and time again. Despite only winning one end Connaught kept trying when others would have just faded away. Wymondham were unforgiving. Jack Marshall in his first year, took over as skip and never won an end. Jack had not experienced a heavy defeat such as this and it hopefully will be a huge learning curve. I'm sure he will blame his loss to the pressure put on him by his Mum and Grandma watching for the first time (may I suggest that an away game to Wymondham should not be chosen next time!)

After the break Joe Li-Rocchi's block had a relatively close game.  Peter Hambling played well at lead with Steve playing his normal good wood, bad wood game! Abi Jackson, a shy, pleasant young lady played for the first time against Connaught and played well keeping the majority of the woods on the mat allowing them to be used. A real talent, like Jack Marshall, for the future. Andrew Stratton, an ex Connaught player, made the most of the constant head breaking and accurate straight woods from his number 2. A slow start by Connaught saw them 7-1 down after five ends. Connaught pulled back to 10-5 after eleven ends and kept things tight but another 2 and 3 shots dropped on ends fourteen and fifteen finished the game. Again Connaught cannot expect to drop 10 shots over four ends and be competitive against this standard of opposition. Wymondham only dropped 1x2 and the rest singles.

Alan Marshall's block played Brian Saunders and hoped of beating him as they did at home. Connaught were never in front from the first end and were never in the game. Len Thurston at lead had a reasonable game but Ken Lurcock had one of his days to forget and rarely supported Alan Marshall. The experience of Wymondham shut any chance out of Alan producing miracles. 11-6 down after eleven turned into 25-6 down after sixteen. In five ends Connaught dropped 1x4, 3x3's and 1x1. For the sake of monotony, Connaught cannot expect to drop 14 shots over four ends and be competitive against this standard of opposition.

Although Connaught kept trying they once again did not perform to their real ability. Individual players had good games but Wymondham's team are solid throughout and are being strengthened all of the time. There is no shame in losing 10-0 to Wymondham, most teams do, but the level of shots lost must be reduced in future. Well done to Wymondham in winning the Breckland League, you have a talent of young players along with a mixture of talented 'more mature' players who allow their bowls to do the talking! Well done to both teams in putting out squads on Mothers Day at the end of a long season and Abi I hope you did not have to do too much washing up!

CONNAUGHT B v  FORNCETT

Connaught 'B' drew with Forncett at home on Wednesday 14^th March,  5-5 and 60-60

Mat 1 Joe Li-Rocchi, Jack Marshall and Carolina Li-Rocchi lost 16-11 against D Rumsby   

 

Mat 2  Alan Marshall,  Ken Lurcock  and Len Thurston won 17-11 against T Ottewell

 

Mat 1 Alison Rush, Phil King and Marie Head won 22-15 against P Lock

 

Mat 2 Steve Hall, Ralf Ramm, and Moira Eades lost 18-10 against M Boulter

 

Another close encounter with these two sides fairly evenly matched.

Joe Li-Rocchi's block had a slow start finding themselves 4-0 down after 4 ends. Carolina Li-Rocchi was playing only her second game of the season and Jack Marshall was struggling from a bad neck caused by a rugby match earlier in the day. Joe then found length and line and was supported by Jack and Carolina to lead 6-5 after eight ends. The rest of the game was tight but the Forncett trio kept their noses in front and experience came through winning four of the last five ends and 6 shots to Connaught's 1. A good performance though against a good Forncett triple.

Alan Marshall’s block, one of the most successful this season, had a good win and were always in control after the early stages. Forncett's triple only won six ends but 2x3's and 3x2's made the score respectable. Connaught 3-1 up after three ends went 6-4 down after seven. Connaught then took control winning six ends in a row to be 13-6 up after fourteen ends. A dropped three gave Forncett hope but Connaught won three of the last four ends to stay in control and to level the match before the break with one shot advantage.

Alison Rush's block had a dream start against P Lock. Marie Head led well, supported by Phil King at two. This allowed Alison to relax and play good bowls. Connaught were 10-0 up after four ends. Connaught then dropped a three to settle Forncett who then pulled back to 13-7 after eleven ends. Connaught then picked up a superlative five which was much needed with the events happening on the other mat (story to follow). Connaught then lost concentration and immediately dropped a 5 followed by two singles to allow Forncett to get within 4 shots at 18-14 after fourteen ends. Connaught dug in to pick up 2x2's to see out the game. A good performance and pleasing to see a happy relaxed triple.

Steve Hall's block may as well of stayed at home for the first eight ends. Connaught were forced into playing running woods early on , which they couldn't do, due to the performance of Mary Boulter at lead who time and time put two woods on the jack and supported by solid performances by the Forncett number two and skip. Moira did not have a good game by her recent standards. Steve and Ralf had a 'nightmare' and both are confidence players who's confidence was very low! Connaught were 9-0 down after five ends cancelling out Alison's 10-0 lead after four! Steve called Ralf to skip but Connaught still could not settle and were 14-1 down after eight ends. Connaught then lifted their game (wasn't difficult!), to win three of the next four ends to pull back to 15-6 after twelve ends. The Forncett triple, playing well all night extended their lead to 18-6 after fourteen. Alison's game was coming to an end on the other mat and ended with a seven shot advantage, giving Connaught a total of a eight shot lead after three games. The Connaught block knew that if they could dig in and pick up shots they could still turn the match around. Connaught picked up 2x1's and 1x2 to be 10-18 down after seventeen ends but more importantly to draw the shots overall level between the two teams. The eighteenth end was played in silence. Moira put her first wood into the block but fortunately the Forncett lead did not maximise the opportunity. Connaught were holding two shots with the Forncett's skips last wood and final wood of the match to come. It looked short with all three Forncett players stating that they thought that Connaught's wood held but would not concede and asked for a measure. Out came the callipers, neither of the number twos could see a difference, nor could the Forncett skip so another opinion was sought. They couldn't find a difference so the end was agreed as a no scoring end to leave the match level. Although this Connaught triple did well to come back from beyond the grave they really need to look at themselves and ask why? You are better than this! Congratulations must go to Mary Boulter who probably had the best game at lead seen at Connaught this season.

Overall a fair result. Forncett have done very well this season beating some good teams in the Cup to reach the semi-final. It is surprising that they do not do better in the league each year. It was an enjoyable social evening played in a competitive and sporting spirit. The only black cloud was hanging over the captains head!

CONNAUGHT B v  HARLING REC

Connaught 'B' beat Harling Rec at home on Tuesday 6th March by 82-49 and 8-2

      Mat 1  Alan Marshall, Ralf Ramm  and Len Thurston won 14-11 against P Dennis

      Mat 2  Joe Li-Rocchi, Alison Rush and Peter Hambling won 21-12 against M Cunningham

      Mat 1  Steve Hall, Heather Winup and Moira Eades lost 14-15 against B Knappett

      Mat 2  Joyce Hazell, Phil King and Ron Maddern won 32-10 against M Frost

Connaught B entertained Harling Rec on the back of a positive win against Watton. Harling have had some good results recently and were keen to take Connaught's scalp to lift them up the table.

Alan Marshall's block had a low scoring tense game only winning eight ends. Connaught started well to be 3-1 up after four ends. Connaught then only won one of the next six ends but did keep heads tight to be 4-7 down after ten ends. Connaught were struggling against Harling's style of play that used heavy woods which brought their fair share of luck, but deserved. Connaughts general drawing game and lack of back woods held them back. After thirteen ends Connaught were 5-9 down and in trouble. However the tenacity of this block came through to pick up a 3 and a 5 to lead 15-9 after fifteen ends. Harling won two of the next three ends but only by single shots, showing how important the ethos is of 'if you cannot get shot wood get second'!

