The Men’s Triples Lawn Bowls team claimed the first ever Scottish medal in the event in spectacular style against Australia at Broadbeach Bowls Club.
Darren Burnett, Ronnie Duncan and Derek Oliver were neck and neck with the hosts for most of the game, only claiming a definite lead in the 17th end which they capitalised on and bowled out to win in the 18th.
The men played two games back-to-back today; first defeating Norfolk Island 20-8 this morning to claim their spot in the final; and then beating the home nation in a nail-biting game which ended 19-14.
Skip Burnett cracked a broad smile as he played his last bowl, claiming three more points and a comfortable win for himself and his teammates.
Darren, currently taking part in his fifth Commonwealth Games, and winner of the gold medal for Men’s Singles and Fours at Glasgow 2014, said: “It’s an amazing feeling to win. Australia’s Men’s Triples is an absolutely class team and we knew the final was going to be tough – but it’s probably the very final that everyone here wanted to see.
“It came down to a couple of big bowls for us at just the right time, and it really could have gone either way… I’m just glad it went our way!
“The crowd have been great. They’ve been so noisy and supportive – even though they were shouting for Australia in the final they were still very fair which is encouraging. We had some incredible Scottish support out here with us and they were with us the whole way so that was great. Our sport is a quiet one, so the crowds really give that amazing atmosphere which just can’t be beaten.”
“When we won, I almost did a high jump! But don’t worry, I’m not going to aim to compete for that in 2022 – I’ll stick to bowls for now.”
Later in the day, reigning Commonwealth Games Pairs champions, Alex Marshall and Paul Foster sailed through their semi-final against Malta, winning 18-8. The Men’s Pairs will take on Wales tomorrow in the final at 09:00hrs (00:00 UK time), which will decide whether they end the competition with a gold or silver medal.
In other preliminary games of the day, Scotland’s Mixed B2/B3 Pairs beat New Zealand 23-5, and the B6/B7/B8 Open Triples took on England and were defeated 10-18. Both teams will be in action tomorrow for their last preliminary games with the Mixed Pairs playing Australia at 12:25hrs (03:15hrs UK time), and the Open Triples playing South Africa at 20:00hrs (11:00hrs UK time).
The preliminary rounds for Women’s Pairs, Men’s Fours, Women’s Triples, and Men’s Singles will also get underway.