Monkstone Pétanque Club

Round 7 of the Super League took place on Tuesday evening and was a double banked affair as the Meteors v Monarchs clash due on Wednesday evening was brought forward in view of the forecast of very poor weather on Wednesday.

Meteors pairings comprised Ash Seath & Steve Hawkey and Melys Phinnemore & Ian Campbell, while Monarchs fielded Roger Griffin & Mike Jones and Keith Nott & Mike Wigg. Melys and Ian played a tight game against Roger and Mike, and with the score at 9-7 to Monarchs it could have gone either way. But good pointing from Mike secured 4 points and the game. It was 5-5 in the other game until Monarchs took the lead 8-5, but Meteors Ash and Steve fought back to within two points. However, Keith and Wiggy kept their nerve to win 13-8.

After the changeover, Melys and Ian were playing well and in the lead against Keith and Wiggy, until Monarchs took 4. With Monarchs now leading 11-7, Wiggy shot the coche in spectacular fashion (that’s his version) to secure the win. In the final game, Ash and Steve were 4-0 up on the first end and kept the lead for most of the game. Mike and Roger then swapped roles and started to come back, finally taking the game 13-10.

In the fixture that was scheduled for Tuesday, Minotaurs took on Mystics who were looking to improve on their draw with Minotaurs earlier in the competition. Minotaurs Barney and Peter K took on the McCarthy duo, Ian & Beryl. Despite some good pointing by Mystics, Barney & Pete took control and ran out 13-7 winners. On the other piste Jayne & Bernard came up against Mystics, Gill Greenwell and Tony Newton. Minotaurs started well but were overhauled by the Gill & Tony combo and soon found themselves 8-12 down. 2 on the next end closed the gap and when this was followed by a 3, the game was up for Mystics going down by the narrowest of margins, 12-13.

When the match resumed Mystics Gill & Tony were nip and tuck with Barney and Pete but the canny Minotaurs managed to pull ahead and closed out the game 13-9. It was déjà vu for Minotaurs Jayne & Bernard against the McCarthy pair. Minotaurs again established an early lead but Mystics got themselves back into the game and edged in front. The McCarthys extended their lead and for the second game in a row Jayne & Bernard found themselves 8-12 down – surely they couldn’t escape again. Minotaurs took a 1 in the next 2 ends and in the following end Beryl opened with 2 boules pointed to within 15 cms of the cosh. After missing almost everything all evening, Bernard suddenly came to life and shot them both out. The end continued and it was game on the floor for Mystics when Jayne, with 1 boule left, pointed onto the coche to give Minotaurs the point to take the score to 11-12. The McCarthys then had probably their worst end of the game and Jayne & Bernard took 2 points for 13-12 to complete their second remarkable recovery of the evening.

It is becoming obvious that both Meteors and Mystics are a force to be reckoned with. With a bit more experience of competition play and, occasionally, the right tactical choices, they will be running the established League teams a lot closer. On the current showings there is not much doubt that Monkstone will have at least one new team in the WPA League next season.

Round 6 of the Super League was played out this week on Tuesday & Wednesday evenings.

Tuesday night saw Monarchs take on Mystics where Monarchs’ pairings of Roger Griffin & Mike Jones and Roger Green & Mike Wigg faced Ros Goddard & Derek Dyer and Ian & Beryl McCarthy of the Mystics.

The 2022 Club Triples were held on Sunday 6 November 2022 but heavy rain threatened to nip the competition in the bud, but the eight teams taking part braved the elements with aplomb. Each team of three had been randomly selected to reflect a balance of skills, with an experienced player as captain.

In the first round, as the puddles on the pistes increased in number, the victors were Team A (Mike Jones, Wiggy and Paul Pursey), Team D (Gill Greenwell, Beryl and Margaret), Team E (Gill Clark, Peter Kensett and John Xiberras) and Team H (Roger Griffin, John Maroney and Leon Sofianos).

In Round 2 Mike’s team reduced Gill Clark’s chances by winning 13/7 while, in a low-scoring game, Roger’s team did the same to Gill Greenwell, winning 9/5. But Team Jayne Dunn and Team Phil Roberts recorded their first wins.

In the third and final round Jayne Dunn and Gill Clark both won their games to register two wins each. However, with Mike Jones and Roger Griffin already on two wins, it was clear that one of them would be the ultimate winner because they were playing each other! Team Roger took an early lead and looked comfortable, but the jitters took hold and Mike’s team begun to close the gap. Unfortunately, a bad end spoiled their chances of taking advantage, and Roger, John and Leon were relieved to point in for the game and the trophy, winning 13/9.

The final results of the top four teams were as follows:

1^st Roger Griffin, John Maroney, Leon Sofianos (3 wins, 35-19, +16)

2^nd Mike Jones, Mike Wigg, Paul Pursey (2 wins, 35-27, +8)

3^rd Gill Clark, Peter Kensett, John Xiberras (2 wins, 33-25, +8)

4^th Jayne Dunn, Ash Seath, Derek Dyer (2 wins, 30-27, +3)

President Mike with Winners John, Leon & Roger

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.