West Mon Game Washed Out - Weds 2nd July 2008

The Royal's home game against Beaufort became a victim of the unseasonal weather when torrential rain flooded the War Memorial Park green forcing the game to be abandoned with just two ends being played.

MBA Run Continues With Another Fine Victory - Sat. 14th June 2008  

Llanhilleth BC  74  Rhymney Royal BC  80

Unbeaten after their opening two matches in the MBA Division 3, the Royal bowlers made their second visit of the season to Llanhilleth BC where they knew a result would be hard to come by having won their previous match on their green by 11 shots. This MBA contest lived up to expectations with the result not decided until the last end. Royal skip J.C. Evans and his rink of T. Ryan, P. White and C. O'Brien bowled steadily throughout their match against skip Brian Green and his bowlers opening up a 6 - 9 lead after 9 ends extending it to 9 - 17 after 15 before securing a 16 - 24 success. Royal acting captain and skip A. Jenkins with D. Hann, K.R. Evans and R. Williams held a single shot advantage after 12 ends at 11 - 12 against Lee Bowen's bowlers but could not sustain it and slipped to a 21 - 17 defeat dropping two lots of three shots over the last few ends. Visiting skip J. Watkins' luck continues to desert him as his rink succumbed to another defeat against Llanhilleth's Mike Blanche and his bowlers. The visitors found themselves 13 - 5 down after 12 ends but could not make any inroads into the home rinks lead and suffered another 21 - 12 reverse. The last rink to finish was that of Royal skip P. Cosh with K. Bartlett, C. Patten and J. Doyle in battle against Tom Tranter and his men. With the aggregate score showing in favour of the home side, it took a strong finish by the visitors to move from 16 - 16 after 18 ends to claim 11 shots over the last 3 ends and record a 16 - 27 win giving the Royal a 6 shot aggregate victory at 74 - 80 and the 10 MBA league points that go with it.   

Royal Pipped In Top Of The Table Clash - Weds. 11th June 2008

RTB (Ebbw Vale) BC  69  Rhymney Royal BC  60

Rhymney Royal bowlers made the short journey to Ebbw Vale looking to consolidate their position at the top of the West Mon League but found the home side, with their galaxy of stars, in uncompromising form. Had the visitors just a small dose of luck then perhaps the result could have been different but a win has to be earned! Royal skip P. Cosh with K. Bartlett, captain N. James and J. Doyle appeared to be well in control against international R. Price and his bowlers. 9 - 14 up after 15 ends and the result seemed a foregone conclusion but 9 shots picked up whilst conceding just a single by the home rink almost cost the visitors dearly but they held on to win at 14 - 15. Likewise visiting skip A. Jenkins with D. Hann, R. Withers and R. Williams hung on over the final few ends to establish a 18 - 19 victory over RTB's R. Silcox and his bowlers. A fascinating contest took place on rink 6 where Royal skip J.C. Evans and his father K.R. Evans together with T. Ryan and D. Morgan were up against the home rink skippered by brother J.K. Evans and his bowlers. No family favours this time as J.K. stormed into an impressive 15 - 4 lead at midway only to see the visitors pull back to 16 - 14 with 3 ends to go but four shots picked up on the 16th end put paid to any thoughts of a Royal win as they went down 20 - 16. The last  Royal rink skippered by J. Watkins with A. James, I. Prosser and P. White suffered another defeat against the RTB rink of P. Haydon. The home bowlers took an early lead at 9 - 3 at midway and cruised through to a comfortable 17 - 10 success. Although the rinks were shared at 2 - 2, it was the home side who picked up the winning points with a nine shots aggregate victory at 69 - 60 leaving the visitors to rue over a missed opportunity to regain top spot in the West Mon league.

