London & Southern Counties Shield Final 5th September 2026

London Southern Counties Shield Final

We turned up at Southey Bowls Club on Saturday 5th September. The sun was shining, and the car park was already full as we arrived to play the London Southern Counties Shield Final against Bletchingley BC.

The team all arrived on time and ready to go, and we also had our trusty reserves on hand, just in case anyone went down.

The game got underway with some good starting bowls from Egham. Despite going 1–7 down after three ends on both rinks, we started to find our feet and, by the fifth end, had pulled the scores back to 6–9 down.

By the ninth end, Mark’s rink of Richard Reynolds, Dave Rose, Ian Crook and Mark Bishopp had taken the lead, 9–6 up. Jake’s rink of Trevor Hoy, Mike Kopp, Will Vizer-Allen and Jake had also moved into a 6–5 lead after eight ends. Things were starting to look up.

However, with some great bowls from Bletchingley’s back-end players, we found ourselves behind again. After 12 ends, Mark’s rink was 9–10 down, while Jake’s rink was 6–10 down after 10 ends.

The Egham side made another little push and got to within one shot after 13 ends. The game was getting very tight, with shots being traded over the next few ends.

With only two ends left to play, Egham were just two shots behind. Mark’s rink finished 11–14 down, leaving the final two ends to be played by Jake’s rink.

At this point, I had to go to the bar to get a drink and calm the nerves. By the time the barman had finished pouring the slowest drinks ever, I came back out to find Will taking out a bowl and leaving us holding four shots, with only the skips left to play.

Both skips got in and traded shots, but Egham managed to hold on to the four shots, giving us a two-shot lead going into the last end.

And I have to say, Trevor then bowled a perfect front toucher and surprised everyone with a forceful arm curl accompanied by a loud shout of **“COME ON!”** — not something anyone was expecting!

The end was played out with Egham trying not to make a target, while the opposition desperately tried to get the shot. Thankfully, they had no luck.

Egham held out to win the trophy by **three shots!** 🏆

I would again like to thank every player who played in any round of the competition, as without you we would not have won the trophy.

A big thank you also goes to all our supporters who came along on the day. It is always nice to hear some clapping when you’re playing! 😊

**Congratulations to everyone involved — London Southern Counties Shield Champions! 🏆**

Other players involved in previous rounds : David Ayton, Stephen Barnard, Gary Clarke and Martin Hayes. Reserve Alan Endersby