Braintree & District Summer League 2009


The Braintree & District Petanque League caters for clubs in the North East of the region. There are 2 leagues, Summer commencing during April played on Wednesday evenings and Winter commencing in October played on Sundays.




BDPL 21/10/09
Feering Bell 2 visited Chequers Black for a wet finish to their last game in this year's Daniel Robinson and Son’s Braintree and District Petanque summer league. In the triples Chequers' Paul Brown, Jack Perfect-Brown and Simon Robinson started acquiring points in singles and were never threatened by the Bell triple of Dave Bird, Jack and Dave Pearse winning comfortably 13 - 4. The Brown’s retained their good form in the doubles to win 13 - 1 against Bird and Jack Pearse (the Bell's only point coming in an end with Bird using a boule he had stolen from Helen Britt who was playing in an adjacent game!). The Bell scored a consolation point in the singles with Dave Pearse beating Robinson 13 - 6.

In the adjacent game Chequers White were up against Rayne Swan 4 and were battling to avoid finishing bottom of league one. They were not successful as the Swan team of Dean Middleton, Clare Courtney and Tom Smith took the triples 13-1. Middleton and Courtney also took the doubles by storm winning 13-2. Only Neil Goodman had any success for Chequers. Playing his first game for some time he pointed excellently to outplay Smith, who is no mean singles player. Goodman had to sweat for a while after leading 12-6, Smith started to edge his way back into the game 1 point at a time until Goodman finally clinched it 13-10.

Rayne Swan 3 were visiting Feering where they needed to beat Bell 1 3-0 to pip them for second spot, and oh so nearly did.
In the triples the Swan trio won 13 – 2. Matt Waldie and Andy Stead pointed well and backed up by the shooting of Keith Flack they controlled the ends and were 12 - 0 up before Carol and Ian Barnes and Richard Evans scored their first point.
Flack defeated Ian Barnes 13 – 9 in the singles. At 4 - 0 down Barnes pulled it back to 4 - 4 and then went 8 - 4 up. Flack then made it 8 all, then 9 all before securing the win with 4 in two ends.
In the doubles Stead and Waldie were level pegging early on but the Bell pair of Carol Barnes and Evans pulled out into a lead. Swan clawed it back and the game was again level in the later stages with both sides having chances to win it. Swan missed 2 good opportunities to take the game but it ended up at 12 – 12. Swan then suffered a poor pointing end by not beating the Bell's 1st boule losing 13-12 and leaving Feering Bell 1 in second place.

 

BDPL 14/10/09
Rayne Swan 1 are this years champions of the Daniel Robinson and Sons Braintree and District petanque summer league. They were helped out considerably by their team mates Rayne Swan 4 who defeated their nearest rivals Feering Bell 1.

Swan 1, who retain their title, had an excellent 3-0 win over Colne Angel. Lee Dodge, Adam Buxton and Graham McDougall cruised through the opening triples, winning 13-1 against Simon Bird, Dee Barrow and Julie Constable. Buxton and Lee took a 6-0 lead in the doubles, but let Constable and Viv Middleton-Sams back in to level at 6all. The Swan pair then got their concentration back to pull away again and took the game 13-6. McDougall rounded the night off with a very good 13-12 win over Bird to keep the Swan team in the dominant position at the top. All then rested with the game on the adjacent piste between Swan 4 and Feering Bell 1 and it started well for the Swan. With some excellent pointing from both Clare Courtney and Tom Smith, backed up with accurate shooting from Dean Middleton, the Swan team inflicted the heaviest triples defeat of the season on the Bell team when they won 13-2. Middleton and Courtney carried on their good form in the doubles until at 12-9 up Courtney suddenly lost her form and let the opposition in. Ian and Carol Barnes didn’t miss the opportunity and took the game 13-12. It all rested on the singles and Smith was up against Bernie Wade. The game was even throughout up until 9all when Smith finally managed to pull away and took the game 13-9. The 2-1 win means that the Bell are 5 points behind with only 1 game to play so they cannot catch the leaders Rayne Swan 1.

Chequers White were at home to Rayne Swan 3 and in a very close game Bill Eve, Lloyd Hermon and Frank Britt just missed out on the opening triples 13-12. The Great Tey side were leading 11-4 when Matt Waldie for the Swan started pointing like a demon, and backed up by good shooting from Keith Flack, the game turned around. Flack killed the 'jack' 3 times to save the game and the Swan completed the comeback and sneaked a tight win.
The doubles were even until 9all when Waldie again pointed well to close the game out 13-9. Britt took a 10-5 lead in the singles and despite a minor revival by Flack held on for a 13-10 win. Swan 3 are now challenging Feering Bell 1 for the second spot in the league and they are their opponents in the final game next week.

In League 2 Onley Arms from Stisted are gunning for second place and helped their chances with a 2-1 win over Feering Bell 2.
Play started with Trevor and Nikki Blows teaming up with Tracey Austin against Dave Pearse, Jack Pearse and Dave Bird. The Onley, with Nikki Blows pointing well, were always ahead and ran out 13-5 winners.
In the singles, Trevor Blows pointed consistently to beat Jack Pearse 13-2. The doubles started with a four for Bird and Pearse. At 7-0, the Onley took their first points but the Bell built up a 12-4 lead. Excellent shooting from Daniel Blows reduced the lead to four but Bell hung on for a 13-8 win. All rests on their final game against Feering Sun.

Chequers Black, who are pushing Onley for second place, did themselves no harm with a convincing 3-0 win over Feering Sun. Jack Brown, John Perfect and Simon Robinson won the triples 13-2, father and son Paul and Jack Brown took the doubles with the same score line. Only Russell Watson for the Sun showed good form in taking Robinson to 11 in the singles.

 

BDPL 7/10/09
It was a top of the table clash in the Daniel Robinson and Sons Braintree and District Petanque League and second placed Feering Bell 1 were the winners.
Leaders Rayne Swan 1 were cruising in the triples with an 11-4 lead when all of a sudden they had lost the game in the next two ends. Ian Barnes, Carol Barnes and Bernie Wade were cock-a-hoop when they scored a 5 and a 4 to snatch the game from under the noses of Vince Schofield, Adam Buxton and Lee Dodge.
Schofield and Buxton levelled the score with an untroubled 13-5 doubles win but Wade secured the match with a 13-6 singles win over Dodge. Although Swan stay at the top the Bell have a game in hand and good results in the final two games could see them snatch the title at the very end.