Joe Li-Rocchi's block had a poor start. Bolsted by the introduction of Alison at 2 this was a strong block. However a bit of a scare was given early on. On the first end with Connaught holding 5 and just Joe's last wood to come he pushed a Harling wood in to make it a no scoring end. Things did not improve with Connaught finding themselves 6-1 down after seven ends. Alison swapped to skip and straight away picked up a 4 followed by a 3 and a 1 with just 1 shot against to be 9-8 up after eleven ends. Harling hit back winning the next two ends to take a 12-9 lead after thirteen ends. Peter leading well, with Joe gaining in confidence, allowed Alison to then dominate the battle of the skips to win the next three ends with 2x4's and a 3 to kill the game. Peter had a better evening and responded to the pressure and Alison used her experience at skip to win this game.

Steve Hall's block also had a poor start. Heather was brought in due to illness of Jack Marshall and played at two rather than lead as she had done in the last few games. Moira came into the game in fine form. Connaught dropped 4 on the second end and struggled to find line and length generally and were 3-7 down after seven ends. All three players then hit form winning the next three ends by 7 shots to be 10-7 up. Heather then struggled at two, particularly on forehand enabling Harling to build better heads, particularly with back woods. Harling won 5 of the next 6 ends to lead 13-11, one of them due to Steve's poor shot choice which drained some drive from his players! However, Moira stepped up to control the head at lead and Connaught picked up 4 shots to lead 15-13 after seventeen ends. Moira then put her woods close to the jack to give Connaught advantage. The Harling lead then played his best shot of the night nestling in to take shot. Heather then put her first wood off. The Harling number two then played another fantastic shot to again nestle into the head with four woods within inches, but Connaught found themselves 2 down. Heather then put a short wood in blocking the running line. This was followed by another superlative wood from Harling which nestled into the head trapping the jack between 3 Harling woods. Steve used a running wood which clipped the short wood and removed it. With his last wood Steve came into the head with weight with an accurate wood but the way the jack layed, nestled in, nothing moved. Being 3 up the Harling skip took the shots to win the game.

Joyce Hazell's block had the result of the night and a 'night to remember'. All three of Connaughts players have lacked confidence recently. Joyce normally playing at two was out of position at skip. Playing against Mike Frost things may not have looked good but the Connaught block performed out of their skins. After the first six ends Connaught were 16-0 up! Harling then had a minor recovery winning three of the next four ends to be 18-6 down after ten ends. Connaught responded and responded well. Ron playing his best bowls since the beginning of the season, Phil smiling and playing brilliant woods and Joyce pinching herself seeing if she was dreaming! Connaught won the next six ends to lead 32-6 after sixteen ends. Harling won the last two ends to bring an element of respectability to the score. Nothing was expected of this Connaught trio, no pressure on them and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves! Brilliant, well done!

A good result for Connaught although the skip was disappointed that it was not 10-0, it should have been. However this result along with the Watton result  will go some way to positioning them in the table where they should be. Three games to go. If a positive result can be obtained against Forncett and Hingham Green then the season will finish with a flourish.

      Mat 1  Ralf Ramm, Ron Maddern and Marie Head won 17-7 against Daphne Braham

      Mat 2  Alan Marshall, Ken Lurcock and Len Thurston won 19-13 against Don Paffey

      Mat 1  Joe Li-Rocchi, Steve Hall and Peter Hambling won 19-8 against Barry Dibble

      Mat 2  Alison Rush, Jack Marshall and Heather Winup won 17-11 against Roger Braham

Connaught B entertained Watton on this leap years day, unfortunately no proposals of marriage were received from any of the lady members of either club. Despite having picked up 4 points at Watton earlier in the season this fixture was potentially difficult particularly after the moral sapping loss on Monday against Carlton Rode.

Ralf Ramm's block had a tight game early on but fought for a good win. Ron Maddern played out of position at number two but can play a good drawing game. Marie is always reliable at home. Ralf has been out of form recently but this mismash of a block performed well. Connaught won the first four ends to take a 5-0 lead. Watton then hit back winning three of the next five ends to pull back to 6-4. The game stayed tight with Connaught staying ahead 8-5 after 12 ends. Connaught then took control winning five of the last six ends, including 2 x 3's to take victory. This result shows that despite not normally playing together working hard for each other reaps rewards!

Alan Marshall's block had a good win but a lapse in concentration nearly cost them dear. Connaught bossed the early ends winning six of the first seven to be 11-3 up. Len played superbly throughout this match. Don Paffeys block then found form and his team became competitive winning the next four ends including a 4 on the eleventh to come back to within a point of Connaught. The old age problem of number two's not listening and inability to draw under pressure could have cost us dearly. However 'Mr Cool' Alan Marshall steadied the ship and Connaught took the next two ends to extend the lead again to a more comfortable 15-10 after thirteen. Connaught then saw out the game to allow Connaught to be in control at the interval.

Joe Li-Rocchi's block were always in control despite none of the players hitting form. Connaught concentrated well taking nine of the first eleven ends to take a 15-2 lead. Watton changed skip and became more competitive but Connaught dug in to see the game out although never really felt comfortable. It was also a very late finish involving Mr Hambling, thank you to those that did stay!

Alison Rush's block had the most competative game of the evening against Roger Braham. The first four ends were controlled by Watton to lead 4-1. Connaught then hit back winning five of the next six ends to lead 8-3 after eight. Heather led well with Jack at two maturing nicely in his drawing games and playing with confidence. Watton then hit back winning four of the next five ends but Connaught kept it tight to lead 10-8 after thirteen. Connaught kept their nerve and took control winning three of the next five ends by 7 shots to Wattons 2. A good result and well done to Jack for another mature performance. Don't the ladies just love him!

A very positive result on the back of a poor performance on Monday. With just four league games left Connaught need to keep concentration to ensure they finish in a position they deserve. Thank you to Watton, despite being weakened through absence the game was played in good spirit and was an enjoyable evening. The tea boy wasn't bad either!

Connaught 'B' lost to Carleton Rode away on Monday 27^th February 30-72 and 10 - 0

      Mat 1  Alison Rush, Phil King and Heather Winup lost 23-8 to Rodney Baker

      Mat 2  Joe Li-Rocchi, Steve Hall and Peter Hambling lost 17-7 to R Davidson

      Mat 1  Alan Marshall, Ralf Ramm and Len Thurston lost 15-12 to Neil Davidson

      Mat 2  Ken Lurcock, Joyce Hazell and Moira Eades lost 17-12 against Terry Newby

Connaught B knew that this game against Carleton Rode would be hard and it was!

Alison Rush's block started well but soon faded. 2-1 up after three ends turned to 6-2 down after six. Connaught then picked up 2 x 2's to draw level but this was the last time they would be anywhere close. Connaught only won 2 of the next ten ends as Heather and Phil, rarely gave Alison anything to bowl at.

Joe Li-Rocchi's block had a mixed game but were definitely out of sorts. However the real damage was done by the Carleton Rode skip who played superbly all night. Connaught only won six ends but did manage to keep the score relatively low with only 1 x 3 dropped.

Alan Marshall's block had a game of two half's. Although it is always a pleasure to see Neil Davidson, we just wish it wasn't on the bowls mat! Connaught only won three ends of the first nine but managed to keep the score down. Ralf was having a poor game and Alan was generally restricted to saving shots. 8-3 down after nine ends turned into 14-3 down after twelve. Ralf then found his game and Connaught responded with a 5. Despite winning four of the last five ends, Neil managed to keep shots down to singles. A good recovery but too little too late!

Ken Lurcock's block had a poor start. Moira Eades is in fine form at present having fought her way back into the squad and played superbly throughout. Although Connaught only won seven ends but did make a late recovery winning three of the last four ends. Early form cost Connaught.