Royal Win Close Encounter - Sat. 7th. June 2008

Rhymney Royal BC  77  Cwm Welfare BC  69

The fixture list brought together these two sides for the third time already this season with the Royal having won the previous two but when MBA league points are at stake, Cwm bowlers often rise to the occasion and this match was no different. Rhymney Royal skip J.C. Evans with his rink of T. Ryan, K.R. Evans and lead D. Morgan found themselves trailing by a single shot after 12 ends to the visiting rink of skip D. Williams. They trailed even further after 15 ends showing a deficit of 14 - 17 but the last six ends brought 13 shots to the home rink whilst they conceded just a single to give them an emphatic 27 - 18 success. Home skip P. Cosh with K. Bartlett, C. Patten and J. Doyle were equally successful against Cwm's Richie Price and his bowlers. The home men were always in control and registered a good 22 - 14 victory. Not so successful was the rink skippered by the Royal's A. Jenkins, supported by D. Hann, W. Dearth and R. Williams. They found it a real tussle against the visiting rink of Justin Prior. The visitors appeared to be able to keep their noses in front throughout the close fought match resulting in a four shot win at 14 - 18. Royal skip John Watkins with A. James, captain N. James and P. White opened up an early advantage against Dai Badcock's bowlers but they could not sustain the pressure and fell to a 14 - 19 defeat. With the rink honours shared at 2 - 2 and an aggregate score of 77 - 69, the Royal side realised just how close the game was but it meant 10 useful points for the home side and another WIN for their efforts - the third against the same opposition this season. 

Royal Bowlers Open Account With Impressive Win - Sat. 31st May 2008

Crickhowell BC  57  Rhymney Royal BC  93  

This opening fixture of the Monmouthshire League Division 3 brought together two sides who have had contrasting fortunes over recent weeks with the Rhymney bowlers being eliminated from the Carruthers Shield whilst their opponents Crickhowell have progressed comfortably to the knockout stages of the same competition so an intriguing battle lay in store with the sides having only met in a friendly on a previous occasion. The home side opened strongly and adapted quickly to establish a 22 - 10 aggregate lead after 6 ends with only the rink of Royal skip J.C. Evans making any impression holding a narrow 4 - 6 advantage against his opposing skip Phil Reed and his bowlers. But things can change rapidly in a game and this contest was no exception and by the 12th end the Royal bowlers had opened up an impressive 30 - 48 aggregate score with some sublime bowling across all four rinks. Evans and his rink of T. Ryan, N. Protheroe and C. O'Brien had built up a 7 - 17 lead which they extended to 10 - 27 before registering a resounding 11 - 34 win. Equally impressive was the Royal rink of skip P. Bernard, K.R. Evans, W. Dearth and C. Patten who turned an early deficit of 9 - 5 into an excellent 13 - 25 victory against home skip Peter Stahl and his bowlers. Not to be outdone by his team-mates, Royal skip A. Jenkins with his rink of D. Hann, R. Withers and R. Williams found themselves sharing the spoils at 5 - 5 after 9 ends in their battle against Crickhowell's Tim Rees but unhurried, consistent bowling saw the visitors gain a 10 - 20 victory. The closest contest of the afternoon saw the Royal rink skippered by J. Watkins come up against the home rink of Stephen Toms. The lead constantly changed hands throughout this game and saw the score at 13 - 13 after 15 ends. The visitors were hoping to follow the example being set by their colleagues on the other rinks but Toms and his bowlers applied the pressure over the closing ends to gain a solitary home rink success at 23 - 14. A 36 shots aggregate win for the Rhymney bowlers and 12 points away from home in their first fixture will hopefully set them up for further success in this challenging Monmouthshire League.        

 Royal Bowlers Top West Mon League - Thursday 29th May 2008

Congratulations to the Rhymney Royal bowlers who sit proudly at the top of the West Mon. League despite having last night's game against Nantyglo cancelled due to a waterlogged green. Let's keep it going?  