Colne Angel played hosts to Rayne Swan 4 and with good pointing from Daphne Barrow quickly won the triples 13-2. The doubles were over even quicker when Julie Constable took over the pointing and was even better. Backed up by the inimitable Simon Bird they crushed Clare Courtney and Dean Middleton 13-0. Only Tom Smith showed any form for the Swan with a 13-4 singles win over Viv Middleton-Sams to rescue a point and avoid a third 3-0 defeat in a row.

 

BDPL 30/9/09
In the Daniel Robinson & Sons Braintree and District Petanque League Rayne Swan 1 stay at the top after a convincing 3-0 win over Chequers PC of Great Tey.
Lee Dodge was on top form in the triples and his accurate pointing led the Swan to a crushing 13-0 win. Dodge and Adam Buxton kept up their good form in the doubles with a 13-6 win over Bill Eve and Lloyd Hermon. Only Frank Britt shone for the Chequers but even he could not stop the Swan as Graham McDougall came back from 11-8 down to win 13-12.

Feering Bell 1 who are challenging in second place, had a 2-1 win over Rayne Swan 2. Swan’s Lorne Gibson managed to win the singles 13-9 over Bernie Wade.

In League 2 Bocking Novices lost 2-1 against Feering Bell 2. Despite some good play, silly mistakes cost them points. After a slow start the triples was decided by 3 high scoring ends. At 5all Pam Adams, Dave Robinson and Dave Adams made a 4, but this was followed with a 3 and 4 from the Bell to take the game 13-9.
The doubles was a game of missed opportunities for Bell’s Dave & Jack Pearse. With the Bocking duo of Pam and Dave Adams shooting well, they took a 10-3 lead and despite a fight back they still ran out 13-9 winners.
In the singles Trevor Turner’s winning streak finally came to an end, but not without a fight. An exciting finish saw him shoot out Dave Bird’s holding boule at 11-12 down, but then with his last boule Bird pointed in right on to the coche for game, and the match 2-1 to Feering.

Onley keep up the pressure on leaders Rayne Cock 2 with a 2-1 win over their rivals. It was the Onley triple, Nikki, Daniel and Trevor Blows who started well, building a 10-2 lead with good pointing from Nikki throughout. The Cock pulled back to 10-10 but the Onley won the next two ends for a 13-10 win. The singles between Trevor Blows and Neil Morgan was tight early on but at 5-5 Blows took control and won
13-5. The doubles proved the best game of the night. Graham Hill and Steve Tooley took on Daniel Blows and Tracey Austin. With Tooley pointing well, the Cock took a 7-0 lead. At 12-5 the game looked over but two ends later it was 12-12 after Daniel Blows produced some good shooting to win the ends. Blows shot the coche out twice to save the game but could not save the Stisted team for a 3rd time when Hill pointed in for a 13-12 win and the 2-1 win for Onley keeps them in second place.

Rayne Cock 2 also played Feering Sun and a 2-1 win keeps them at the top of League 2. Only Dick Youngs had any success for Feering, winning the singles 13-6 against Neil Morgan.

 

BDPL 23/9/09
The Daniel Robinson & Sons Braintree & District Petanque summer league is coming towards the closing stages and it looks to be a two horse race at the top of League 1. Especially as second placed Rayne Swan 3 suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat against Colne Angel. The inexperienced Swan team (Keith Flack not included) could not contend with the difficult terrain at Colne.
Viv Middleton-Sams, Julie Constable and Simon Bird comfortably won the opening triples 13-4 against Flack, Andy Stead and Matt Waldie.
Middleton-Sams & Constable went on to defeat Harry Waldie & Stead in the doubles 13-6 and Flack struggled in singles losing 13–5 to Bird.

The top two places are taken by Swan 1 and Feering Bell 1 and the title looks to be going to one of them, although Colne are staging a late run in.

Chequers appear to be out of the running after a 2-1 defeat to Rayne Swan 2. Dennis Smith, Lorne and Beryl Gibson won the triples for the Swan 13-8.
Bill Eve and Lloyd Herman evened the score with a 13-11 doubles win for Chequers. Lorne Gibson sealed the win for Swan with a somewhat surprising 13-4 singles win over Frank Britt.

In League 2 Rayne Cock 2 are ahead of the rest with Onley looking fairly safe in second place. Having said that, they dropped a point to Bocking Novices when Trevor Turner gained his 3rd singles win in a row, defeating Trevor Blows.
Bocking have had a very good first season and are now sitting in 3rd place.

 

BDPL 9/9/09
Feering Sun carried on their good start to the second half of the season in the Daniel Robinson & Sons Braintree & District Petanque League. Their opponents, Bocking Novices, did not cope well with the Sun terrain and went down 13-6 in the triples. Tom Winter and Russell Bingham followed on with a good 13-5 doubles win when they outplayed Pam and David Adams. Only Trevor Turner for the visitors showed some good form with his second singles win in a row, beating Dick Youngs 13-8 to salvage a point for the Bocking team.

For the second week in a row Feering Bell suffered a 3-0 loss, this week’s victors were Rayne Cock 2. In the triples the early ends were even but then Graham Hill, Ian Humm and Steve Tooley secured a five and after this the Bell were unable to find a way back and the Cock ran out 13-2 winners.
Dave Bird built up a 12-8 lead for Feering in the singles but then missed his chance to take the game when he failed to point into a two foot gap. Tooley made the most of his reprieve and took the game 13-12.
The doubles was closely contested and Dave and Jack Pearse took a slender 8-5 lead but a couple of 4’s by Hill and Humm proved decisive as Cock took the game
13-10.

There was a big upset in League 1 with leaders Rayne Swan 1 experiencing their first 3-0 defeat. Rayne Swan 3 were their opponents and much of the credit has to go to the father and son pairing of Matt and Harry Waldie who pointed excellently throughout.
The Swan 3 triple of Keith Flack and the Waldies made a quick and decisive start, winning the early ends and finding themselves in a 9-0 lead. Swan 1 fought their way back, picking up 4 points over the next 3 ends to make it 9-4. But Swan 3 then picked up 2 points over the next 2 ends to secure a surprising but comfortable 13 -4 victory.
Due to Swan 1's defeat in the triples their playing format was altered to try to salvage points overall. In what was a close contest throughout the father & son duo came out on top in the doubles, with young Harry producing a superb shot in the last end which lead to Swan 3 collecting 4 points to turn a 9 -11 deficit into a 13 -11 victory.
In the singles Flack's consistent pointing was too much for Buxton over the course of the game. Despite superb shooting & pointing from Buxton which would have seen him beat many an opponent, Flack was strong enough to overcome this to win a keenly contested game 13 -11.
The win sees Rayne Swan 3 jump 3 places up the table into 2nd place just one point behind Swan 1.

