Monmouth Bowls Club travelled down Risca way to play at Pontyminster Welfare in the second round of the County Cup. Reduced availability saw Monmouth struggling to put together a side but they finally arrived with the only sixteen players available. It was no surprise then when they lost heavily. The rink of Frankie Leach, Morgan Jones, Mark Handcock and Jeff Parker being the only rink to finish in the plus. Pontyminster were well aware however that Monmouth were to return a week later to play them in the league, with a much changed side due to better availability of players. So Monmouth returned to Pontyminster on Saturday with half its side changed for their MBA League match. All four rinks got of to a good start and by half way Monmouth were 15 shots in the lead. The big shake up came over the last five ends when things changed quickly. Previous weeks winners of Mark Handcock and Jeff Parker team up with lead John Parker and skip Martin Smith to power away in the final ends to finish 24-12 winners, with John Parker playing like a man with a point to prove at the front end. Dave Stuart's rink put in a strong finish to give another good win 26-19. A spirited comeback by Pontyminster when their game was all but lost illustrates how tough things can be. A small lead of 5 shots was wiped out to see Phil Davies' rink draw with their opponents. On rink two the Pontyminster lads finished like a greyhound with its backside on fire, to pip Rex Greens' rink by a single shot. Monmouth won by 18 shots and after three games, remain unbeaten in the MBA third division. On Sunday, a warm dry day contributed to a fine competition at the third annual Monmouth Open Rinks Tournament. Generously sponsored by Brain's Brewery, the ten rinks jockeyed for position in two groups of five. Top two in each group to progress to the semi-finals. No team won all of their qualifying matches so their was no strong favourite. Group 1 winners a Monmouth rink called the "Power Rangers" met the group 2 runners up "the Lids" from Coleford in the first semi-final. The Rangers got of to a good start but a sustained period of aggressive Bowling eventually saw the Lids win 16-8. Group 2 winners the "Hornets" from Coleford met the Group 1 runners up Welfare Bowls Club from Brynmawr in the second semi-final. The younger side from Brynmawr powered to an easy win 26-2 as the sun lowered in the sky over Rockfield. The final was keenly fought by the two best sides of the day with some fine aggressive but friendly bowling. The Brynmawr team of R.Cooper, D.O'Loughlin, O.Dando and G.Congreve eventually won by 21 shots to 11. The Coleford Lids, however probably entertained the crowd best by the excitable and bubbly antics of two very fine young lady bowlers Amy Lidington and Rachael Hughes, (lead M.Morgan and skip B.Lidington) who showed many of the men how the game should be played in both skill and spirit. The winners received a cheque from Paul Weare, the Brain's Brewery Area Manager, for £200 and the runners up a cheque for £160. 3rd placed Power Rangers picked up £120, while 4th place Hornets took home £100.