Lessons learnt.  Carleton Rode are a very much improved team and a bit of a bogey team for us. This has never been a happy hunting ground for Connaught B. However, Connaught B are better than this and need to look back at games like this and ask why? The one positive of the evening was Moira's form and the last two blocks stuck at it. Neil Davidson obviously did get a calculator for Christmas as not only did he win he added his score card up correctly!

CONNAUGHT B v  CONNAUGHT A

Connaught 'B' lost to Connaught A at home on Saturday 14^th January 55-68 and 2-8

For block results and match report. please see the Connaught A report. Unfortunately Captain Steve had a vertigo attack on the morning of the match and had to withdraw so the normal rubbish he writes will not be written! The normal rubbish that John writes (only joking) summarises the game well, thanks John.Please click here to see the Connaught A report

Well done to the B team, it should have been 4-6, that lack of luck, belief and tenacity of Billy 'Bear' Adcock meant that the game was lost 2-8. Thank you to Heather for stepping into the Captains shoes at short notice.

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Connaught 'B' lost to Banham away on Wednesday 11th January 62-67 and 3-7

      Mat 1  Alison Rush, Phil King and Ron Maddern lost 20-18 to Jim Delaney

      Mat 2  Alan Marshall, Jack Marshall and Len Thurston drew 15-15 against C Smith

      Mat 3 Joyce Hazell, Heather Winup and Marie Head lost 20-12 against John Williamson

      Mat 4 Ralf Ramm, Steve Hall and Peter Hambling won 17-12 against Derek Gray

The first of four tough games were lost in a relatively close encounter. With Joe Li-Rocchi and Ken Lurcock still absent blocks were again mixed up.

Alison's blocks run of poor form continues with consistency eluding them. Connaught found the mat difficult to read and lost the first four ends to be 7-0 down. A 3 on the fifth end picked confidence up. A 3 on the ninth and a 4 on the tenth gave Connaught a 11-10 lead. Connaught would normally go on from this and take control but with Alison short of confidence and feeling unwell she swapped with Phil on the eleventh end. Connaught then lost the next five ends with Banham picking up 8 shots to lead 18-11. With the game looking dead Connaught picked up a single shot on the sixteenth end. With only five of the previous sixteen ends won by Connaught it came as a complete shock to pick up a 6 on the seventeenth end to draw level. Although it would not have been deserved Connaught were now back in with a chance of snatching victory form the jaws of defeat. With Phil's last wood to come Connaught were 2 down. If the jack could have been picked up and moved slightly Connaught would have taken the game. Unfortunately Phil's wood was short. Despite being short of confidence all three players kept at it proving that the game is never dead until the last wood is bowled.

Alan Marshall's block again found the mat difficult to read and had a terrible start with Alan's confidence low and found themselves 9-0 down after six ends. With the next two ends shared Connaught then went on a winning run of six ends. With Len playing tightly and Jack performing well, having played very little on away mats, Alan's confidence returned with Connaught leading 12-11  after fourteen ends. Again, after getting themselves into a good position it was expected that Connaught would take control and win the game. However, Banham responded winning the next three ends to lead 15-12 after seventeen. Again the Connaught trio kept going and picked up a 3 on the eighteenth end to draw 15-15.

Joyce Hazell mixed up block came up against an in form John Williamson. Marie played with too much weight all night which rarely allowed Connaught to control heads and were virtually always chasing the game. Connaught were only in the lead, 3-2 on the second end. Connaught then lost the next three ends including a 3 to be 8-3 down after five ends. Connaught then won two of the next three ends to be 9-5 down after eight ends. A dropped four on the next end took Connaught 13 -5 down after nine ends. Connaught kept belief and fought hard but John Williamson's experience on home mats using heavy woods often broke up winning heads for Connaught. Connaught picked up 2x1's but then followed it without scoring on the following four ends allowing Banham to lead 19-7 after fifteen ends.  Again the Connaught trio kept going picking up 5 shots over the last three ends to lose 20-12. The concentration to the end, if other mats had gone Connaught's way, could have proved invaluable.

Ralf Ramm's block played fairly well and kept concentration in an even match winning nine ends each. Although the match was tight Connaught were only ever behind after two ends. From the third to the eleventh end's were shared between the two blocks. However with Connaught's losing ends being kept tight they led 12-7 after twelve ends. The lead could have been more but Derek Grey played well keeping Banham in the game. Connaught then lost form with Steve's brain going walkabouts putting pressure on Ralf. Fortunately Banham did not take full advantage of this picking up 3 shots when it could easily have been 7. Connaught then picked up a 2 giving them a four shot advantage. Banham won the next two ends by single shots bringing them to within 2 of Connaught. With the other mats finished and this match tight pressure was on both triples. Peter put in two good woods, Steve consolidated and improved the head. With Ralf playing sensible shots to leave Derek Grey to try to make something out of nothing. Connaught took 3 to secure the game.

Lessons learnt. Banham has never been a good hunting ground for Connaught B. The match was only lost by 5 shots. However, Connaught must learn to adjust to away mats quicker, after six ends on each mat Connaught were 29-8 down overall. The fight back in the latter stages showed resilience that was not there last year. With the A team to come on Saturday followed by two difficult cup games away Connaught B must keep belief. The return of Joe and Ken should help this. Connaught must continue to battle hard. Although Connaught have only won and drawn one game out of the last five games, three of them have been drawn on shots, one lost by 3 shots and one lost by five shots. Consistency, if improved, will ensure close games go Connaughts way.

Jack's performance again must be mentioned. If Jack continues to play and isn't distracted by the female variety he will become a very good player and asset for the club.

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CONNAUGHT B v  HINGHAM YELLOW

Connaught 'B' lost to Hingham Yellow at home on Wednesday 4^th January 68-68 and 3-7

      Mat 1  Alan Marshall, Len Thurston and Heather Winup lost 12-13 to Keith Thomas

      Mat 2  Ron Maddern, Jack Marshall and Marie Head lost 13-21 to Jane Frary

      Mat 1 Phil King, Alison Rush and Moira Eades lost 23-25 to Mike White

      Mat 2  Ralf Ramm, Steve Hall and Peter Hambling won 20-9 against Tony Fennell

Connaught B went into this match with confidence after beating Hingham Yellow away before Christmas in a close game. Blocks again had to be reshuffled due to injury and absence.

Alan Marshall's triple had a very close low scoring game against the Hingham Captain Keith Thomas.  The early stages went Connaught's way with the home side taking a 4-1 lead after four ends. Connaught then went four ends without scoring to single shots to be 4-5 down after eight ends. Alan was out of sorts and 'beating himself up', as he does. Len was not playing to his normal high standards. Connaught won the next three ends to be 9-5 up after eleven ends. Then the  wheels came off with Hingham winning four ends including a disastrous 4 on end fourteen to put Hingham up 13-9 after fifteen ends. Connaught fought back to win the last three ends but only by single shots to lose 12-13. How expensive the 4 on the fourteenth end was to prove. Other ends lost were kept tight with 1 x 2 and 7 x 1's. With Len playing at two and Heather playing at lead this triple, who played well and won against the A team, should have won this game on home mats.

Ron Maddern's triple, brought together for the first time performed well. Ron, who normally leads, showed some of his early season form, Jack had another brilliant game and Marie returning from illness was steady. Playing against Hingham's experienced Jane Frary the Connaught trio were up against it from the start but kept focus and belief. Jack, playing with complete maturity ensured that Connaught were competitive. The early exchanges were shared with the scores level at 7-7 after seven ends. Connaught then won the next two ends, including a 3 on the ninth end to lead 11-7. Unfortunately a poor eleventh end saw Connaught drop a four and hit their confidence to go 13-11 down. Connaught dug in to be 13-15 down after fifteen ends. The inexperience of the Connaught trio and the experience of Hingham's block saw them home taking the last three ends by 6 shots to no return. The loss by 8 shots did not reflect how close this game was. The Connaught trio, in particular Jack who is still only fifteen, should be proud of their effort.