Chequers White from Great Tey were lying in 2nd after a good 3-0 win last week but crashed to a 3-0 defeat this week against Colne Angel. Viv Middleton-Sams had a good singles win over Frank Britt to make sure of all the points for Colne.

Rayne Swan 4 look to be in freefall. After leading for a substantial part of the first half the season they have now lost their last 2 games 3-0 and have dropped to 5th place with the teams below them having games in hand.

 

BDPL 2/9/09
The second half of the Daniel Robinson & Sons Braintree & District Petanque League got under away and leaders of League 1, Rayne Swan 1, continued where they left off with a 2-1 win.
Lee Dodge, Vince Schofield & Adam Buxton took the lead in the triples against Graham Brewer, Lorne & Beryl Gibson of Rayne Swan 2 and steadily increased it to win 13-5. Brewer & B. Gibson played well in the doubles against Buxton & Schofield with heavy rain throughout making shooting difficult. With the piste gradually turning into a quagmire, the Swan 1 pair held on for a narrow 13-10 win.
Lorne Gibson salvaged a point for Swan 2 in the singles with a 13-9 win over Dodge.

Feering Bell 1 in second place were away to Chequers White and in a close match the Gt Tey team came out on top with a 3-0 win. Lloyd Herman, Bill Eve & Frank Britt were 12-7 down in the opening triples but levelled at 12all before clinching the final point. In the doubles Herman & Eve were level pegging early on with the Bell pair of Carol & Ian Barnes but eventually pulled away to win 13-7. Britt took a close singles game against Bernie Wade for the 3-0 win which moves Chequers above the Bell into second place.

Rayne Swan 4 were up against Swan 3 and looking for revenge after losing 2-1 in the first half of the season. Things were going well when Colin Sams, Clare Courtney & Tom Smith went into an 8-1 lead in the triples. But Keith Flack, Matt & Harry Waldie gradually worked their way back into the game, but Swan 4 kept ahead and won 13-9.
Flack was too strong for Smith in the singles, a 13-6 win made the match score even. Andy Stead & Harry Waldie took the doubles by storm racing into a 10-4 lead against Sams & Courtney, but accurate pointing by Courtney gradually got Swan 4 back into the game and they levelled it at 10 all. In a tense couple of final ends Swan 4 just squeezed through 13-11 to take the honours this time around.

In League 2 Bocking Novices had an excellent 2-1 away win over Rayne Cock 2. David Robinson, Janet Mills & Steve Lloyd took 5 on the first end of the triples and although Rayne Cock fought back, the Novices went on to win 13-7. Graham Hill & Steve Tooley made no mistake in the doubles, comfortably winning 13-2 for the Cock.
It was all down to Trevor Turner, who played well in the singles for a 13-9 win, to give the Bocking team their 3rd win of the season.

Feering Sun gained only their second win of the season and it was a comprehensive one against local rivals Feering Bell 2. The Sun triple of Ian Morgan, Dick Youngs & Tom Winter took an early lead but were pegged back by the Bell’s Dave Bird, Jack & Dave Pearse who went into a 7-6. However the next end was decisive when the Sun manufactured a 5 and ran out 13-7 winners. In the singles Winter established a dominating lead. Bird put up spirited resistance but was unable to recover and went down 13-6. The doubles was the most competitive game of the evening, with every end being aggressively contested. Good pointing by Morgan & shooting by Youngs saw them into a 6-0 lead after two ends. Pearse then trailed the coche and the Bell countered with a 6. Further exchanges saw the score quickly progress. At 11-10 to the Sun, Morgan & Youngs played very well to convert the game 13-11 securing a 3-0 win for the Sun.

In torrential rain, the Onley Arms and Chequers Black produced some great petanque for the sheltering supporters. The home triple of Nikki, Trevor and Daniel Blows took a 5-0 lead but Jack Perfect-Brown, Paul Brown and Simon Robinson responded with a four to get back into the game. From there, the pointing of Nikki proved decisive as the Onley ran out 13-4 winners. The singles saw Brown start well, continuing his fine shooting form but Trevor Blows took three to open his account. Brown took over and built an 11-3 lead. Blows then found some form and got back to 9-11. The next end saw him point to the coche. Brown, having used two boule, shot to lie game on the ground. Under pressure, Blows pointed into the tight head for two and tied the game at 11-11. He then scored at the next two ends for a 13-11 win. John Perfect volunteered to leave his dry hideout to partner Robinson in the pairs. His experience proved the difference as they beat the home pairing of Tracey Austin and Daniel Blows 13-6. This win keeps Onley at the top of League 2.

 

BDPL 3/8/09
At the halfway stage Rayne Swan 1 remains top of the Daniel Robinson and Sons Braintree and District Petanque League after a 3-0 win over Bocking Novices. The Novices started well winning the first 4 points but that was their total as the Swan took 4 at a time over the next three ends to lead 12-4. They wrapped it up on the next end to win 13-4. Dave Robinson and Pam Adams tried hard in the doubles but the experience of Vince Schofield and Adam Buxton was too much for them and they lost 13-3. Trevor Turner performed well in the singles but Lee Dodge went on to win 13-6 to keep the Swan in first place.
Chequers White took on Colne Angel and ran out 2-1 winners. The triples and doubles were both very close games and the teams took one each. It was up to Frank Britt and Viv Middleton-Sams in the deciding singles which Britt took 13-11 for the Chequers.
Feering Sun could not repeat their success of last week going down 2-1 to Rayne Swan 3. They started well taking the triples 13-8 but proceeded to lose the doubles 13-11. Keith Flack was too strong for Russell Bingham in the singles, winning 13-2 to give Swan the 2-1 win which moves them into the top half.
Rayne Swan 4 won 2-1 against Rayne Swan 2 to keep in 3rd place. Swan 4 performed an escape act in both the triples and doubles. Winning the triples 13-9 after being 7-0 down and the doubles 13-11 after trailing 8-0. Graham Brewer had an excellent singles game for Swan 2, defeating Tom Smith 13-11 with some excellent pointing and some rare shooting.
Rayne Cock 2 lost 2-1 to Rayne Cock 1. It was one apiece until the deciding singles where Paul Linehan defeated Brian Hill 13-1 for Cock 1.

 

BDPL 29/7/09
Success at last for Feering Sun in the Daniel Robinson & Sons Braintree & District Petanque League. Approaching half way, a 2-1 win over Rayne Cock 2 saw bottom of the table Feering Sun gain their first win in their debut season. Tom Winter, Ian Morgan and Dick Youngs defeated Graham Hill, Ian Humm and Steve Tooley 13-7 in the triples to give them a good start. The Cock fought back in a closely contested doubles match, where Hill & Humm just pipped Morgan & Winter 13-12. The singles was a one sided affair in favour of the Sun with Youngs beating Tooley 13-2. Let’s hope they can keep the momentum going for the second half and move up the table.

