Llechryd Short Mat Bowls Club

April 1973 - Richard Nixon gives the "'There can be no whitewash at the White House" speech
March 2026 - Llechryd Short Mat Bowls Club declare "we have not been whitewashed once this season"

Llechryd brought the curtain down on a largely disappointing season with a hard fought draw against Capel Dewi Short Mat Bowls club at Llechryd Coracle Hall.

In the singles, Andrew, in his last game as captain, ended the season on a whimper. Taking a 3 shot lead into the second end, he allowed his opponent to inch his way back, successive singles followed by a 2 on the fourth put Gerwyn ahead for the first time. A single brought the scores level before Gerwyn went on a five end scoring spree. Three 3's and two singles ensured the victory for Capel Dewi after the tenth end. A further 2 shots apiece made the final score 17-6 to Gerwyn

The Llechryd pairing of Simon and Pauline took the first two ends of their battle with the "Siôn a Sian" of Cardiganshire Short Mat Bowling Association, Robert and Sally Davies. The visitors levelled at 5-5 after four ends before a 3 put the home team ahead again. A single on six brought the Davies' within 2 at half way. A run of 5 shots in three ends put Llechryd 6 up with three to play. Robert and Sally started the comeback with a 3 on the tenth and a 2 on the eleventh. Holding just the 1 shot after her final delivery, Sally could only watch as Pauline sent her last wood up and into the head, unable to take the last end but ensuring they held out to win 13-12.

In the triples, Llechryd's trio of Anne, Myra and Alan took on, and beat the visiting Glenda, Jennifer and Delyth. All level at 4-4 after six ends thanks to a 2 and two singles each, Llechryd finally pulled away from their opponents with successive 3's. A single on the penultimate end guaranteed the 2 points and overall draw for the home team but it was Capel Dewi who took the final end. A 3 meant the final score was 11-7.

Llechryd's rink of Steve, Dai, Robert and Elaine took four of the ten ends on offer but could only muster 4 shots in the process. The visiting quartet of Nigel, Mark, Helen and Glanmor scored 15 in the remaining six ends thanks in part to four 3's. A 2 and a single took the score to 15-4.

Llechryd again taking the first end in each contest but failing to capitalise overall.

Thanks to Welsh Short Mat Bowls Chair Gerald Hands for umpiring tonight and for his support and guidance over the season.

Llechryd 34 (4)
Capel Dewi 51 (4)

In the penultimate match for both clubs, reminiscent of the numbers round in Countdown, 1 from the bottom and 1 from the top, the points went to Manordeifi Short Mat Bowls Club, leapfrogging Clwb Bowlio Llandygwydd in the process to guarantee the runners-up spot in the Cardiganshire Short Mat Bowling Association league.

In the singles, Steve avenged his shock defeat to Andrew in the match at Llechryd Coracle Hall earlier in the season with a comfortable victory. Despite going 1 down after the first end, Steve was always in control after that, going 5 clear after the four. The closest Andrew got to Steve was after taking a 3 on the fifth end. A 2 on the sixth meant Steve led 8-4 at half way. A tied seventh end was followed by a single for Andrew, drawing to the jack with Steve holding 4. A run of 6 shots over three ends had Steve leading 14-5 going into the last. A brace for Andrew on the twelfth meant the final score was 14-7.

The pairs of Simon and Pauline, 2 up after two, all square after four, went behind on the fifth end when Sid and Gethin took a 2. A single on the sixth put the Manordeifi pair 5-2 up at half way. Llechryd fought back to level after eight before another three shot swing put the home side 8-5 ahead going into the eleventh. A measured delivery from Pauline took the jack back a couple of feet, away from the two Manordeifi bowls holding shot, to record a well deserved 3 and all to play for on the final end. With Sid holding shot, Pauline's attempt at wresting his bowl away from the jack stayed high and despite Gethin's final delivery coming up short Manordeifi took the win 10-8.

