The men’s and women’s triples and pairs teams are all still in the hunt for a top three placing in their sections with two more days of pool competition still to go.

The men’s pairs have now won seven, lost one after victories over Swaziland and the Cook Islands today. The pairing of Darren Burnett and Neil Spears feel in good form and confident this can continue.
Spears said, “We had a loss on Tuesday afternoon but two wins again yesterday so we’re in a good position.”
Burnett, who competed in the singles competition in both Melbourne and Manchester, talked about the competition so far and how they’re coping with the conditions:
“There have been a few shock results and we’ve been on the end of one of them but that’s the way it goes. We may not be doing the most energetic sport at the Games but there is a mental toughness required and we can be out there for two to two and a half hours each match and there are 11 matches for us to get through. Being out here in April has helped us prepare for the heat and we’re coping well.”
Men’s Team Leader George Sneddon said, “I consider Darren to be one of the best players around at the moment and he’s playing well with Neil so I am hoping they continue to perform. It is tough for our team getting time to gel and train together. It’s a bit like a relay team in athletics when good individual athletes come together and form a team with not a lot of preparation.”
The men’s triples were lying in sixth position before two tough matches against New Zealand and Australia today. They lost out to the Kiwis but ended on a high with a dramatic sudden-death play-off win over Australia.
Discussing why he thinks Scotland are a strong nation in bowls, Sneddon added, “Scotland, like the other home nations, have the advantage on playing on a variety of surfaces all year round when we move from outdoor to indoor and even the grasses differ in the outdoor so we are good at adapting our game.”
In the women’s section, the triples played Jersey and won 2-0. It’s proving to be a difficult pool with everyone beating each other so they must go for the victories in their two final group matches tomorrow.
Lynn Stein, playing alongside Lorraine Malloy and Michelle Cooper in the triples, is playing in her first Games and they are currently standing amongst the top teams in their pool. She said, “Tomorrow we have Niue and Northern Ireland. If we win both of those then we have a good chance of qualifying. We could have played better in a couple of games but we’re going ok.”
The women’s pairs stepped out against Papua New Guinea and Niue winning both in straights sets. The top team in each section automatically qualifies for the semis with the second and third playing in an open draw for the final spots.
The pool matches continue tomorrow and the singles competitors namely Paul Foster and Claire Johnston have one more day of practice before they begin on Saturday.