It was a club affair at the Rayne Swan this week with top of the table Swan 4 against 2nd placed Swan 1, while Swan 2 played Swan 3. In the first match Swan 1 were triumphant but it could so easily have been a 3-0 win to either side, as it turned out it was 2-1 to the second placed team who now move in to top spot.
The opening triples saw Colin Sams, Dean Middleton and Clare Courtney take the lead, but Vince Schofield, Adam Buxton and Lee Dodge fought back. Sams had a chance to shoot for game but missed and Swan 1 went on to take the game 13-10. The doubles saw the unbeaten pairing of Schofield and Buxton take on Courtney and Sams. In a tactical yet exciting encounter the Swan 1 pair finally lost their proud record. At 12-9 to Swan 4, Buxton had a chance to shoot for game and missed and Courtney and Sams happily took the game 13-9. The match then rested on the singles, with Dodge not fairing to well in his previous singles games he really needed to pull something out of the bag this time, which he did. He was trailing half way through against Middleton, but showed dogged determination with accurate pointing to take the lead and run out a 13-11 winner and claim the game for Swan 1.
Swan 3 ideally needed a win against team mates Swan 2 to stay in the top half, but no favours were given with Swan 2 running out 2-1 winners. In the triples Harry and Matt Waldie and Keith Flack had an early lead which the Swan 2 team of Dennis Smith, Beryl and Lorne Gibson pulled back. Then a pointing disaster occurred several ends on the spin leaving the door wide open, and it was game over with Swan 2 winning 13-8. The doubles saw the Waldies contain the experienced pairing of Smith and Graham Brewer in the early stages. But Swan 2 gradually pulled way and ran out 13-9 winners. Flack took an early 6-0 lead for Swan 3 in the singles, which Lorne Gibson pulled back, thereafter it was even up to 11 all. In what was to be the last end, Gibson got his last boule in to hold the point, when Flack lying second with two in hand, produced a spot carreau to secure the game 13-11 to gain a valuable point for Swan 3.

 

BDPL 15/7/09
A 3-0 away win for Rayne Swan 4 kept them at the top of the Daniel Robinson and Sons Braintree and District Petanque League. They were also helped by their two closest rivals dropping points. Feering Bell 2 started well in the triples but after Tom Smith took over as first point, Swan 4 got back into the game and ran out 13-8 winners.
In the doubles Dave Bird and Dave Pearse went 8-0 down before some accurate pointing by Pearse gained them a 4 on one end. Swan’s Colin Sams, who shot well throughout the match, and Clare Courtney continued to pull away though and won 13-5. In the singles young Jack Pearse continues to improve and gave Smith one of his toughest games this season. Smith, who has only lost 1 of his 10 singles matches, was behind in the early ends and was struggling to get into the game, but eventually he caught up and gained control to claim a 13-9 win.

In 2nd place are Rayne Swan 1 who dropped a point to Rayne Cock 2. Graham Hill, Steve Tooley and Ian Humm took a 2-0 lead in the triples but that was as far as they went as the Swan scored freely for a 13-2 win. Vince Schofield & Adam Buxton continue to look invincible in the doubles, although good shooting by Hill kept the Cock in the game at 8all. Unfortunately they then had a loose end which the Swan pair took advantage of to score 5 and win 13-8. The Cock win came in the singles where Lee Dodge and Tooley took it in turns to take the lead. At 12-11 to Dodge, Tooley played a very loose point, and with 2 boule in hand Dodge had every opportunity to claim the game but failed, resulting in a 13-12 win for Tooley.

Lying in 3rd place are Feering Bell 1 who came a cropper against Rayne Swan 3. Swan won the triples 13 - 8, it was a tight game throughout but Keith Flack pulled off a couple of good shots in the latter stages, including a big double with the last boule of the end, to score 3.
In the doubles Andy Stead and Harry Waldie were up against the experienced Ian and Carol Barnes. Despite some excellent shooting from young Waldie, he & Stead just lost out 13-11 after a long battle. In the last end Waldie hit 3 shots in a row, 2 of which were over 10 metres and one was almost a spot carreau.
Flack and Bernie Wade contested the deciding singles and as usual Wade’s pointing was very accurate. But Flack’s shooting stayed strong and that was the decisive factor in the match. It was a close fought game which Flack won 13-10 for a 2-1 win for Swan 3.

Feering Bell 2 hosted Chequers Black with the Bell triple of Dave Bird, Jack & Dave Pearse getting off to a flying start with a 9-0 lead. The Chequers triple of John Perfect, Simon Robinson and Paul Brown fought back well and with a 5, brought the scores level at 9-9. However on the very next end they had the misfortune of trailing the coche to a place they could not cover and the Bell pointed in for a 4 to take the game 13-9.
The singles saw J. Pearse take on Robinson and good play saw him leading 8-3. Robinson got back into the game and at 9-9 and took the remaining points to run out a 13-9 winner.
Paul Brown and Jack Perfect-Brown took a 6-2 lead against Bird and Pearse. Good shooting and pointing all round saw for a tight game as the Bell duo fought back to lead 8 - 7. However the Chequers had the last say and a well constructed 3, with the help of a spot carreau, saw them eventually win 13 - 8 and secure the match 2 -1.

Colne Angel who had dropped down to 8th, moved up the table again after beating 4th placed Rayne Swan 2, 2-1.

 

BDPL 8/7/09
In the Daniel Robinson & Sons Braintree & District league Rayne Swan 4 moved into top spot on points difference over Swan 1.
Colin Sams, Tom Smith and Clare Courtney had a good 2-1 win over Chequers White. After trailing in the triples, they moved into the lead only to give it away again after a very loose end and Frank Britt, Lloyd Herman and Bill Eve jumped at the chance to win the game 13-8.
Sams and Courtney played a very consistent pointing and shooting game to take the doubles 13-5.
Smith’s singles was the game of the night, where he played Britt at his own game and out pointed him. After taking a 10-4 lead he took a very important 13-5 win for the match.

The Swan 2 triple of Lorne Gibson, Graham Brewer and Dennis Smith were always in charge against Derek Roughton, Daniel Blows and Tracey Austin from the Onley Arms, winning 13-5, with Brewer on top form. The Onley responded in the pairs with Blows and Austin continuing their good run of form, beating Brewer and Beryl Gibson 13-3. Best game of the night was the deciding singles. Matches between Lorne Gibson and Trevor Blows are usually close and this was no exception. At 4-3 to Gibson, Blows took the next couple of ends to open a four point lead. Gibson responded to bring it back to 8-9 with some accurate pointing. Not to be outdone, Blows shot out the holding boule at the next two ends to lead 11-8. Gibson gained a point at the next end but Blows clinched the match with some accurate pointing to win 13-9 and take the match for the Onley 2-1.

