Round 5 of the Super League, due to be played on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, was totally washed out by the weather. Marauders & Meteors had to move their match from Tuesday to Friday morning and Monarchs & Minotaurs moved from Wednesday to Thursday evening.
Monarchs v Minotaurs proved to be an eventful match with Keith Nott having to be substituted at the break with a twisted knee, which swelled up painfully, and Mike Wigg taking a nasty tumble. Minotaurs are still considering whether to take an illegal substitution in doubles to the Court for Arbitration in Sport – if they can find the ££££££££££ they will need in lawyers’ fees! Oh! – and there was some pétanque played. Roger Griffin and Keith Nott saw a 7-0 lead nearly overtaken by Barney and Carol Maroney, before scoring a 4 and 2 to win 13-6. Roger Green and Wiggy had a similar game with Peter Kensett and Rose Fiera, who was pointing really well, before stretching ahead to win 13-7.
After the break, Minotaurs Peter and Rose took an early lead against substitute Mike Jones and Roger Griff but the Monarchs pair put on a spurt and won 13-5. Monarchs Roger Green and Wiggy were caught twice by Barney and Carol, but eventually won 13-6. The final result was 4-0 to the Monarchs (52-24).
Friday morning saw Marauders finally take on Meteors. As this was a alongside the normal Friday roll-up, there was a small but knowledgeable crowd (they think) and the play generally matched the sparkling weather. They were treated to elegant pointing and brutal shooting some of which actually landed on target!
And so, to the scores. On piste one, Marauders Phil Roberts and Carol (“Wasn’t she playing last night?) Maroney went into a substantial early lead but Ash Seath and Katrina Munro clawed their way back and eventually ran out winners 13-10. Meanwhile on piste 3 Gill Clark and Keith Thomas got their noses in front and went on to win against Meteors Richard King and Melys Phinnemore by 13-5. All square then at the half point.
Ash and Katrina got off to a good start for Meteors on piste 3 and although Keith and Gill staged a comeback, Meteors went on to win 13-7. The final match on piste 1 went down to the wire. Marauders Phil and Carol were always in the lead but Richard and Melys refused to lie down and came back at Marauders. With Marauders having game on the floor at 12-11, Marauders managed to move the cosh to give 2 points to Meteors which they were unable to retrieve going down 11-13 in what was a thrilling match and much appreciated by the aforesaid knowledgeable crowd. So…an honourable draw and a very enjoyable encounter for players and spectators alike.
