South Africa won the para lawn bowls mixed pairs B2/B3 after beating Scotland 14-10 in the gold medal match at Kelvingrove Lawn Bowls Centre on Saturday.

In a close contest lasting nearly three hours, both teams put shots on the board after a cagey opening. They were locked level at 2-2 after the fourth end before South Africa’s Herman Scholtz and Gwen Nel won the fifth by three to push them clear.

However, in front of a passionate home crowd, Robert Conway and Irene Edgar continued to trade shots with their opponents and won three consecutive ends to bring it back to 10-10 after the 13th.

South Africa finally got its break in the penultimate end when a great shot won it by three and ultimately, the Scots just came up short. Before Scotland bowled the final ball of the match, the South African team was already hugging and high-fiving because they knew victory was theirs. Conway’s drive was wayward and Scotland had to settle for silver as South Africa won gold, winning the final end by one.

In the bronze medal match it was Australia that prevailed, beating New Zealand 14-11 in the trans-Tasman clash. The Aussies started on top and were five up after two ends. However, the Kiwis were not going to go down without a fight and they pulled themselves back into the match and made it 7-7 after seven.

After trading shots,Tony Scott and Joy Forster put some good form together and moved ahead after winning the 11th end 3-0, eventually winning by three.

The para mixed pairs B2/B3 event began on Thursday and featured eight nations and territories, drawn into two sections. Section A was won by South Africa, with New Zealand in second place. Meanwhile in the other secttion, it was Scotland that finished two wins ahead of Australia.

The top two in each section met in the semi-finals on Friday when South Africa beat New Zealand 23-5 and Scotland defeated Australia 18-14.

WHAT THEY SAID

Comments from gold medallists Gwen Nel (RSA), Herman Scholtz (RSA) and lead director Geoff Newcombe (RSA) after South Africa defeated Scotland 14-10 in the para lawn bowls mixed pairs B2/B3 gold medal match at Kelvingrove Lawn Bowls Centre on Saturday.

Gwen Nel (RSA)

On how she remained composed under pressure:
“I think it’s all the years of experience that helped me through. I’ve been playing for 40 years and I keep cool under pressure.”

On the significance of this gold medal:
“I think the Commonwealth Games gold is the most important one I have. I’ve got many, many medals but I knew I wanted this one after playing for 40 years.”

On her feelings when the national anthem was being played:
“I said to Geoff, ‘I have goose flesh.’ It was a wonderful, wonderful feeling. It is a dream come true.”

Herman Scholtz (RSA)

On the victory:
“We have been talking about this for a long time. It’s our first Commonwealth Games. I don’t know if there is going to be another one. It’s brilliant.”

“I didn’t play that well but my lead (NEL) played really well and carried me through. We played well during the round-robin stage, definitely felt we had a chance. We knew it would be tough, so we’re happy we held through. We play against these guys every two years and we have known them for over 20 years so we are big friends.”

On NEL:
“She played brilliantly to put us up three going into the last end and we knew we just had to cover and everything is done.”

Geoff Newcombe (RSA) – lead director

On the victory:
“We are very, very happy for what we have achieved. Gwen and I have been together since 1993 and she’s won various gold medals all over the world but this is the big one. It was our goal and we practised hard for this. I said to them before the game: ‘This is what we came to Scotland for, we’re going to play against the team and the crowd. Go and do this for South Africa.'”

“It’s fantastic winning this as the first gold for South Africa (at these Games). It couldn’t be any better for two of the best B2/B3 bowlers in the world.”

On the feeling in the South Africa team when the score was 10-10:
“We felt it was slipping away but we knew we could do it. They (South Africa) have a big-match temperament and it was a fantastic achievement.”

Joy Forster (AUS) – Bronze 

On how it feels to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games:
It’s the most unreal feeling, it’s awesome, wonderful and magical. At my age (64) I didn’t think I could do anything like that.”

On her teammate Bruce Jones (AUS):
“We’ve been together now 12 years. We know each other’s mood and he’s very good with his directions, sometimes I follow them well and sometimes I don’t but that’s bowls.”