Rayne Swan 3 lost 2-1 against Feering Bell 2. Matt and Harry Waldie and Andy Stead lost 13-9 to Dave Bird, Jack and Dave Pearse. The first few ends were close but with the scores level the Bell pulled away into a 9-2 lead. Swan came back to 9-12 but then lost the final end.
Keith Flack & Harry Waldie beat Bird & J. Pearse 13-7 in the doubles. Waldie shot throughout, which he did well & young Jack also played well for the Bell, but the Swan were in command of the ends & came out on top. Stead lost to D. Pearse 13-5 in the singles. Pearse picked up a single point every end of the game to claim the match for the Bell.

At the Chequers, Gt Tey the hosts beat the Onley Arms 2-1. The home triple of Frank Britt, Lloyd Herman and Bill Eve traded points with Derek Roughton, Trevor and Nikki Blows. The outcome of the game was a 13-9 win for the home team, but the decisive shot was played mid game by Bill Eve. With team mates expecting him to point with his last boule, he carreaud to deny the Onley three shots and this was to prove the difference between the teams. Britt overwhelmed Trevor Blows in the singles, 13-1, with excellent pointing throughout. The win for the Onley Arms came in the doubles where the pointing of Tracey Austin and the dramatic shooting of Daniel Blows proved just too much for Eve and Herman.

Bocking Novices could not repeat last week’s success losing 2-1 to Rayne Cock 1. They started well with a 13-7 triples win, but went on to lose the doubles & singles 13-6 and 13-9. Feering Bell 1 stay in 3rd place after a 2-1 win over Rayne Cock 2 and Feering Sun stay firmly rooted to the bottom after losing 3-0 to Chequers Black.

 

BDPL 24/6/09
Bocking Novices gained their first win in the Daniel Robinson & Sons Braintree & District Petanque League. In their debut season they gained a 2-1 result against bottom of the table Feering Sun.
In the triples, with both teams level on 12 each, the Sun just managed to outpoint Bocking to gain the winning point and squeeze through 13-12. All the games were closely contested and Pam Adams and Dave Robinson fought back for Bocking winning their first doubles game 13-9, beating Russell Bingham and Andrew Winter. Malcolm Smith playing his first league game defeated Ian Morgan 13-11 in the singles to give the Novices their first taste of success.

Feering Bell 2 played host to Rayne Cock 2 which saw 3 closely contested games. The Bell’s ‘Team Dave’ Dave Bird, Dave Pearse and Dave West battled with Graham Hill, Ian Humm & Neil Morgan. Early ends were even but at 5 - 5 the Bell started to struggle to score. The critical end came at 8 - 5 where the Bell were punished for being out of boule and with nothing in front of the coche, as good pointing by the Cock made 4. The Cock wrapped up the game on the next end 13 - 5 although the game was closer than the score suggested.
In the singles Morgan started in inspired pointing form racing into an 8 - 0 lead after 4 ends. Bird responded well by scoring 7 over the next 3 ends but Morgan always managed to maintain a lead to win 13 - 9.
The Cock double of Hill & Tooley got off to a quick start with excellent pointing by Tooley seeing them into a 6 - 1 lead early on. The Cock were unlucky not to extend the lead further as with boule in hand on a couple of occasions they promoted the Bell's boule. This helped the Bell back into the game and as Pearse's shooting improved and good pointing from West they got back to 8 - 8. From here they prevented the Cock scoring to run out 13 - 8 winners gaining a consolation point for the Bell and a win for West on his debut.

Rayne Swan 2 beat Chequers Black 3-0 to move up into 4th place. Lorne and Beryl Gibson and Graham Brewer defeated John Perfect, Paul Brown and Simon Robinson 13-8 in the triples. The Gibsons went on to beat Brown & Perfect-Brown in the doubles, 13-6. Brewer went 6 - 0 down in the first couple of ends in the singles and it looked as if the Chequers were going to get a consolation game, but Brewer made a successful comeback to win 13 – 9 to take all the points for the Swan.

Rayne Swan 3 were at home to Chequers White and this game went in favour of the Great Tey club. Lloyd Herman, Frank Britt & Bill Eve finally won 13-7 after a long drawn out opening triples. Britt took the singles against Flack 13-6, but the game of the night was the doubles. The experienced Eve and Lloyd took a comfortable 9-4 lead before the up and coming junior Harry Waldie, showed just how much he has improved in his second season of play. Backed up with steady accurate pointing by Andy Stead, Waldie played some excellent shots to continually take out the Chequers holding boule which meant they gained a very good 13-11 win to keep them in the top half of the table.

Rayne Swan 4 defeated Rayne Cock 1, 3-0 although they made hard work of it. Swan went 6-0 down in the opening triples but Courtney, Sams & Smith got their act together and didn’t let the Cock trio of Linehan, O’Sullivan and Hardy score another point, winning 13-6. It was a similar tale in the doubles with the Swan again going 6-0 down, this time it resulted in a 13-7 win. Smith was firing on all cylinders in the singles however, defeating Linehan 13-2.

 

BDPL 17/6/09
In the Daniel Robinson & Sons Braintree & District Petanque League Rayne Swan 4, lying in 2nd place, consolidated their position with a 3-0 win over Rayne Cock 2. Tom Smith, Colin Sams & Clare Courtney took the triples against Graham Hill, Ian Humm & Steve Tooley 13-6 after a slow start.
Sams & Courtney were untroubled in the doubles taking the game 13-2.
In the singles Tooley completely outplayed Smith in the early ends and went into a 5-0 lead. Smith then began to shoot in his own inimitable way which made for a closer game and levelled the scores at 10 all. After good pointing on the penultimate end by Tooley, he made an error of judgement by not shooting out Smith’s boule. Smith did not make the same mistake and shot two boule out for game on the next end for a 13-11 win.

Rayne Cock 1 were at home to Rayne Swan 3 and suffered the same fate as their team mates. Paul Linehan, Graham Hardy & Clay O’Sullivan were well beaten 13-3 by Keith Flack, Matt & Harry Waldie.
Linehan put up a good fight in the singles, taking the experienced Flack all the way but still losing out 13-8.
The same can be said for the doubles with Andy Stead & Harry Waldie squeezing through 13-12 for the 3-0 result.

