On Wednesday, July 12, Tenby Sharks welcomed local rivals Saundersfoot in what is the ‘El Classico’ of the Pembrokeshire League.

There was more significance with this fixture as the visitors were undefeated and were currently sitting top of the table.

The Tenby men knew that this was a must-win game if they were to challenge for the league championship, and with a few of the regular players unavailable, they knew this was a difficult task in front of them.

The Sharks produced what was an outstanding performance, taking all 14 points, which has now put them back in the mix for the league. The next game for the Sharks is away to Pendine tomorrow (Saturday) at 2 pm.

Rink scores (Tenby first, Saundersfoot skips only) were as follows:

F. Broomhead, B. Cloake, P. Diment, K. Peregrine 24; B. Dennis 14.

D. Rees, D. Court, C. Court, A. Muskett 19; S. Poole 13.

C. White, E. Day, P. Day, R. Thomas 22; M. Dennis 18.

D. Peregrine, P. Hooper, M. Jackson, J. Roberts 34; S. Dick 15.

Five Arches 76 (4 pts) Pembroke Dock 88 (10)

On a sunny Wednesday night, the Five Arches team travelled to the Dock to play their latest league fixture. Over the last couple of seasons, these games have been tight affairs and this one proved no exception.

On rink one, Tony Rose stepped up to skip for the first time this season, and aided and abetted by John, Neil and Tony P, they pulled off a fantastic win against county president Richard Hissey’s rink. They led by 13 shots to six at 10 ends and maintained their composure to win by 20 shots to 15.

On rink two, Simon and his rink of Viv, Dave and Dai maintained their fine start to the season with yet another win. Comfortably ahead after 11 ends by 18 shots to nine, they held on to edge the Pembroke Dock rink by 22 shots to 20.

With a new front end pairing of Turbo and Inch, Webbie and Beano initially struggled against Richard Jones and his boys on tricky rink three. Trailing by 25 shots to four after 11 ends, they staged a huge comeback in the second half, winning seven of the remaining 10 ends to finish losing by 33 shots to 20.

Finally on rink four, Ashley and his rink of Mike, Jon and Steve had a close fought game against Dave Halward’s four. One shot behind after 10 ends, they could never quite close the gap and lost by 19 shots to 14.

Overall a fine performance. To lose by only a handful of shots against Pembroke Dock on their own green is good.

Rink scores (Five Arches first, Pembroke Dock skips only):

John Rees, Tony Powling, Neil Dickinson, Tony Rose 20; Richard Hissey 16.

Viv John, Dave Lloyd, Dai Spencer, Simon Evans 22; Matthew John 20.

Tom Lewis, Peter Thomas, Huw Nicholas, Jon Webb 20; Richard Jones 33.

Mike Day, Jon Hubbard, Steve Davies, Ashley Hooper 14; Dave Halward 19.

Five Arches 75 (12 pts) Whitland 59 (2)

After Wednesday’s game, next up were unbeaten Whitland at home. Having been beaten by the best part of 60 shots in the reverse fixture, the Five Arches team were looking for a much improved performance.

Simon and his rink of Viv, Dave and Dai once again led from the front. Up against a strong rink skipped by Mike John, they just shaded the first half to lead by two shots and maintained a high level of play to finally win by 18 shots to 12.

Rink two saw Webbie and his rink of Ken, Inch and Beano put in a commanding performance against their opponents. They held a comfortable lead after 10 ends and increased this in the second half to run out winners by 24 shots to 13.

Ashley and his rink of Mike, Jon and Steve were on interesting rink three. In another close game, one shot separated the teams after 10 ends, however the Whitland rink proved stronger in the second half to edge the game by 17 shots to 13.

Finally on rink four, Tony and his rink of John, TP and Neil were involved in another close one. Evenly poised all the way through, the Five Arches rink trailed by two going into the final end. However, some fine play allowed them to pick up five shots and win the game by 20 shots to 17.

A great performance by the team and perhaps the highlight of the season so far.

Next game is away to St. Thomas on July 29.

Rink scores (Five Arches first, Whitland skips only);

John Rees, Tony Powling, Neil Dickinson, Tony Rose 20; Glyndwr Thomas 17.

Viv John, Dave Lloyd, Dai Spencer, Simon Evans 18; Mike John 12.

Ken Lloyd, Peter Thomas, Huw Nicholas, Jon Webb 24; Nigel Davies 13.

Mike Day, Jon Hubbard, Steve Davies, Ashley Hooper 13; Phil Wynn 17.

Forthcoming Fixtures

Wednesday, July 26, Tenby ladies will have a game against Whitland at Whitland, with a 6 pm start; Thursday, July 27, Tenby men play Haverfordwest on the Sutton Street green at 6 pm, Saturday, July 29, Tenby Five Arches men play St. Thomas away at Haverfordwest with a 2 pm start.

Gold Cup week

Sunday, July 30, will be the start of 2017 Gold Cup Week. Good luck to all men and ladies who have entered the competition. Please come along and watch some very good bowling.

During last year’s Gold Cup Week, the kitchen staff ran a daily raffle for Bloodwise. This year we will be doing a daily raffle again, and the money will be going to MIND Cymru, a mental health charity, so please could any member donate a raffle prize; we would be very grateful. Just pass it to Carol, Ken or leave it in the kitchen with a note as to who it is from so we can thank you.

Bonus Ball

The winner of last Saturday’s bonus ball was Hayley, with number 23 - congratulations.