Phil King's block started well taking a 6 on the first end to lead 8-1 after three ends. Alison who has struggled recently at skip, played at two with Moira at lead. Hingham then hit back winning the next three ends, including a sloppy four on end six to draw level at 8-8 after six ends. Connaught kept focus and with Moira leading well and Alison playing confidently picked up 6 shots, including a 4 to lead 14-10 after nine ends. The lack of consistency and confidence then returned with Connaught dropping a 3 immediately to bring Hingham back into the game. A disastrous thirteenth end where Connaught dropped a six to be 16-20 down after thirteen ends. With Phil and Alison switching to their normal roles the ship steadied with Connaught winning the next three ends by seven shots to lead 23-20 after 16 ends. Moira who started this match well then lost concentration and form hitting the wood several times over the last few ends putting pressure on Phil and Alison. Hingham picked up a 3 on end seventeen to put the game level at 23-23 with one end to go. Moira and Phil failed to put much into the head with Alison being 3 down before bowling. Hingham picked up a two to take the game 25-23. This was a game of inconsistency with the Connaught trio playing to many sloppy ends dropping 1 x 6, 1 x 4, 2 x 3 and 3 x 2. Again this block should have won this game on home mats.

Ralf Ramm's block knew at the start that they would have to concentrate hard if Connaught were to get anything out of this match. Connaught were in control the whole game, losing only five ends.  Concentration was maintained with all three players playing steadily with only a few poor shots. The Hingham's skip played well to cut down the Connaught score end after end which proved invaluable in the overall context of the match. Keeping a watchful eye on proceedings on the other mat it looked like Connaught were going to overturn the first half deficit. However, as the evening progressed it became clear that if Connaught was to pick anything up from this match it was to be from this triple. After fifteen ends Connaught were leading 19-6. With the other mat finished Connaught were ahead by 2 shots in the match and looking for a 4-6 loss. End sixteen was dropped by a single shot to keep Connaught ahead in the match by 1 shot. Poor concentration on the the seventeenth end proved expensive. With Peter not dominating the head for a change and the Hingham number 1 and 2 playing their best shots of the night Hingham held 2. With the jack just being live Steve had two opportunities to take the jack and kill the end and game, unfortunately he was unable to do so! Hingham took 2 to lead in the match overall 68-67 after seventeen ends. Peter put one of his woods right on the jack to hold shot which unfortunately was as good as it got with Hingham having a close second and third wood just behind the jack. A good performance by this triple who are not used to playing together. The match was drawn overall 68-68 but lost 3-7.

Lessons learnt. A disappointing evening for Connaught who should really have won this match 8-2 on current form. Although three senior players were missing too many players were out of sorts. Heavy end losses cost Connaught dear, 1 x 6, 3 x 4's, 3 x 3's. 40% of Connaught's shots against lost on seven ends (10%). Connaught B now have a tough run of matches with Banham away, Connaught A, Wymondham away in the County Cup and Sprowston away in the Norwich Cup. Team spirit is about more than playing and the disappearance of players early during a tense game is unacceptable. Some experienced players are due to return but Connaught B must keep focus and belief and not let their competitive start to the season slip. It was nice to see some of the A team players watching and supporting, shame we couldn't show them what we are capable of!

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CONNAUGHT B v  CONNAUGHT A

Connaught 'B' lost to Connaught A away on Saturday 17^th December 52-55 and 6-4

      Mat 1   Joe Li-Rocchi, Ralf Ramm and Peter Hambling won 14-9 against Sylvia Parsons

      Mat 2  Alison Rush, Phil King and Moira Eades lost to Billy 'Bear' Adcock 20-10

      Mat 1 Alan Marshall, Len Thurston and Heather Winup won 18-11 against Owen Secker

      Mat 2  Steve Hall, John Mitchell and Ron Maddern lost to Sheila Bragg 15-10

After the positive result on Thursday the B team were relaxed coming into this match. As ever they have nothing to lose. The return of Ralf Ramm was welcomed but the blocks were changed again due to absence and illness. John Mitchell again stood in at short notice, thank you John.

Joe Li-Rocchi's block was drawn against the inform Sylvia Parsons, Ty Musk and Mike Parsons. Ralf returned from a minor op and was brought in at number two to further strengthen the block. The game as expected was a tight game. Four of the first five ends were taken by the A team but only by one shot to lead 4-1. The B team then hit back to win the next five ends to lead 8-4 after ten ends. This really was a good hard fought battle with the B team triple showing skill and concentration and putting constant pressure on their A team counterparts. Sylvia was often made to try and force the head and picked up a new nickname of 'still one shot down Parsons'. On other nights things may have gone her way. This forced the A team trio to change in an attempt to stay in the match and Ty switched to skip. The next eight ends were shared with the B team picking up 2 x 2's and 2 x 1's and restricting the A team trio to 1 x 2 and 3 x 1. A superb win for this trio who on this form would regularly make the A team squad.

Alison Rush's triple came on the back of a good win at Hingham. However they started this game very poorly finding themselves 8-0 down after five ends. With Moira playing consistently against Diane (with Bill letting her know that she was not on form) the early exchanges was lost at two and skip. Phil started badly and was affected by a cold and 'nasal' problems! Alison was against the experienced Bill Adcock who constantly changed the head. Connaught B then started to settle and won three of the next four ends to be 9-4 down after ten ends. A bad end then followed with the B team trio dropping a four. This forced a change with Phil transferring to skip. With Diane improving and competing with Moira, Alison consolidating the head this gave Phil a chance, which she took winning four of the next five ends to bring the game back to 14-10 down after fourteen ends. It must be said that Bill at this time was in 'Billy Bear' land and only the efforts of his wife, Diane, and Ray stopped them falling further behind. Diane was kind enough to not remind him of this! Unfortunately Bill found his form and Diane dominated at lead for the last three ends picking up six shots. The first five and the final three ends cost the B team trio.

Alan Marshall's block was drawn against Owen Secker who has been playing very well and consistently this season. With Len moving to two and Heather brought in at lead it was hoped that this would strengthen this block, indeed it did.  The early stages of the game saw a very close encounter with the A team trio leading 3-2 after four ends. A 3 on the next end helped the B team trio but the A team trio hit back winning the next three ends to lead 7-5 after eight ends. Heather had led well in the early exchanges but further improved her game. Len then really supported well and Alan found form winning the next five ends picking up 3 x 2's and 2 x 1's to lead 13 – 7 after ten ends. Owen had switched John to skip but the B team trio 'smelt blood' and kept their concentration winning two of the last five ends by 1 x 3 and 1 x 2. A very good victory indeed. Heather is a good lead and should play there permanently but has had to often play at two this year for team balance. Heather holds bragging rights in the Winup household this Christmas!

Steve Hall's block was a mix of the fit, willing and able with little expected. John Mitchell was brought in last minute due to illness. The 'misfits' started like they had played together all season winning four of the first six ends to lead 4-2 and feeling very confident. Then it happened.......Ron and John had bad ends with a wood off each and two nowhere near the head. Steve went in four down and wasted his first wood by being short. Five down........Steve who normally has the finesse of an elephant turned into having the finesse of a fairy and put another short wood in. Five turned into six down, oh dear, how important his was to be in the overall context of the match. The A team trio then made advantage of this knock in confidence taking the next two ends to lead 12–4 after ten ends. This was turning into the expected trouncing. However, the fighting attitude in the B squad this year surfaced and with Ollie and Chris being slightly off form the B team trio won 5 of the next seven ends to be 14-10 down after seventeen ends. With Steve's last wood to come and one shot down to a lonely A team wood the impossible was still possible. Take the shot out to hold four, a draw and win the match. Much trepidation, breathes of expectation, could it be, silence (writers licence here, but it sounds good)..............clunk, the blooming idiot and captain put it into the block! Off to the A team for him next year! Merry Christmas Sheila, love Steve xxxxx

A very pleasing performance by the B team overall. Despite a depleted squad a result that none had expected losing 6-4 but by only three shots. However, such is the team spirit and raised expectation of the B team this year that the joy of picking up the four points soon turned into if only........... A pleasant social evening was then held. However, not only did Steve lose, he bought the B team a xmas drink (naughty Sheila didn't buy her squad one!) and there was no Sylvias cake. Poor end to 2011 for him! Was Ollie unwell, he went before the food did?????