The Onley team from Stisted, wearing their new Daniel Robinson sponsored team shirts, had a good win at Chequers Black, Gt Tey. In the triples, home team Simon Robinson, Paul Brown and Jack Perfect-Brown, took four at the first end. At 2-4, the Onley played some great shots to take five at the next two ends. Not to be outdone, Chequers also took five to make the score 10-12, but the Onley triple of Trevor, Nikki and Daniel Blows, held on to win 13-10.
In the pairs, father and son, Brown and Perfect-Brown, took the game 13-3 against a below par Daniel Blows and Tracey Austin. The deciding singles started with Robinson taking a 5-2 lead over Trevor Blows but six at the next two ends edged Blows in front. He kept up the pressure and took the game 13-7 to give the Onley a 2-1 win.

Feering Bell 2 travelled to Rayne Swan 2 where the Bell triple of Dave Bird, Jack & Dave Pearse kept in contention early on mainly due to good pointing by Dave Bird. At 6all the Bell’s play deteriorated and the Swan triple of Dennis Smith, Beryl & Lorne Gibson took full advantage to quickly close out the game 13–6.
The doubles between J & D Pearse and B Gibson & Smith was the ‘a typical’ game of 2 halves. Good pointing by the Pearses saw them race into a 10 – 0 lead after 3 ends. The next end Smith pointed in with his last boule to take the Swan’s first point. After this it was all Swan as with a help of a 5 they fought back to 8–10. On the next end Smith had a chance to take the game with another 5, but was unfortunate to promote one of the Bell’s boule to cut the count down to 3. The next end saw the final twist where Jack Pearse’s first boule took out all of the Swan’s and the relieved Pearses were able to point in for 3 and salvage the game 13 – 11.
The singles saw L Gibson in superb form as his accurate pointing gave D Bird little chance. Although Bird put up a good fight he eventually lost 13–3 as the Swan won the match 2-1.

 

BDPL 10/6/09
In the Daniel Robinson & Sons Braintree & District Petanque League, Rayne Cock 2, who were lying in 3rd place, dropped more points in a 2-1 defeat at Chequers, Gt Tey.
Graham Hill, Ian Humm & Steve Tooley lost the triples 13-6. Hill & Humm then went 11-3 down in the doubles to Bill Eve & Lloyd Herman before fighting back to win 13-11. Britt wrapped up the singles 13-5 to win the game for Chequers.

Onley PC (Stisted) played at home for the first time this month, with Rayne Swan 4 the visitors. The weather dealt the teams the infamous Onley puddles across the pitch to make the game a bit more interesting. However, this did not help the home side, who ended up losing 3-0.
In the triples, the game saw the visitors take a marginal 5-4 lead as a base to kick-start the match and win 13-5. The doubles saw the Onley female pairing of Tracey Austin and Nikki Blows open up a 7-0 lead, which soon became a 10-4 lead. However that was the last points the home side would score as the experienced side of Colin Sams and Clare Courtney rallied to take the game 13-10. This left Daniel Blows playing Tom Smith in the singles. The experienced Tom Smith was in control throughout this game, seeing him beat Blows 13-4, a reverse result from the BDPL singles semi-final. This left Onley failing to pick up a point for the first time this summer.

Rayne Swan 3 were at home to Colne Angel and gained a very good 2-1 win. Harry Waldie, Andy Stead & Keith Flack beat Simon Bird, Julie Constable & Daphne Barrow 13 - 10 in the triples. It was a close game throughout but the Swan just came through. Stead was joined by Matt Waldie in the doubles and they defeated Constable & Barrow 13 - 7 in what was another close game up to 7 - 7 with mostly 1's & 2's being picked up by both sides until the Swan got a 6 for game. It was not a close game in the singles where Bird comfortably won 13-4 against Flack. Bird’s lob pointing on a soggy pitch was as usual, very accurate & also very difficult to move and ensured a point for Colne.

 

BDPL 3/6/09
Rayne Swan 1 remain top of the Daniel Robinson & Sons Braintree & District Petanque league after another 3-0 win. This time it was Rayne Cock 1 who felt the force of Adam Buxton’s & Vince Schofield’s shooting which saw the Swan team defeat Paul Linehan, Scott Wilsdon & Clay O’Sullivan 13-4.
The Swan duo had a similar result in the doubles with a 13-3 win over Wilsdon & O’Sullivan.
Only Linehan for the away side came close to getting a result when he gave Lee Dodge a run for his money in the singles, only just losing 13-12.

Onley PC from Stisted played two games this week and kept their record of taking a point off the leading teams in the league. At Rayne Cock 2, who were lying in 2nd place, Derek Roughton, Daniel and Nikki Blows built a 9-2 lead but the Cock pulled back points at the next four ends. The Onley triple then recovered and with Nikki Blows shooting out the holding boule, took the game 13-8.
The singles saw Neil Morgan take 9 points from the first four ends with Trevor Blows not adapting to the sloping terrain. A fightback to 8-11 was not enough as Morgan scored the two to win the game.
Good pointing from Steve Tooley in the doubles helped the Cock to a 13-6 win and the match 2-1, but they slipped to 3rd place.

Against Rayne Swan 1 Roughton, Austin and T. Blows had a close, exciting game against the home team of Adam Buxton, Vince Schofield and Lee Dodge. All six players contributed to a game of excellent pointing and shooting that saw the home team edge the game 13-9 after trailing 6-9.
The doubles was a one sided affair with Buxton and Schofield not allowing Austin and Roughton a single point.
The closest game was the singles. After a poor showing at the Cock, Trevor Blows needed to bounce back against Lee Dodge, which he did in a closely contested game 13-12 which leaves Onley in 8th place.

Swan 4 were at home to newcomers Bocking Novices and a 3-0 win sees them move into 2nd place. Colin Sams was again the mainstay of the Swan side, backed up by some good pointing by Tom Smith which gave them a 13-2 win in the triples.
Sams & Courtney weren’t troubled in the doubles where they won 13-3 against Steve Lloyd & Dave Robinson and Smith defeated Trevor Turner 13-2 in the singles for the clean sweep.

Feering Sun put up a tremendous battle in the opening triples against Rayne Swan 2. After over an hour of play Tom Winter, Russell Bingham & Dick Youngs just missed out, losing 13-11 to Graham Brewer, Dennis Smith & Beryl Gibson.
Smith & Brewer went on to win the doubles comfortably 13-2 against Winter & Bingham. Lorne Gibson trailed in the early ends of the singles, but his experience dragged him through to a 13-10 win over Youngs and another 3-0 win for the Rayne Swan club.

