England's teen star outshines Le Ber

MATT LE BER had an unprintable initial response to his 21-9 defeat at the hands of England's 16-year-old sensation Matt Coppen in the final of the British Isles under-25 singles championship at Sighthill in Edinburgh yesterday. His second thoughts were more considered: 'I just couldn't find it and Matt played much better than I did. It's as simple as that.'

It should be pointed out that the match was not nearly as one-sided as the scoreline might suggest, though Coppen, from Royston in Hertfordshire, started with a four, and was 5-0 up after two ends.

Le Ber, an accounts administrator with Northern Trust, fought back over the next six ends to trail by one, 7-8, after eight ends, and was still in with a shout after 12 ends, when Coppen led, 13-9.

'I was playing quite well one way, but not the other - just as I did against Jersey's Jamie MacDonald in the semi-finals,' Le Ber said.

'The difference was I was able to get myself out of trouble yesterday - but not today.'

Suddenly, three ends later, Coppen was home and dry.

After scoring two trebles and a double, the young Englishman had won not only the junior singles title but the NatWest Trophy for overall performance in the championships.

'To be honest, I'm not all that disappointed,' said Le Ber.

'I didn't play well enough to give me that luxury. I wish I'd played better, of course, but if you don't play well, you just don't deserve to win.'

Garry Collins, Bowls Guernsey's Chief Executive, was quick to point out that Le Ber has qualified for the British championships four times in the last four years, and has appeared in three finals and lifted one title (the pairs, with Daniel de la Mare, in 2005).