Monkstone Pétanque Club

The postponed 2nd leg of our annual Friendly v Royal Wootton Bassett PC was played at RWB on Thursday 18 September 2025. All those taking part were relieved to find that the fixture was still taking place after the atrocious weather the previous day. In fact it turned out to cloudy with very warm sunny interludes.

The match was played in the usual format of 2 rounds of 6 doubles and 2 rounds of 4 triples. Unusually RWB chose to start with the triples which were then followed by the doubles after lunch.

MPC had a healthy lead of 13 games to 7 after the first leg, but realised that RWB would be looking to overturn that on their home gravel.

The 2 rounds of triples each finished with 2 games all, so MPC had retained their 6 game advantage, after which lunch provided by RWB was taken.

The first round of doubles finished 3-3 so RWB would have to win all 6 of the games in the second round of the doubles. Fortunately for MPC they came up slightly short by taking 4 of the games to MPC’s 2 thus reducing the overall deficit to 4 games with MPC taking the overall honours by 22 games to 18.

Toady, we welcomed to our club, a party of 15 friends from Royal Wootton Bassett PC. The occasion was the the 1st leg of the annual competition between the clubs. The 2nd leg will be played at RWB PC on 18 September 2025.

Our guests were welcomed in typical Monkstone sunny weather and were treated to tea/coffee and Welsh cakes after their journey across the bridge.

The match was in the usual format of 2 rounds of 6 doubles followed by 2 rounds of 4 triples.

When play got under way Monkstone took an early lead in the first round of doubles and finally won the round by 4-2 (games) and 62-43 (points). The pattern continued the second round of doubles with Monkstone again edging it by 4-2 and 56-41.

A break was then taken for a sumptuous lunch provided by the MPC members with a trip to the bar for those who wanted to slake their thirst in the hot weather. The deserts provided included, what else in Wimbledon fortnight, strawberries and cream.

So, after the repast, play recommenced with round one of the triples. Monkstone proved they hadn’t overeaten or drunk by continuing in their fine form to take the round 3-1 and 50-26.

On to the final round of triples but Monkstone took their foot of the gas a bit and RWB earned a draw with 2-2 and 45-36.

So the final score was a 1st Leg win by 13-7 and 213-146. They may “think its all over ……….” but it’s not. Monkstone can expect a tough fight from RWB in the return fixture in September as they try to overcome the deficit.

Many thanks to those who played and those who provided the lunch and a special “Well Done” to Ros Goddard, supervising her first event in her new role as MPC Fixture Secretary.

Our friendly match with Wilton Bridge took place under sunny spring skies in Ross-on-Wye. Both teams were fielding 14 players apiece, with three rounds of play ahead.

The first round comprised four triples and one double. The results of the five games were pretty close, with MPC edging Wilton Bridge 3 wins to 2 (60-48). It was good to see some of our less-experienced players, such as Keith Miller and Linda Lippett, playing well.

In round 2 there were seven straight doubles to play and the best result came from the two Lindas, Lippett and Thomas, who won their game 13- 2. There were also wins for Bernard & Mike, John Maroney & Keith Thomas and Keith Miller & Peter Lippett. Overall we won the round by 4 games to 3, but the points difference of 72-68 shows how close the games had been.

So, with a lead of 7 games to 5, it was all to play for in the final round of two triples and four doubles. Wilton Bridge still had a chance to come good. But it wasn’t to be. We took four of the six games, giving us a final result in the match of 11 games to 7 (202-164). Congratulations to all our players and especially to three players who completed a hat trick of winning games: Bernard, Linda Lippett and Keith Miller.  Well done to them and to all our players for giving up a day to play for our club.

Wilton Bridge are a developing club and they want to improve. Their performance in this first match shows that they are on the right track and we look forward to hosting them in the next leg.

Roger Griffin