 

BDPL 20/5/09
There were two club derbies this week in the Daniel Robinson & Sons Braintree & District Petanque League.
Rayne Swan 1 defeated Rayne Swan 2, 3-0 & Swan 3 beat Swan 4 with a 2-1 score line. In the first game Beryl Gibson, Graham Brewer & Dennis Smith started well for Swan 2, going into a 4-1 lead, but that was the end of their scoring as Adam Buxton, Vince Schofield & Lee Dodge raced away to a 13-4 win.
Lee Dodge had a very good 13-8 singles win over Lorne Gibson, and Schofield & Buxton came back from 8-5 down to win 13-8, despite some good pointing by both B.Gibson & Smith.

Swan 4 continued their bad triples form losing 13-7 to Keith Flack, Harry Waldie & Andy Stead, with Waldie’s accurate pointing leading the way.
The doubles were over in a flash with Clare Courtney & Colin Sams defeating Matt Waldie & Stead 13-1, but the experienced Flack was too strong for Tom Smith. His 13-4 win gave the game to Swan 3 for their second win of the season.

Chequers White lost 2-1 to Rayne Swan 2. Bill Eve, Lloyd Herman and Yvonne Cooney won the opening triples 13-7 after taking 6 on the first end, but the Swan bounced back when Lorne Gibson defeated Eve in the singles 13-6. Chequers looked favourites for the doubles when Herman & Cooney took an 8-0 lead against Dennis Smith and Beryl Gibson, but the Swan team fought back to 10-10. Holding 2, Smith shot for game to give Swan a 13-10 win and the match 2-1.

Stisted based Onley hosted the ever-strong Feering Bell 1 side of Ian and Carol Barnes and Bernie Wade. The triples looked to be a very one sided match with the visitors taking an 8-0 lead. The home side hit back with an end of 5, and over the following two ends, the Onley triple of Daniel and Nikki Blows and Derek Roughton drew level 8-8. This comeback was soon halted as Feering removed Onley boule, to score 5 and win 13-8.
The singles saw D.Blows take on Wade who took a 5-0 lead. The following ends saw Blows and Wade exchange points to take the score to 7-11. Wade’s experience saw him gain the two points needed for a 13-7 win.
The Onley duo of Tracey Austin and N.Blows teamed up again after a good win from last week. The Bell took a 6-2 lead but the Onley pair soon rallied to take a 9-6 lead. C & I Barnes used their experience to swing the game their way at 12-10. The next end saw both teams show good pointing and shooting and Onley should have won the match here, except I Barnes last boule kept the score to two, which took the game into a tense final end.
N. Blows pointed right on the coche and the Bell, using half their boule, removed Blows’ boule to swing the game their way. However Austin’s shooting again saw the Onley take the advantage, which they kept for a 13-12 win and a good point for the home side, despite losing the match 2-1.

Feering Bell 2 were at home to Rayne Swan 1 and the triples seemed as if it would be a close contest as the Swan’s Adam Buxton, Vince Schofield & Lee Dodge led the Bell’s Dave Bird, Jack & Dave Pearse 7–6. On the next end the Bell played a little loose & when Buxton shot out their holding boule the Swan, with some astute tactical play and good shots, manufactured a 6 to finish the game immediately 13–6.
Dodge & D. Pearse contested the singles. It was even early on but at 6–4 excellent pointing and shooting by Dodge manufactured two consecutive 3’s to go 12–4 in front. Pearse didn’t go down without a fight and shot out the match boule 4 times over the next 3 ends. However, with Dodge in fine pointing form he was always likely to convert, which he duly did to win 13–7.
The doubles saw Buxton & Schofield gradually build up a 10–2 lead on what looked like the way to a regulation win. However it was not to be that straight forward as excellent play by Bird and young J Pearse saw them stage a spirited comeback to 10–10 to cause the Swan pair some concern. Buxton & Schofield regrouped to eventually win 13–10, but the Bell pair can take some consolation in giving them their toughest challenge to date.

Rayne Cock 1 were 2-1 winners over Feering Sun with Graham Hardy, Paul Linehan & Scott Wilsdon winning the triples 13-8. Hardy & Wilsdon went on to take the doubles 13-6 against father and son Tom & Andrew Winter. A consolation point was earned by Ian Morgan with a close 13-11 win over Linehan in the singles.

 

BDPL 13/5/09
In the Daniel Robinson & sons BDPL league there was another good win for the Stisted-based Onley Arms side, winning 2-1 against Bocking Novices. The triples saw Daniel Blows, Derek Roughton and Tracey Austin win 13-2 with some excellent pointing by Roughton throughout the game.
In the singles Blows took on Trevor Turner and the game started off with Turner taking a 7-2 lead. Good pointing by Blows saw him gain 7 in 3 ends to take a narrow 9-7 lead. Turner took the lead again at 12-10 and pointed well to secure the game 13-10.
The doubles saw the Bocking pair of Pam Adams and David Mills take a 5-0 lead. Onley’s Nikki Blows and Austin played catch up and took the lead 8-6. The next end saw Austin's shooting, backed up by good pointing, secure the 5 points needed to take the game 13-6 and the match 2-1 to the Onley.

Chequers Black gave Rayne Swan 1 a good run for their money despite losing 3-0. The Gt.Tey based club didn’t start too well with a 13-4 defeat in the triples, but father & son Paul & Jack Perfect-Brown were leading 8-5 against Adam Buxton & Vince Schofield in the doubles, with Jack pointing particularly well. The Swan team then gained a four to move into the lead and didn’t look back, winning 13-8.
The singles was a very close game with John Perfect starting well and leading 9-4 when the Swan’s Lee Dodge got his shooting eye in to take 7 unanswered points and lead 11-9. Perfect closed the gap but Dodge held on for a 13-11 win and clean sweep for the Swan.

Rayne Swan 4 also had a successful evening with a 2-1 defeat of Colne Angel. It didn’t look as if it was going to be that good when very poor pointing by both Tom Smith & Clare Courtney left Colin Sams fighting the opposition on his own. It was too much of a task and Viv Middleton-Sams, Simon Bird & Daphne Barrow won comfortably 13-2.
The doubles looked to be heading in the same direction when Bird & Middleton-Sams took a 6-2 lead. A four on the next end saw Sams & Courtney right back in it, and with the score at 7-6 in the oppositions favour, another 5 saw the Swan team jump to 12-7. A bit of fortune with a moved coche saw them gain the point they needed for the game.
Smith got his act together in the singles and claimed a convincing 13-1 win for a good 2-1 match score.