Lessons learnt. The beginning of the 2011/12 season has brought a more confident, determined squad with generally good team spirit. The members of the squad that have been on the edge of team selection are now fighting for places. With the team being mid table in the league and in the quarter finals of the Norfolk and Norwich cup it has been a good start. Confidence and commitment are paramount in that continuing. Thank you to the B team squad from Captain Steve. Merry Christmas to all.

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CONNAUGHT B v  HINGHAM YELLOW

Connaught 'B' beat Hingham Yellow away on Thursday 15^th December 62-62 and 6-4

      Mat 1  Alison Rush, Phil King and Moira Eades drew 13-13 with Keith Thomas

      Mat 2  Joyce Hazell, John Mitchell and Jack Marshall lost 15-12 to Jane Frary

      Mat 3 Alan Marshall, Steve Hall and Len Thurston won 18-16 against Mike White

      Mat 4  Joe Li-Rocchi, Heather Winup and Peter Hambling won 19-18 against Bob Lister

A depleted Connaught squad visited Hingham on mats that we very rarely do well on. With Ralf Ramm and Ken Lurcock out through injury and Marie Head withdrawing late afternoon blocks were reshuffled. John Mitchell stood in at short notice, thank you John. Hingham beat Harling away the evening before and had a good squad out. Every game was tight in this match which made for a competitive, pleasant evening.

Alison Rush's block had another close encounter, Alison certainly likes tight games.  Alison saw a return to form and confidence, Phil was solid but not at her best and Moira played well at lead. The first nine ends saw Hingham winning five to be 7-6 up. Connaught then took control winning five of the next six ends to be 11-8 up after fourteen ends. Hingham then fought back to be only two down going into the last end. With the last wood to come from Hingham' s skip Connaught held shot with an isolated wood with Hingham holding second wood. Keith Thomas sent a super shot down with just the right weight to remove Connaughts wood to take two and to draw the game.

Joyce Hazell's block had the performance of the evening. Although losing to Jane Frary the match was close. John Mitchell had a game to forget. However, Jack Marshall played well at lead to give Connaught a fighting chance.  Joyce had an excellent game putting Connaught 4-3 up after six ends. Connaught then only won one out of the next six ends to find themselves 10-6 down after twelve ends. With Jack putting good woods in giving Joyce support Connaught then picked up a three and a 2 to lead 11-10 after 14 ends. Unfortunately Hinghams experience kicked in and with Connaught realistically playing four woods against six the pressure told with Connaught only picking up one more shot in the last four ends.

Joe Li-Rocchi's block had a very close encounter and showed real fighting spirit. Joe started slowly, Peter there and thereabouts and Heather started well. Despite this Connaught found themselves 7-0 down after 3 ends. Connaught then picked up a 4 and a 3 to draw level. With the next two ends shared Connaught never felt on top of the game and Joe switched with Heather. The idea was to put woods in the head to control the game. To start with this did not seem to work as Connaught found themselves 15-11 down after twelve ends. The Connaught trio still believed that they could win and dug in but still found themselves 17-13 down after fifteen ends. Joe and Peter then hit a purple patch with Heather supporting and picked up 2 x 3's on end sixteen and seventeen to give Connaught the lead for the first time. Despite losing the eigteenth end by a single shot Connaught held on to win by the narrowest of margins. This result not only gave Connaught a valued 2 points but helped inspire Alan Marshalls triple........

Alan Marshall's block also had a very close game. Len started fairly slowly finding line and weight difficult. Alan played some superb shots and some not ot be so proud of! Connaught found themselves on top for the first nine ends but nothing really ran right. Jacks picked up didn't stay, woods fell out and not in. With Hinghams number two playing straight woods well and time and time again taking woods out or drawing in it felt like it was not going to be Connaughts night despite playing relatively well. At nine ends scores were level at 7-7. Connaught then lost three of the next four ends including a bad three to be 12-8 down after twelve ends. With lots of head visiting and no panic Connaught then won three of the next four ends to draw level at 14-14 after sixteen ends.  With all other games finished it was clear that this was to be the deciding game of the match. Len had a bad seventeenth end allowing Hingham to build the head and Steve had to use his woods to 'loosen' the head. Alan, who can normally draw in with his eyes closed failed twice to do so giving Hingham a two shot advantage. Alan knew that he was heading for the A team and steeled himself for the final end. Len put two absolute pearlers down onto the jack, was Connaughts luck changing? Steve consolidated the head with Hingham having to try to dislodge. The Hingham number two and skip failed to make much headway with their first 3 woods. Holding three the Hingham skip played a running wood that missed. This was enough to give the Connaught trio a win with one wood to come. After some discussion and quick calculation by Pete Hambling Connaught played their final wood with Alan drawing in perfectly to take a four. Alan redeemed himself and will not be packed off to the A Team! That extra shot was enough to give a draw on shots overall and a 6-4 win.

A very pleasing performance overall. Despite a depleted squad everybody tried hard. Jack and Joyce should be proud of themselves playing as well as they did in the face of adversity. Jack is maturing well and will be become a more permanent member of the squad as time progresses.

Lessons learnt. Determination, concentration and belief are essential. Connaught could have easily lost this game 10-0 and may have in the past. Fringe players of the squad are important, not everybody can play all of the time, but it is a team game. The best way of being a regular member is to perform. Peter Hambling no longer holds the reputation of being slow, this is now held by Alan and Steve whose many visits to discuss the head meant a later finish. Still at least everybody had the pleasure of seeing the Marshall trio snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Sorry Carolina for keeping Joe at Hingham longer. Ps He was actually down the pub!

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CONNAUGHT B v  BANHAM

Connaught 'B' drew with Banham at home on Wednesday 7^th December 63-63 and 5-5

      Mat 1  Joyce Hazell, Heather Winup and Jack Marshall lost 20-10 to Val Hambling

      Mat 2  Joe Li-Rocchi, Steve Hall and Peter Hambling won 24-13 against Jim Delaney

      Mat 1  Alan Marshall, Ken Lurcock and Len Thurston won 19-16 against J Williamson

      Mat 2  Alison Rush, Phil King and Ron Maddern lost 14-10 against D Gray

After the recent poor defeat by Carletone Rode Connaught B hoped to put on a better performance. Banham were slightly under strength as were Connaught with both Marie Head and Ralf Ramm being unavailable. Jack Marshall made his full debut for Connaught this season.

Joyce Hazell's block were a new block put together to enable the strengthening of the other 3 blocks in an attempt to seek a positive result in the match. However, Joyce and Heather are experienced players and are more than capable of holding their own. Unfortunately they had a very slow start with Jack the only player finding early form. Connaught found themselves 11-2 down after seven ends. Joyce and Heather swapped and the ship steadied and Connaught managed to match Banham in the second half of the match to keep the shot difference reasonable. Jack put in a good performance.