Royal Win In Vain - Sat. 24th May 2008

Rhymney Royal BC  83  Cwm Welfare BC  65

  Cwm Welfare bowlers made the journey to Rhymney Royal's War Memorial Park green knowing that only a win would be sufficient to keep alive their aspirations of qualifying from the group stages of this season's WBA Carruthers Shield tournament whereas the hosts only had their pride at stake having lost all chance of further progress by losing their two previous games in the competition. The visitors opened strongly with captain and skip Justin Prior leading the way against the Royal skip K. Bartlett and his rink. Prior built up a 6 - 9 lead after 9 ends only to see the home side hit a purple patch over the next seven ends and place themselves in a good position at 16 - 11. But the Cwm bowlers put in a strong finish picking up ten shots whilst only conceding a single to gain an important 17 - 21 success. Royal skip A. Jenkins and his rink were always playing catch-up against the Cwm rink skippered by Dai Badcock. The Cwm bowlers opened up a 7 - 14 lead at midway and remained in control until the end where they established a well-earned 14 - 19 result. The home rink of skip P. Cosh, K.R. Evans, C. Patten and J. Doyle picked up a six on the third end in their match against Cwm's J. Williams and his bowlers and it provided the springboard for them to go on and complete the job with a 26 - 13 scoreline with some fine bowling. The final Royal rink of skip J.C. Evans with T. Ryan, N. James and C. O'Brien had an early scare against the visiting rink of D. Williams. The home bowlers found themselves at 5 - 5 after 6 ends but soon shook themselves into action to steadily build up the shots in creating a winning 26 - 13 score. Although the rinks were shared at 2 - 2 it was the home side who claimed the game with an eighteen shot aggregate winning margin and denied the Cwm Welfare bowlers the opportunity of making it into the knockout stages of this prestigious competition.    

Further Success For Royal Bowlers - Weds. 21st. May 2008 

Llanhilleth BC  52.25  Rhymney Royal BC  64   

 Llanhilleth and District played host to Rhymney Royal in this West Mon. League fixture and found the visitors in determined form gaining a narrow victory by some 8 aggregate shots (11.75 on adjustment) on an excellent playing surface offering plenty of swing on both hands. Having already defeated the hosts earlier in the season, the Royal bowlers were well aware of the danger of complacency against a side who always seem to bowl well at home and this match was no different. Llanhilleth skip Brian Green was involved in a close game against Royal skip K. Bartlett and his bowlers with the lead constantly changing hands. The home rink built up a 6 - 2 lead after 6 ends only to find themselves trailing at 9 - 6 after 9 ends. The home side fought back to establish a 14 - 10 advantage with 3 ends to go but the visitors did enough over the remaining ends to share the spoils at 14 - 14. Not so fortunate was Royal skip P. Cosh against the home rink skippered by Mike Blanche. Despite playing with a man short the home rink took the lead after the opening ends and held on to secure a 15 - 11 win which on adjustment showed the narrowest of wins at 11.25 - 11. Home captain and skip Tom Tranter came up against Royal skip A. Jenkins and his bowlers and found the visitors in good form. They opened up a 0 - 5 lead after the opening ends and pressed home their advantage to lead 6 - 11 at midway before extending it to a 14 - 17 winning score. The remaining Royal rink of skip J.C.  Evans with T. Ryan, C. Patten and C. O'Brien were involved in a close fought battle with Llanhilleth's Lee Bowen and his bowlers. Very little separated the sides after 12 ends with the visitors holding a narrow 10 - 12 lead but the visitors put in a strong finish to win 13 - 22 with some big scores over the closing ends. Two rinks to one win with the other drawn in favour of the visitors translated into a further 11 points to add to their impressive start to the season for the Rhymney Royal bowlers in the West Mon. League      

Royal Hopes Dashed By Llanwern - Sat. 17th. May 2008

Llanwern BC  75  Rhymney Royal BC  63  

 Rhymney Royal hopes of making progress in this year's  Carruthers Shield tournament were all but ended with this 4 rinks defeat to Llanwern on a heavy and unpredictable bowling surface.Although the visitors battled hard to get into the game, the home sides familiarity with the playing surface paid dividends as they claimed the spoils by a twelve shots aggregate winning margin. Royal skip P. Cosh and his rink of K.R. Evans, captain N. James and J. Doyle battled well against home skip A. Smith and his bowlers. Picking up 7 shots on the 10th end put the visitors into the lead but they could not hold it over the closing ends and slipped to a 21 - 18 reverse. In similar fashion Royal skip A Jenkins with his rink of D. Hann, P. White and R. Williams shared the score at 12 - 12 after 15 ends against Llanwern's D. Barnes but again they could not hold on the long jacks and succumbed to a 18 - 14 defeat. Home skip B. Gatehouse was involved in a real tussle with the Royal's K. Bartlett and his bowlers. With the scores tied at 8 - 8 after 12 ends the home rink picked up the required shots over the final ends to secure a hard earned 16 - 13 win. The final Royal rink skippered by J.C. Evans with C. O'Brien, I. Prosser and J. Watkins found themselves 17 - 9 down after 16 ends against the home rink of M. Perrett but although the visitors picked up 7 shots on the last two ends it was not enough to overhaul the home score and they suffered a 20 - 18 defeat to complete a miserable afternoon's bowling which effectively ended their interest in this year's competition. Full credit to the home side who battled well across all rinks to gain their two points which keeps alive their aspirations.  