Rayne Swan 3 started well against Rayne Cock 2 but found the piste hard to handle. Keith Flack, Andy Stead & Harry Waldie won the triples 13 -11 against Graham Hill, Ian Humm & Neil Morgan. Swan took an early 4 - 0 lead but the home side drew level and then took an 11-8 advantage. At 11-10 Waldie nailed one on the coche which ate up most of the opposition’s boule. Stead then pointed in 2 and it was game over. Young Harry Waldie played very well and has benefitted from some recent coaching with the Regional Squad.
Neil Morgan had an excellent singles win for the Cock over Keith Flack. After just 3 ends he was leading 7–0 but Flack managed to level at 7all. After a few even ends Morgan, who had pointed very well throughout, placed one to the side of the coche which was over 2 feet away. You would have put money on Flack to beat it but the piste beat him and he lost 13-9.
Rayne Cock pair Graham Hill & Steve Tooley defeated Stead and Matt Waldie 13-6 to take the match 2-1.

There was a local derby this week as the Feering Sun hosted Feering Bell 2, which was always likely to be a close match with nothing to choose between the teams in the winter league.
The triples ebbed & flowed as the Sun triple of Morgan, Youngs & Winter and the Bell triple of Bird, J & D Pearse exchanged the lead throughout the game. The Sun eventually took the game 13–10.
In the singles Morgan was unfortunate in the early ends promoting Bird’s boule for shot on more than one occasion. This provided Bird with a cushion which he ably protected to take the game 13–6.
The decisive doubles was the closest of the games. The Bell pair of J & D Pearse negated the early Sun lead taking 5 with good shooting and pointing to take an 8–6 lead. This looked decisive as they stretched the lead to 12–7 and shot for the match twice, hitting the target boule on both occasions but failing to move it enough. Winter & Youngs now upped their game and, with consistently good pointing and shooting whenever required, never gave the Pearse’s another chance as they fought back, taking a well manufactured 3 on the final end to win the game 13–12.

Feering Bell 1 defeated Rayne Swan 2 with a 3-0 scoreline. Carol & Ian Barnes and Bernie Wade had a comfortable 13-5 triples win over Lorne & Beryl Gibson & Graham Brewer.
Things were more even in the doubles & singles but the home side still took both 13-8.

 

BDPL 6/5/09
Feering Bell 2 hosted Chequers White in this week’s Daniel Robinson & Sons BDPL fixture. The opening triples between Dave Bird, Jack & Dave Pearse and the Gt. Tey triple of Frank Britt, Yvonne Cooney & Bill Eve was fairly evenly contested. The decisive end came at 6–7 when good shooting & pointing by the Bell secured a 6 to take them to 12–7, and they went on to win the game 13–7.
In the doubles Cooney & Eve raced into a 5–0 lead, which left the Bell pair of Bird & Pearse always struggling to get back into the game. The Bell managed to save the game a couple of times but in the end Chequers ran out deserved 13–7 winners.
Excellent pointing by both Jack Pearse & Britt saw the singles evenly contested early on, but at 5-5 Britt’s all-round game took control as he went on to win 13–6 and take the match 2–1 for the Chequers.

There was a late night finish for Rayne Swan 3 and Onley Arms (Stisted) in a match won 2-1 by the visitors. The triples saw Trevor Blows, Tracey Austin and Derek Roughton start well but in a long game, the home side of Andy Stead, Matt and Harry Waldie kept plugging away. The difference proved to be the shooting of the Onley side who ran out 13-7 winners.
In the singles, Stead built a 9-2 lead over Trevor Blows but two good ends brought it back to 9-8. At the final end, Blows, at 11-12, holding shot and with one to play, managed to push the opposition boule in for game.
The deciding doubles had Austin and Daniel Blows with a 9-4 lead but the Waldie pairing took five to make it 9-9. The success was short lived as Blows took advantage of an open head to score four to make it 13-9 to the Onley Arms.

Feering Sun played their first competitive match on their new terrain and it was against the strong Rayne Swan 1 team. The new piste held up well but not so the players as the Swan team ran out comfortable winners. Russell Bingham, Dick Youngs & Tom Winter were comfortably beaten 13-4 by Vince Schofield, Adam Buxton & the recuperated Lee Dodge.
Dodge took the singles with the same scoreline, while Schofield & Buxton, who both shot well throughout the match, won the doubles 13-2.

Rayne Swan 4 visited Gt.Tey to take on Chequers Black, with some excellent shooting from Colin Sams, including twice taking the coche out, the Swan team recovered from a poor start to take the triples 13-9.
Tom Smith went into a 9-0 lead in the singles, and as is his want, he let the opposition of Simon Robinson, back into the game before finally winning 13-8.
The father & son team of Paul & Jack Perfect-Brown took the only point for the home side, winning the doubles 13-8.

Colne Angel defeated Rayne Cock 2 for their second win of the season, with Graham Farmer & Daphne Barrow coming back from 10-6 down to 13-10 to ensure a 2-1 win.

 

BDPL 29/04/09
Rayne Cock 1 were at home to Rayne Swan 2 in the Daniel Robinson & Sons Braintree & District Petanque Summer League which kicked off this week.
Clay O’Sullivan, Paul Linehan & James Hardy didn’t fare too well in the opening triples which was won 13-6 by Lorne & Beryl Gibson & Graham Brewer for the Swan.
The doubles looked to be going the same way when the Gibson’s went into an 11-7 lead, but they then fell apart and Linehan & O’Sullivan took a deserved 13-11 win.
Although losing 13-9 young James Hardy gave a very good performance against Brewer in the singles but it meant a 2-1 win for Swan 2.

Rayne Swan 4 started their summer campaign with a convincing 3-0 win. Tom Smith, Colin Sams & Clare Courtney dominated the triples winning 13-2.
In the singles Smith kept his form and took a 9-0 lead, although if he had taken his chances it could have been even more. Dick Youngs eventually got some good pointing going and recovered to 9-7, but Smith pulled away again to win 13-9.
The doubles were more closely contested with Tom Winter and Russell Bingham starting well for the Sun when they led 6-2. Some good shooting and pointing by Sams saw the Swan level at 6 all. The Sun managed to gain just one more point before the Rayne pair took the game 13-7.

Colne Angel visited Onley PC at Stisted and managed to scrape a 2-1 win. The strong triples combination of Simon Bird, Graham Farmer & Viv Middleton-Sams got them off to a storming start with a 13-2 defeat of Dan & Nikki Blows & Tracey Austin.
Then it became a struggle, Dan Blows had an excellent 13-5 win over Middleton-Sams which left the match hinging on the doubles.
The game couldn’t have been any closer with Julie Constable & Daphne Barrow just scraping through 13-12 over Nikki Blows & Austin for a 2-1 away win.
Due to an injury to one of their players and unable to find a last minute replacement, Rayne Swan 1 conceded their game against Chequers White.