Joe Li-Rocchi's block looked strong on paper with Steve Hall being put in at two. Connaught found themselves 5 down on the first end with Joe to play his last wood. Joe superbly drew in to take second wood. Connaught then dropped three on the second end in a poor start. Steve's brain was still on captain duties wondering where Alison was (at Banham was the answer!) Alison turned up and things improved. With Peter playing well and Steve improving Joe had something to support him picking up seven shots over the next 3 ends. Connaught were 9-8 up after eight ends. Connaught then picked up a four and the Banham skip switched. Despite this Connaught picked up another two fours to lead 21-10 after twelve ends. With the game virtually dead Connaught kept concentration to pick up single shots over the next three ends. Unfortunately, in the overall context of the match, the three single shots that Banham then picked up were to prove costly. However, this was a good win with both Joe and Peter playing well. Steve played some good shots but was out of sorts.

Alan Marshall's block were up against the experienced skip of John Williamson. Despite a 3 on the first end Connaught were out of sorts to start with winning only 3 ends out of the first nine. Fortunately one of those was a 5 keeping Connaught level at 9-9 after nine ends. With Len leading well, Ken supporting well and Alan finding his form, Connaught then dominated the next nine ends winning six of them. John Williamson played a superb shot on the fourteenth end to turn a 2 shot deficit into a four for Banham to keep them in touch at 16-13 after fourteen ends. The last four ends were shared with Connaught picking up a good win.

The tensest, tightest and low scoring match was once again with Alison Rush's block. All three Connaught players were out of sorts but kept fighting to be 7-7 at nine ends and 9-9 at thirteen ends and 10-10 at fifteen ends. Alison described herself as lacking confidence and whatever Connaught tried they could not shake off Banham's triple despite knowing that they should win this game. With all of the other games finished Connaught were potentially heading for a 8-2 win with three ends remaining if they could win this game. Banham picked up a two on the sixteenth end and a one on the seventeenth end. This gave Connaught a one shot lead overall in the match with one end to play. With  everybody watching the pressure was on both sets of players. Ron put his first wood off the end and his second only just short of joining the first. Phil and Alison performed under pressure to hold two with the Banham skips last wood to come. Derek Gray kept his cool to draw in to hold shot. With the game now level Alison had her last wood to win the game........not to be. Connaught's nemesis of the night was Banham's Maureen Jessup who was playing her first match after a stroke and was brought in to ensure Banham had a full team. Without Maureen Connaught's night would have been a little easier. Well done Maureen and nice to see you recovering.

Lessons learnt. Although in overall context this was a good result for Connaught B and was a vast improvement on the previous game, it was a slightly disappointing result. If Steve had been on form their block would have won by more. If John Williamson hadn't of played a superb shot for a six shot turn around, if Alison would believe in herself as we believe in her...............if, an easy word. Expectation is higher this season, last year Banham beat us 2-8 at home. The other lesson learnt is that even at Phil Kings age she can still have secret admirers!

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CONNAUGHT B v CARLETON RODE

Connaught 'B' lost to Carleton Rode at home on Wednesday 23^rd November 47-68 and 2-8

      Mat 1 Alison Rush, Phil King and Moira Eades lost 17 – 14 to Rodney Baker

      Mat 2 Alan Marshall, Ken Lurcock and Ron Maddern lost 23-8 to Neil Davidson

      Mat 1 Joe Li-Rocchi, Heather Winup and Peter Hambling lost 15-11 to Terry Newby

      Mat 2 Ralf Ramm, Steve Hall and Carolina Li-Rocchi won 14-13 against G Coleman

Connaught B knew that this game against Carleton Rode would be hard but on current form should have had a close but positive result, however not to be in a disappointing evening.

Alison Rush's block had a game of two halves. Alison had an off night and Moira had little consistancy playing on Mat 1 which does not suit her game. After ten ends Connaught found themselves 12-1 down. However, the change of Phil King to skip changed this, winning six of the last eight ends taking them 12 shots to 4. The loss of the game by just 3 shots was  a good recovery but Connaught were really never in it despite Phil's best efforts but showed what could have been.

Alan Marshall's block had a night to forget for more than one reason. Dropping 4 shots on the first end set the tone. Ken then complained of feeling unwell but struggled on with Connaught pulling backto 4-6 after six ends. The next six ends proved eventful with Connaught dropping 11 shots with no reply and Ken collapsing on the mat feeling faint and dizzy. The game was suspended whilst Ken recovered and left the mat. Joyce Hazell was rung and rushed to the aid of the B team. Joyce's arrival had no affect on the game. With Connaught winning only two more ends and only five overall they lost very heavily. Neil Davidson skipped well for Carleton Rode and was a last minute stand in. After recent matches against him in other leagues, we hope, with the upmost respect, that we do not play him again soon! Alan, who is often Connaught’s saviour has been threatened with a transfer to the A team after this performance!

Joe Li-Rocchi's  block had a very mixed game and were definitely out of sorts. Connaught were 4-1 up after three ends. A run of five ends without scoring they found themselves 4-10 down. With Heather swapping to lead, the ship steadied slightly, but Joe was having an off night. At 6-14 down Joe changed Heather to skip. Heather who is playing with “Golden Bowls” at present continued her good run of form winning six of the last seven ends but only by one shot each end.

Ralf Ramm's block were the only positive of the evening but even they tried to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Carolina Li-Rocchi, playing her first full match for Connaught started extremely well. Steve started absolutely awful (much to Neil Davidson's enjoyment and threats to put Steve's bad shots on Facebook). Ralf time and time again drew in to save the head and to give them a 7-2 lead after five ends. Carolina then lost form slightly with Steve and Ralf putting some good woods in but not consistently with Connaught finding themselves level at 7-7 after eight ends. Steve woke up, Ralf returned to form and Carolina was steady to put themselves 14-9 up after fifteen ends. The old Connaught B jitters then set in with poor bowls by all three Connaught players dropping 4 shots over the last three ends. Carleton Rode will be disappointed not to have got something out of this game and Connaught were relieved!

Lessons learnt. Players will have off games but too many had an off game in this fixture. Two key players unavailable should not be a reason to lose against a Carleton Rode side who are a solid team and should be a team that we beat at home and match throughout the season. This evening was a return to the old B Team. Ken's illness did not help but the match was played in a very subdued atmosphere and the lack of confidence shone through to easily. On a positive note, Neil cannot count and messed up his score card but disappeared before Terry could remind him of this. Stick to Bowls Neil – a calculator for Xmas??

A special thank you must go to Joyce Hazell for standing in at such short notice and to Terry Newby and the Carlton Rode side for their concern and sportsmanship shown over the illness of Ken. Ken appears to have made a full recovery and has recharged his Duracell batteries.

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CONNAUGHT B v  WATTON

Connaught 'B' lost to Watton away on Sunday 6th November by  55- 64 and 4-6

      Mat 1  Alison Rush, Phil King and Ron Maddern lost 18-12 against John Hunter

      Mat 2  Alan Marshall, Ralf Ramm and Len Thurston won 13-11 against Don Paffey

      Mat 1  Joyce Hazell, Ken Lurcock and Moira Eades lost 20-14 against Roger Braham

      Mat 2  Joe Li-Rocchi, Heather Winup and Peter Hambling won 16-15 against Margaret Hunter

Connaught B travelled to Watton with Heather Winup as captain in the absence of Steve Hall.  Having lost 10–0 last year the blocks were altered in an attempt to pick up points. If nothing else Connaught B were in for a quieter afternoon without Steve.

Alison Rush's block lost the first two ends to find themselves 4-0 down after 2 ends. They then hit a purple patch winning 5  ends to be 10-4 after seven ends. With Ron struggling to find any consistency Watton came back to win nine of the next eleven ends to win 18-12

Alan Marshall's block had a close low scoring encounter. Len Thurston, the most consistent lead this year struggled to find his length at times. However, with the experience of Ralf and Alan heads were kept tight. This enabled them to lead 12-7  after fifteen ends. However, Watton scored a 3 on the sixteenth end to put pressure on the Connaught trio. Nerves were kept with the final two ends shared to give Connaught a narrow victory.

