Guernsey Tigers denied draw by Davies' final bowl

ROSS DAVIES produced the best shot of the day with the final bowl to earn Jersey the junior inter-insular honours. His shot securing effort denied Todd Priaulx, who had played excellently, the win needed to earn Guernsey Tigers a draw.

It was heartbreaking for the hosts who had performed so well with five new caps - Connor and Sophie Rabey, Chris and Marie Staples and Blair Howitt - in their number.

The inter-insular comprised one fours, two triples, five pairs and six singles.

Guernsey ended the first session with a 4-2 lead after a double triples success, with Jersey's experienced fours team winning their rubber.

All three Sarnian teams started off strongly, scoring on the first end, but the four consisting of Marie and Chris Staples, Mike Le Page and skip Will Ceillam were able to hold their Jersey counterparts until the eighth end when the more experienced team got the better of them.

Both Guernsey triples played very well, out-bowling their opposition, with consistent bowling from the newly capped players who led.

In the following pairs, Rachel MacDonald, recently crowned women's under-25 British Isles singles champion, and Scott Ruderham (Jersey under-25 champion) proved too strong for Howitt and Mahy. However, the 16-5 score did not reflect the spirited performance of the two younger members of the Guernsey squad.

The new Sarnian faces undoubtedly proved that they deserved their places in the pairs by performing well under pressure.

Sophie Rabey partnered with Alderney's Ceillam made a great comeback from 5-8 down to win 25-11.

Marie Staples and Le Page, together with Connor Rabey and Bichard, secured victories early on, both taking the lead 8-0 over their Jersey counterparts.

Despite a promising scoreline of 10-6 to Guernsey heading into the final session, they got a taste of their own medicine after snatched the victory away from Jersey the previous year in the singles matches.

Despite Le Page's convincing victory over the experienced Ruderham, the other five home players struggled to overcome their Jersey counterparts.

All eyes were, therefore, on the Priaulx-Davies rubber and it proved to be a classic with both raising their games and producing some first-class bowling.

Priaulx looked to have the victory in his sights with one front and back toucher to secure the two shots needed, but Davies sat on Priaulx's back bowl to secure the shot for the overall win.