Inter Association
Friday evening saw the start of a sundrenched weekend of bowls across the county with the 2026 Inter Association Championship getting underway. South Mon lead the table after the 1st round of games as they won on 5 of the 6 rinks against East Mon at Abergavenny, picking up 20 points. Rhymney and Sirhowy also kicked off their campaign with a closely fought win over West Mon by 10 shots, picking up 18 point whilst 1 point further back are Newport & District, who secured 17 points against Easte Valley following a 14 shot win.
WLB Carruthers Shield
Another Sunny day on Saturday saw the final round of MBA matches for this years Carruther Shield, as the 14 remaining teams looked to book their places in last 32. A convincing home win for Beaufort (90-39 vs Cwmbran Park) saw them ease into the next round whilst Crosskeys ( 88-60 vs Bedwelty Park ), Panteg House ( 79-57 v Chepstow ) and Croesyceiliog ( 86-69 ) all came away with comfortable wins to put their names into the hat for next Sundays draw. RTB Ebbw Vale had to dig deep against a spirited Pontnewydd, with the visitors leading for much of the game but the home side tued the tie in the closing ends to run out 78-68 winners, whilst Llahilleth were victorious in the closest encounter of the afteoon, a 5 shot win at Pontypool Park. In the final game, Blaina overcame Newbridge but I am still awaiting the actual match result.
Congratulations to the 7 Qualifiers for the last 32 :-
Blaina
Llanhilleth
Croesyceiliog
Panteg House
RTB Ebbw Vale
Crosskeys
Beaufort
The draw for the Last 32 will take place on Sunday 31st May at Llandrindod Wells B.C.
MBA Division 1
With many of the 1st division in Carruthers action, Ynysddu and Pontymister brought forward their game following their exit from the competition last week and it was the home side Ynysddu who secured their first win of the season, with a 10-4, 8 shot win.
MBA Division 4
The leagues resumed in division 4 following a 2 week break, as Aberca continued their winning start to the season with a 10-4 win at Machen, sitting comfortably at the top of the table after just 3 games. Newport Athletic moved up into 2nd place as they collected 12 points at home to Beaufort whilst Abergavenny collected their first win of the season with a 12-2 away win at Crickhowell. The Panteg Park v Oakdale match was postponed due to the home side's Carruthers Shield involvement.
MBA Division 5
Firbank lead the way division 5, as they made it 3 from 3 with a 12-2 home win over Oakdale Welfare. Home wins for Gilwe (10-4 vs Belle Vue) and Pontymister Welfare (10-4 v PILCS) saw them both pickup their first wins of the season whilst the encounter between Gadiffaith and Caerleon finished completely level as the sides shared their points 7 each.
GBL 3 Rink - Division 1
Blackwood retued to winning ways and lead Division 1 of the 3 Rink GBL as they secured all 12 points at home to Monmouth. An 11-1 win for Crosskeys at Bedwellty Park sees them keep pace with the leads as they sit 5 points further back after 5 games. A maximum 12 point win for Croesyceiliog at RTB Ebbw Vale sees the remain 2nd in the table having played 2 games less than the leading pair. In the final game of the afteoon, a nail biting finish saw Pontymister Athletic edge Newbridge by a single shot and securing a 9-3 win.
GBL 3 Rink - Division 2
Chepstow remain top of the 2nd division having secured 7 points at Abergavenny, in a game which ended level across the board. Cwmbran Park took the opportunity to close the gap with the leaders as they took 10 of the 12 points on offer with victory against Blaina whilst Bedwas now sit 3rd in the table, as they won 10-2 on the road at Aberca.
GBL 2 Rink - Division 1
A 3rd consecutive win for Bailey Park sees them lead the way in the 2 rink GBL following their 10-0 win over Panteg House. Croesyceiliog won their Friday night encounter with Pontypool Park 10-0 but were on the receiving end of the same score against New Tredegar as they fell to defeat on the Saturday. Pontymister Athletic maintained their 100% record as they won comfortably at home to Beaufort, pick up 10 points.
GBL 2 Rink - Division 2
Two 9-1 wins for Panteg Park (Friday v Beechwood and Saturday at Oakdale) sees them head the table with a 100% record. Beechwood moved up to 3rd in table as they overcame Blackwood 8-2. The Pontymister Welfare and Bedwellty Park match was postponed as the home team had player shortages.