Royal Maintain Impressive Start

Rhymney Royal BC  66  Ebbw Vale Welfare BC  51 - Weds 14th May 2008    

Rhymney Royal bowlers maintained their impressive start to the season with this hard earned victory against a plucky Ebbw Vale Welfare side at the War Memorial Park. The match started in warm, sunny conditions but ended with a chilly breeze making for uncomfortable bowling conditions. Visiting skip John Ridley opened well against the home rink of skip J. Watkins with I.Prosser, captain N. James and C. O'Brien leading at mid way with a 6 - 8 scoreline but the home rink applied themselves better over the closing ends with some fine bowling to create a 16 - 13 win. In similar fashion, Ebbw Vale's skip Ron Hayward and his bowlers led the home rink of P. Cosh with K.R. Evans, C. Patten and J. Doyle by a single shot at 9 - 10 after 12 ends but again the home rink came good over the remaining ends to seal a 19 - 13 victory. Royal skip A. Jenkins made a welcome return to the green with a well earned victory over the visiting rink of skip Jeff. Short. The home rink which included T. Ryan, P. White and R. Williams led throughout the game building upon their early 7 - 2 lead to extend to 14 - 8 before registering a 17 - 11 success. The remaining Royal rink skippered by K. Bartlett with A. James, N. Protheroe and D. Morgan was involved in a real tussle with skip Colin Salkeld and his bowlers. The visitors led 2 - 8 after 6 ends and 10 - 11 after 12 ends before the home rink took the lead and held it until the last end. With the score poised at 14 - 13 to the home side, the visitors held three shots before the final wood of the game by K. Bartlett reduced it to a single and a final scoreline of 14 - 14. A 15 shots aggregate win with three rinks won and one rink drawn gave the Royal bowlers 13 more points to add to their West Mon. league total.  

Rhymney Royal Gain First Win In Shield - Sat. 10th May 2008

 Rhymney Royal BC  85  Llanhilleth BC  57  

 Llanhilleth were the visitors to the War Memorial Park for the Royal's first home game in the WBA Carruthers Shield group match. Having narrowly lost their opening group match the previous week, the home side were looking for home advantage to play its part in securing a win but a spirited Llanhilleth side, short of two bowlers, had other ideas. The visitors opened strongly and after 9 ends found themselves leading by 2 rinks to 1 with the other tied at 9 - 9. Royal skip J.C. Evans with I. Prosser, captain N. James and C. O'Brien found themselves trailing by a single shot at 5 - 6 against skip Lee Bowen's bowlers. The deficit widened to 10 - 17 after 15 ends before the home rink succumbed to a 16 - 21 defeat. Fortunately for the home side, on adjustment the final score turned into a 16 - 15.75 victory since they were against a three man visiting rink. Llanhilleth captain and skip Tom Tranter found himself with a man short against home skip J. Watkins with his rink of T. Ryan, P. White and R. Williams and struggled to gain any momentum against the home sides' accurate bowling. After 9 ends the home rink had opened up a 13 - 4 lead which they extended to 23 - 6 after 15 ends before gaining a comprehensive 28 - 11 victory made even more emphatic by the 28 - 8.25 adjustment. Returning Royal skip K. Bartlett and his rink of A. James, R. Withers and D. Morgan were made to work hard for their success against Llanhilleth's Brian Green and his bowlers. 9 - 9 after 9 ends became 14 - 12 after 15 ends before the home rink gained that important 20 - 18 advantage to secure the win. The fourth home rink of skip P. Cosh, K.R. Evans, N. Protheroe and J. Doyle trailed the bowlers of skip Mike Blanche for most of the match until the 17th end when 5 shots dropped by the visitors enabled the home side to pull back to 14 - 14. A further 3 shots picked up on the 18th end gave the home rink the advantage at 17 - 14 and they did not look back as they secured a 21 - 15 win in an exciting contest. A 28 shot aggregate difference  and a fortunate 4 - 0 rinks victory earned the Royal side their first 2 points for a win in their Carruthers Shield group.             