Joyce Hazell's triple struggled throughout but they kept competitive. With only seven ends won by Connaught and 20-8 down after sixteen ends Connaught did well to pick up 6 shots on the last two ends.

Joe Li-Rocchi's block had a tight game. Connaught were 8-1 up after winning five of the first six ends.

Watton then responded by winning the next five ends and picking up 10 shots to lead 11-8 after eleven ends. Connaught again took control to win four of the next five ends to take a 16-12 lead after sixteen ends. Watton applied pressure with a 1 on the seventeenth but could only pick up a 2 0n the final end giving Connaught a much deserved hard fought victory by one shot.

Lessons learnt. Steve Hall should go away more often! With Heather being threatened with a return to captaincy next year and Alan being threatened with a transfer to the A team if they did not pick up four points, they can have a sigh of relief. A 4-6 away is a good result in comparison to last year. On a note nothing to do with this match it has been noticed that players from other clubs read my reports! Well Neil, if you ever want your name included, the B Team would be pleased to have you!

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CONNAUGHT B v  HARLING REC

Connaught 'B' lost to Harling Rec away on Tuesday 25th October by  54- 74 and 2-8

      Mat 1  Ken Lurcock, Joyce Hazell  and Len Thurston lost 21-18 against P Dennis

      Mat 2  Joe Li-Rocchi, Heather Winup and Peter Hambling lost 14-9 against M Cunningham

      Mat 1  Alison Rush, Phil King and Moira Eades lost 22-9 against M Frost

      Mat 2  Steve Hall, Ralf Ramm and Marie Head won 18-17 against B Knappett

Connaught B travelled to Harling Rec in hope of doing better than in previous seasons. The mats at Harling are to say the least 'difficult' with certain hands virtually unplayable and a lottery. However, to do well at Harling you need to play intelligent bowls and adjust quickly, something that Connaught generally did not do this evening.

Ken Lurcock, skipping in the absence of Alan Marshall, had a 'what if' evening. The block had a slow start finding the mat very difficult and were 4-1 down after 3 ends. However, with Len beginning to find his line and length and supported by steady woods from Joyce, this allowed Ken to play relaxed controlled bowls. Two 4's on ends four and five put Connaught in control to lead 9-4 after five ends. With the next few ends bowled tightly and shared, Connaught led 10-6 after eight ends. This is as good as it got for Connaught. Poor shot choices and not listening to the number two's advice led Connaught to drop 12 shots over the next 5 ends with  Harling leading 18-12 after thirteen ends. Connaught hit back with a 4 on the fourteenth end but the damage was done. Harling took control and won three of the next four ends to win 21-18. This is a game that Connaught should have won after working hard to take control.

Joe Li-Rocchi's block had a low scoring encounter in a generally tight game. Peter at lead struggled for his normal consistancy on the difficult mats but generally out bowled his opposite number at lead. Heather played steadily but the game was generally lost at skip level with Joe finding it difficult to adjust to the mat with the Harling skip taking full advantage of playing at home.

Alison Rush's block had a night to forget. Moira had a difficult time at lead never finding her line or length. Neither Phil or Alison could make much headway and with Connaught only winning 6 ends they were never in the game.

Steve Hall's block had a start to forget. With the captain lecturing everybody on keeping ends tight he went down 5 on the 3^rd end to be 6-1 down after three ends! With Steve giving himself one more end before swapping, Connaught's fortune changed. With Marie eventually changing hands reluctantly at lead and Ralf drawing well Connaught began to build heads and picked up a 5 on end eight to draw level at 8-8. Connaught then took control of the game to lead 12-8 after eleven ends. Two 3's on the fouteenth and fifteenth end gave Connaught control at 18-11. Harling picked up a 1 and a 3 to leave Connaught 18-15 up with one end to play.  With the room in absolute silence, this game went down to the last shot. With Harling holding a possible 3 or even a 4 Steve sent his last wood down slightly heavy with the end result being both number 2's applauding and thinking they had done  enough to win or draw the game. In the only controversial moment of the night, Ralf conceded two with the Harling number two taking his two woods out. In his excitement he also removed a third wood which hadn't been conceded. With Ralf confident that Connaught held 3^rd wood and standing with his measure in his hand Connaught would not, quite rightly, concede the 3^rd wood, giving Harling a two and Connaught  an 18-17 win. A  lesson learnt the hard way for the Harling number two.

Lessons learnt. It will never be easy at Harling and to do well all players need to be on form, adjust quickly and play intelligent and controlled shots. Home advantage will always be a huge factor at Harling.   Rules are in place for a reason. Teams including Connaught must learn not to take your own woods out of the head. On a positive note it was 1 point more than we picked up their last year. A poor night for Connaught B who really should have only lost 4-6 or even won 6-4. Connaught must keep their confidence with two difficult games to come.

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Connaught 'B' beat Hingham Green at home on Tuesday 18th October by  95- 37 and 10-0

      Mat 1  Alan Marshall,  Ken Lurcock  and Len Thurston won 19-11 against P Groombridge

      Mat 2 Ralf Ramm, Steve Hall and Moira Eades won 24-11 against G Tweed

      Mat 1 Joe Li-Rocchi, Heather Winup and Peter Hambling won 32-5 against R Leverett

      Mat 2 Alison Rush, Phil King and Ron Maddern won 20-10 against E Herbert

Connaught B had another pleasant evening of bowls against a slightly weakened Hingham Green side due to unavailability.

Ralf Ramm's block had a good win, winning twelve ends and were never down in the game. Ralf and Steve are both on form at the moment and gel together as a unit. Moira Eades came into the side for her first game of the season and played good consistent bowls at lead with very few short woods.  The Connaught trio kept concentration throughout the whole game until the seventeenth end where they dropped a four. In previous seasons, with the game won they may have relaxed on the last end, not this evening where they responded with a 3, but Steve was  still not happy with the four!

Alan Marshall’s block had a tight start with the scores being level at 6-6 after eight ends. Alan found it difficult to pick up the line and length but Ken and Len kept the game relatively tight. A  4 on end eleven followed by a 2 and a 3 on the next three ends settled Connaught and they never looked back. Connaught won ten ends to Hinghams eight but the ends lost were by no more than 2 shots and more often than not by 1. This is very important in matches that may in the future be much tighter.

After the break Joe Li-Rocchi's block had the best win of the evening. Never down after the first end they kept the pressure and concentration throughout the whole game winning  fourteen ends and never dropping more than 2 but picking up 1 x 5, 2 x 4 and 2 x 3's. Peter at lead brought his normal 'stability' to the proceedings and was well supported by Heather 'one foot' Winup playing her first game as number two this season. The solid base that Peter and Heather built allowed Joe to play an excellent drawing and running game when necessary.  Tougher games ahead but this is looking like a potentially strong block .

Alison Rush's block had a tougher game. Connaught found themselves 4-1 down after three ends but pulled back to lead 5-4 after six ends. A 4 on the seventh end looked like spurring Connaught on but the Hingham skip, Eileen Herbert had other ideas and time and time again came into Connaught winning heads to take shot to keep Connaught only 9 – 8 up after eleven ends. Eileen proved to be Hingham's best player of the evening.  With Ron beginning to find his form again and Phil consolidating  and playing her normal sensible game, Connaught gradually drew ahead winning five of the next seven ends with a 4 on the fifteenth end eventually killing off the resilient Hingham skip.  A tired looking Alison admitted that it wasn't her best game but still a good result.

