Five in a row for Victoria Invitation Pairs titles!!

A Victoria player was in the winning team at the Victoria Invitation Pairs for the fifth time in a row, with Gary Ruane (Goz) getting the big win with his partner Finbar McGuigan from Stokes Valley. A remarkable run considering that from the tournaments beginning in 1997 through to 2019 there was a total of five times Victoria featured in the winning pair.

Goz got the win in a close match against Victoria’s Barry O’Brien (Bazza) and Jamie Hill from Auckland. Finbar won the match with his last bowl. A late change in format from 2-4-2 to ‘straight pairs’ due to Green One being unavailable suited Goz’s pair well. Funnily enough, it was Goz who proposed the alteration! Though it certainly wasn’t on his mind that this could give young Finbar the chance to shine at skip all the way to winning the trophy.

Goz became the first Victoria President to win the tournament while in office. Oddly, Victoria Presidents and ex-Presidents are in a good run in this tournament. The losing finalist, Bazza, is the Immediate Past President, and last year’s Victoria winner, Richard Corry, was President from 2009 to 2019.