Royal Bag Maximum Points - Weds. 7th. May 2008

 Cwm Welfare BC  49  Rhymney Royal BC  98  

Rhymney Royal opened their West Mon. league account with a maximum haul of 14 points against a much changed Cwm side. The clubs are no strangers to each other and will meet four times this season in cup and league fixtures but this first meeting belonged very much to the visitors. Visiting skip J.C. Evans with his rink of C. O'Brien, C. Patten and I. Prosser opened strongly building up a rapid 3 - 15 advantage after 6 ends against Cwm's Justin Prior. The Royal bowlers continued to add misery to the hosts by steadily adding to their advantage with some fine bowling to run out 6 - 29 winners. In similar fashion Royal skip K.R. Evans followed his son's example and aided by A. James, W. Dearth and P. White established a commanding 10 - 19 lead after 12 ends against the home rink skippered by Charlie Jones. Again the visitors pressed home their advantage to claim a 13 - 24 victory. Cwm skip Dai Badcock and his bowlers held a useful lead of 8 - 3 after 6 ends against the Royal rink with P. Cosh as skip but five shots dropped on the eighth end saw the visitors take the lead 8 - 10 and surge away to hold at 9 - 17 after 12 ends before extending it to a winning 13 - 23 scoreline. Royal skip J. Watkins with his rink of J. Doyle, R. Withers and D. Morgan found their game against Cwm's Richie Price and his bowlers a much tighter affair. At mid way the scores were level at 10 - 10 but the visitors dug deep to slowly build up the shots to 12 - 16 before extending to a winning 17 - 22 score giving the Rhymney Royal bowlers a clean sweep of the rinks with a 14 points maximum and a 49 shot winning margin in this first West Mon. fixture of the season.    

First Match Defeat in Carruthers Shield - Sat. 3rd May 2008  

Pontyfelin BC  75   Rhymney Royal BC  72

 Monmouthshire Division 3 Champions Pontyfelin Bowling Club played host to Rhymney Royal in this WBA Carruthers Shield Group match which resulted in a very close game decided on the last end. The home side remained unbeaten in the league last season whilst the visitors were relegated from Division 2 so an intriguing battle was in store. The home rink with skip Ray David to the fore opened up a useful 7 - 3 lead after 6 ends against the Royal skip J.C. Evans and his bowlers but continued pressure by the visitors saw them gain a 9 - 10 advantage after 12 ends which they extended to a winning 14 - 19 at the end with some good accurate bowling. Not so fortunate was Royal skip D. Hann with J. Doyle, C. Patten and D. Morgan who came up against home captain and skip Mike Banks and his bowlers. The visitors found themselves trailing 19 - 6 after 15 ends but a spirited fight back over the closing ends was not enough to close the gap entirely and they went down 25 - 15. In similar fashion the Royal's K.R. Evans and his rink of A. James, W. Dearth and R. Withers found the going tough against Pontyfelin skip Glyn Parry's rink. The visitors trailed throughout before suffering a 21 - 13 reverse. The last rink to finish was that of Royal skip P. Cosh with his rink of T. Ryan, N. Protheroe and R. Williams against Mansel Young's bowlers. In a close battle with neither side giving up shots easily the visitors had the edge throughout the game and built up their lead steadily by usually single shots. They held the advantage at 9 - 17 after 15 ends and, with two ends to go, they needed to score six to claim the aggregate win. Although they picked up 4 shots on the penultimate end, the home rink were in no mood to concede defeat and twice moved the jack on the final end to claim a single shot win. Despite going down 15 - 25 on the rink, Pontyfelin claimed the spoils with a winning 75 - 72 aggregate score in what had been a very exciting contest between two evenly matched sides.   