Lessons learnt? Connaught B are showing resilience when required and are gelling together as a squad and supporting each other. Players now need to be competitive for their places, which cannot be a bad thing. Peter Hambling is human! For the first time ever the Connaught Captain saw him bowl a wood that never crossed the line..........a lack of concentration Peter....tut tut. If there was any doubt that Heather could play heavy woods the Connaught captain saw her try to demolish the fender with two successive shots (didn't the first one tell you something!) and yes Heather I did see more than that end!

A good win for Connaught B who rarely win 10-0. Well done Connaught B on a good victory  and thank you to Hingham Green for a pleasant evening.

CONNAUGHT B v FORNCETT

Connaught 'B' beat Forncett at Forncett on Thursday 6th October by 62-58 and 6-4

      Mat 1 Alan Marshall, Ken Lurcock and Len Thurston won 14-13 against T Ottewell

      Mat 2 Ralph Ramm, Steve Hall and Marie Head won 24-8 against D Rumsby

      Mat 1 Joe Li-Rocchi, Joyce Hazel and Heather Winup lost 18-12 against K Humphreys

      Mat 2 Alison Rush, Phil King and Ron Maddern lost 19-12 against P Lock

Another close encounter and a pleasant and very competitive evening of bowls.  As the old saying goes it was a game of two half’s.

Before the break Alan Marshall lead his block to a win against T Ottewell. Len Thurston at lead struggled all evening to find the line and this put pressure on Ken and Alan in their new partnership. Unlike the evening before it was Connaught that chased the game. The Connaught trio made a steady start leading 5–3 after 4 ends but then failed to score on the next 5 ends putting Forncett up by 10-5 after 9 ends.  Alan Marshall found his form and time and time again came into the head to take shot when Connaught was down, showing the importance of the supporting bowls behind.  On the 17 th end Connaught dropped a sloppy two to bring the scores level at 13 -13. Connaught must learn for the number two to go for 2^nd wood at times rather than to try to run at the jack and get shot. With Connaught down by two, with Alan Marshall’s last wood to come, he played a running wood to pick up the jack and to take shot and game. Phew, for the second night!

Ralph Ramm's block had a relatively easy win and were only ever down after the 1^st end. Marie Head at lead had a night to forget and got a huge cheer late in the game when getting a toucher! Fortunately the Forncett lead also had an indifferent game. Ralph Ramm drew well all evening at number 2 to take control of the head. Steve Hall played well at skip both with his running game and drawing (much to his relief). This Connaught trio kept concentration throughout the whole game and kept the score ticking over which proved to be very important in the overall result.

After the break Joe Li-Rocchi struggled to find his line and weight on the mat. Connaught were 5-5 after 7 ends but then dropped 8 shots over the next 4 ends. Joyce Hazel played some excellent shots but not at her best.  Heather Winup was the only lead to find form. This settled Joe Li-Rocchi to allow Connaught to draw back to within a shot after 13 ends. Connaught then dropped 5 on the next 4 ends to lose by 6 shots. Joe Li-Rocchi Last wood to cut the head down to from four shots down to one shot down which proved to be invaluable in the overall context of the game.

The drama of the evening again came from Alison Rush's triple but for different reasons from the night before. Alison had the added pressure of her car breaking down and was rushed by her daughter to the fixture. Suffering from fatigue and stress (partly from the night before) Alison had generally a bad night for her. Ron Maddern again struggled to find consistency. Connaught were level at 5-5 after six ends but then failed to score for 4 ends. A dropped 5 on the 12^th end put Connaught 14-6 down with the match looking like it was slipping away. Alison then switched with Phil King who was again having another solid performance. Phil not only managed to keep shots down but won 3 of the final 6 ends and pick up 6 shots. The last end was the deciding factor with both teams very aware of the closeness of the game. Forncett needed 2 to force a draw in the match. With Connaught holding two with just the last wood of the Forncett skip to come the game looked safe. The Forncett skip then forced the jack off of the mat to force a replay of the end. Tension again rose in the hall. Ron and Alison failed to get close to the jack but were fortunately closer than Forncett. It went down to the skips again with Phil King holding her nerve to pick up 2 to guide Connaught to overall victory.

A good win where Connaught B often fail to win. However, despite the win Connaught were slightly disappointed which pleased the skip as it shows that Connaught maybe more competitive than in previous years. The moral of the evening, once again is that shots in the head count, 2^nd wood is sometimes more important than trying to run and pick up shot. Too many loose woods overall but again Connaught showed fortitude to dig in. Well done Connaught B on a good victory and thank you to Forncett for a pleasant evening.

Connaught 'B' lost to Wymondham at home on Wednesday 5th October by 53 - 62 and 2-8

      Mat 1  Alan Marshall, Ken Lurcock and Len Thurston won 18-17 against B Saunders

      Mat 2 Ralph Ramm, Steve Hall and Moira Eades lost 14-12 against M Linsdell

      Mat 1 Joe Li-Rocchi, Joyce Hazel and Heather Winup lost 19-12 against C Mann

      Mat 2 Alison Rush, Phil King and Ron Maddern lost 12-11 against D Phillips

As the song goes 'Oh what a night' would be  a good way of describing a pleasant and very competitive evening of bowls.

Before the break Alan Marshall lead his block to a very good win against B Saunders. Len Thurston at lead yet again had an excellent game giving a building block to Ken and Alan to build on. This was so important as it put the pressure on the Wymondham skip to chase the game rather than control it. With Connaught 18-13 up after 16 ends they were in control but Brian Saunders kept the pressure on right until the end to pick up 4 shots on the last 3 ends but Connaught showed enough resilience to hang on.

Ralph Ramm's block had the ability to win this game but were always chasing the game. Moira Eades had a steady game and Ralph Ramm drew well to compete with the Wymondham skip. Steve Hall hit a poor patch for several ends allowing Mary Fisher to gain confidence and to position her woods to give the Wymondham skip the advantage. Connaught dug in and were competitive but despite picking 5 up on the last two ends it was too much too late.

After the break Joe Li-Rocchi had a baptism of fire against the England international Chris Mann. With Joyce Hazel finding difficulty in adjusting to the mat Connaught went 7-0 down after 4 ends and 11-2 down after 6 ends. Heather Winup changed to two with Joyce leading and this settled the Connaught triple who became more competitive. Joyce Hazel was steady at lead, Heather Winup played some excellent shots at two allowing Joe Li-Rocchi to compete against Chris Mann. Although the heaviest loss of the night it is very difficult to play against somebody with the ability and skill of Chris.

The drama of the evening came from Alison Rush's triple. Despite Ron Maddern not having his best night it was a very competitive encounter. Phil King had what can only be described as a 'superb' night at number 2 allowing Alison to have the confidence to compete against Wymondham's skip and England international Deb Phillips. In a low scoring game it was nip and tuck all the way through with Connaught managing to keep the narrow lead most of the way through. After 16 ends Connaught led 11-9. With the other game finished everybody watched this encounter intensely. Wymondham managed to pick a 1 up on a very close 17^th end. Connaught held 2 with Wymondham's last wood to come down and they had nothing in the head and not much on the mat. Deb Phillips showed why she is an England international and sent a perfect wood down with a slight run to nestle in-between the two Connaught woods to hold shot by millimetres. With one wood to come Alison only needed to touch the holding shot and Connaught would have taken the end and deservedly won the game. With the hall quiet Alison, to Wymondham's relief, missed the shot to give Wymondham victory.

The moral of the evening is that to beat a talented team like Wymondham every shot and every end counts and all players have to perform to the highest level. Although Connaught lost 2-8 they only lost by 9 shots overall. Connaught can be very proud of their performance. To summarise the night a Connaught skip was overheard to say, 'I may of lost but I was very proud of my own performance'. If Connaught can battle and play like this there is no reason why we should not improve on previous seasons results.

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