Royal Success in Final Friendly - Thursday 1st May 2008

Cross Keys Welfare B C  62   Rhymney Royal B C   64  

 Rhymney Royal bowlers made a welcome return to the Waun Fawr Park where 1st. Division Cross Keys Welfare played host in this friendly encounter to bring to an end their early season  warm-up matches before cup and league games start and the visitors gained a narrow 2 shot victory for their efforts. The fact that the rinks were shared at two rinks each showed the closeness of the game with the hosts making a late surge to almost snatch the result. Home skip Russell Bryant gained the most emphatic win of the evening against the Royal's Julian Evans and his bowlers. After six ends the visitors were leading 3 - 6 but that marked the end of their scoring as the home rink surged away with some fine bowling to register a 24 - 6 victory. Royal skip D. Hann with his rink of G. Morris, captain N. James and R. Withers found themselves 15 - 3 down at mid way against Andrew Bushell and his bowlers but dug deep into their resources to fight back over the second half to come within a single shot only to see victory elude them at 17 - 16. The other two visiting rinks registered more defined wins with the Royal's skip A. Jenkins and his rink of R. Evans, W. Dearth and J. Doyle building the shots up steadily to record an excellent 6 - 21 win against the experienced Norman Bushell's bowlers. The remaining rink saw the Royal skip P. Cosh with T. Ryan, N. Protheroe and R. Williams hold off a late comeback from the home captain and skip Simon Bushell and his bowlers to gain a 15 - 21 success meaning that the rinks were shared but the aggregate victory going to the visitors who remain unbeaten at this stage of the season.    

Friendly Win For Royal - Sat. 26th April 2008

Blaina B C   74   Rhymney Royal B C   100  

 Blaina Bowling Club played hosts to Rhymney Royal in this hastily arranged friendly fixture played over five rinks with mixed teams. On a bright and sunny afternoon in a glorious setting, a most enjoyable game was produced in an excellent spirit with the result always in doubt until the last few ends. The visitors soon adapted to the fresh green and after nine ends had built up 31 - 40 aggregate lead with Royal skip and acting captain A. Jenkins with R. Evans, A. Weaver and R. Withers leading the way with a 8 - 15 advantage over the home rink of P. Wheeler. But anything can happen in the game of bowls! Over the next nine ends using the longer jack to their advantage, the hosts had reduced the score to 15 - 17 to finally run out 21 - 18 winners. Royal skip D. Hann and his rink of G. Morris, C. Patten and D. Morgan kept close tabs on Blaina's P. Roberts and his bowlers. They shared the spoils at 10 - 10 after 12 ends before pulling away with some fine bowling to gain a comfortable 12 - 24 victory. Likewise visiting skip J. Watkins and his rink found themselves 8 - 5 down after 9 ends against Blaina's R. Underwood before gaining five shots on the 11th end. This broke the resistence of the home bowlers who went down 15 - 21. The remaining two rinks were much tighter affairs with Royal skip J. Evans and his rink of J. Doyle, M. Patten and C. O'Brien holding a small advantage over S. Williams' bowlers with just one shot in it after 12 ends at 7 - 8 but the visitors kept up the pressure particularly over the last 3 ends to earn themselves a 11 - 18 success. Similarly the Royal's P. Cosh and his bowlers worked hard to gain a 2 shot lead at 10 - 12 after 12 ends against D. Cording before gaining a well earned 15 - 19 win. Although the Royal bowlers gained a 4 rinks to 1 victory and a 26 shot winning margin, the fine, competitive atmosphere on the green was a credit to both sides and provided valuable match experience at such an early opportunity at the start of the season.      

Royal Success In Derby Cup Game - Weds. 23rd. April 2008

Rhymney Gwent B C   49  Rhymney Royal B C   64  

 Rhymney Royal retained the Ron Collins Cup with a solid 15 shot aggregate win against local rivals Rhymney Gwent at their shared green at the War Memorial Park. With the green bowling well and the evening getting chilly both sets of bowlers produced an interesting contest with a great deal of local pride at stake. Royal acting captain A. Jenkins and his rink of D. Morgan, C. Patten and K. R. Evans opened strongly against opposing captain and skip Mal Evans and his bowlers. They quickly built up a 2 - 7 lead only to see the home Gwent rink pull back to 7 - 7 at mid way. The remaining  ends were a much closer affair with the Royal bowlers holding on to gain a 11 - 13 advantage. Not so fortunate was the rink skippered by the Royal's D. Hann with T. Ryan, J. Barry and J. Doyle. They found the bowling of Gwent skip Dorian Duggan and his rink too powerful all round and slipped to a 19 - 8 reverse. The remaining two Royal rinks ran out convincing winners with Royal skip J. C. Evans and his rink of I. Prosser, W. Dearth and C. O'Brien bowling exceptionally well, building up steadily in a good controlled manner to gain a 21 - 14 win against Les Wooldridge and his bowlers. Likewise Royal skip P. Cosh with K. Bartlett, N. Protheroe and R. Withers proved too consistent for Malcolm Siddle's bowlers and ran out 5 - 22 winners. A 3 rinks to 1 success and a 15 shot aggregate winning margin gave the Royal bowlers immense pleasure and the right to hold the Ron Collins Challenge Cup for another year.   

Friendly Win For Royal Bowlers - Saturday 19th. April.

 Rhymney Royal B C   66   New Tredegar B C   35

Rhymney Royal bowlers enjoyed an early season boost with this 31 shot victory over neighbours New Tredegar in this traditional opening friendly fixture of their 2008 campaign. With rain threatening and a cold wind swirling around the War Memorial Park, they were not the best conditions for an enjoyable game of bowls but both teams tried their best to make it as entertaining as possible. Rhymney Royal, with debutants father and son Ray and Julian Evans in their ranks, opened brightly with acting captain Adrian Jenkins skipping a rink of R. Evans, C. Patten and D. Morgan soon establishing themselves with a 11 - 2 lead after six ends against the visiting rink of Gary Lough. They extended this to 17 - 4 to finally win 24 - 4 after the game was shortened to 16 ends due to the deteriorating weather conditions. Last season's captain Peter Cosh with his rink of G. Morris, N. Protheroe and D. Lynch also built up an early lead at 6 - 1 against Brian Brown's bowlers. Although the visitors pulled back to 9 - 6 it was the home rink that ran out 18 - 7 victors with some accurate bowling in worsening conditions. The Royal rink skippered by D. Hann had their work cut out against Archie Holpin's bowlers. Although building up an early 6 - 2 lead, the visitors pulled back to 8 - 8 after 12 ends only to succumb to a single shot defeat at 10 - 9 in this truncated game. Debutant skip Julian Evans with I. Prosser, W. Dearth and C. O'Brien battled well against Gary Hook and his rink. Finding themselves 1 - 4 down after 3 ends, they stuck to their task and established a 14 - 9 advantage after 12 ends only to see victory snatched from them, again by a single shot, at 14 - 15 on the last end. Although the weather made bowling difficult, full credit must be given to all bowlers for making this friendly such an entertaining game.  

Green Open: The Green opened on Saturday 12th. April and is in very good condition. Although showing some bare patches, we are assured that all is being put right over the next few days. With the invasion of our big eared four-legged friends hopping about, it gives new meaning to "bunny" on the green!

Wedding Bells! The President, Officers and members of Rhymney Royal Bowling Club would like to extend their sincere best wishes to Club Captain Neil James and his partner Maggie on their forthcoming marriage to be held in the Dominican Republic. Congratulations to you both!

Mr. E. Burgess: It is with deep regret that we announce the passing away of our life member Mr. Eddie Burgess. Eddie, of 81, Tan Y Bryn, Rhymney, served the club as Secretary in 1995-1996; three times as captain in 1981, 88 and 89 and was a member of the management committee on a number of occasions. His funeral service will be held in St. Davids Church, Rhymney on Wednesday 9th. April 2008 at 1.45pm followed by committal at Llwydcoed Crematorium at 2.40pm. Floral tributes should be sent to the church. Our condolences go out to his family. 

   2008 Pre-season Meeting: All members should note that the pre-season meeting of the Rhymney Royal Bowls Club will take place on Tuesday 8th. April 2008 at the Farmers Arms, Rhymney, commencing at 7.30pm. Please make every effort to attend.

2008 Club Tour - With the start of the season fast approaching, it is important that all members and guests intending going on the club tour to New Quay, Cornwall, inform the secretary of their intentions as soon as possible so that arrangements can be made for travel and accommodation. The tour will be from Friday 12th. September until Monday 15th. September 2008 playing two matches in New Quay.