The Llechryd trio of Anne, Dai, back after illness but nowhere near recovered and Alan, still coming to terms with his new hip, opened up their contest with Jordan, Manordeifi captain Nick "the Fountain of youth" on his 79th birthday and Bernie, with a 5. Slowing down, they took 7 over the next four ends to lead 12-0 at half way. A single and a four moved Manordeifi's total in the right direction. Llechryd reasserted their authority taking the last three ends running out the victors by 17-5.

Hamstrung by a withdrawl due to illness, the Llechryd rink of Steve, Myra and Elaine nevertheless emulated the singles, pairs and triples in taking the lead after the first end. 2 up after two, the very strong home four of Nicky, Brian, Mark - in his first season of short mat after a very good showing at Cardigan BC over the last two seasons, and skip Paul, recorded a 3 on the third end to take the lead for the first time. Undaunted, Llechryd hit back with a 2 to regain the lead, unfortunately the only score they managed to get until the final end. Manordeifi took 15 shots over the next five ends, before Elaine drew for a single. Manordeifi the winners, 18-5.

Manordeifi 47 (6)
Llechryd 37 (2)

If the KO Cup was played over eight ends, Llechryd would be looking forward to a home tie against Rhydlewis short mat bowls club in the semi final. I say looking forward, does any team towards the bottom of the Cardiganshire Short Mat Bowling Association league really look to forward to playing Rhydlewis!

As it is, the new format for this season's competion calls for the home team to swap mats after eight ends while the visiting side remain as they are. Eight more ends, the scores are added together, and the winning team progress. Personally, I quite enjoyed it. You play against players you wouldn't usually face, you change your way of thinking, it's self development but with food afterwards!

On mat 1, Anne, Steve, Myra and Elaine, after killing the first end, went 3 up after two before the Manordeifi quartet of Nicky, Brian, Paul M and Gethin struck back to lead 7-3 after five ends, a lead that wouldn't be relinquished. A 4 on the sixth end gave Llechryd some hope but Manordeifi closed out the first half with 2 singles to lead 9-7.

On mat 2, the home rink of Simon, Robert, Andrew and the evergreen Pauline, went into a 6 shot lead after four ends before the away four of Bernie, Paul E, Syd and Steve got off the mark with a single on the fifth. Llechryd went 8-1 up with a 2 on the sixth but were unable to prevent Manordeifi taking the last 2 ends, 8-4 at the interval.

With a slender 2 shot lead to defend, and new opponents to be played, Llechryd started the second half cautiously.

Mat 2 saw two tied ends either side of a Manordeifi single. The visitors picked up a 3 on the twelfth end to draw level at 8-8. Llechryd regained the advantage in taking a single on the thirteenth end, their only gain in the second half. Manordeifi levelled again before taking the lead for the first time with a 2 on the penultimate end. A single on the final end resulted in a 12-9 victory and a 3 shot advantage.

Back on mat 1, Manordeifi opened up a 3 shot lead of their own with a single on the ninth end before two singles brought Llechryd back within one after eleven. The course of the match was sealed when Llechryd dropped 8 shots in two ends, the 5 on end 12 being the decisive factor. Only managing two singles either side of a Manordeifi 4 meant that the visitors ran away with the win, 22-11.

Llechryd - 20
Manordeifi - 34

With Llechryd trailing by just the 1 shot after the first round of match ups, Rhydlewis upped the tempo in the second half and ran out convincing winners, the proverbial game of two halves, to pull 7 points clear at the top of the Cardiganshire Short Mat Bowling Association league table.

In the singles, Andrew went 5-4 up against Ceri after three ends, a 2 and a 3 either side of a full house. End four was declared a tie with 3 woods resting on the jack. A shot apiece on the next two ends left Ceri trailing by 1 going into the seventh. A 6 shot haul put Ceri 11-6 up after nine and well on his way to yet another victory. The Llechryd captain took the last three ends, netting 4 shots but wasn't enough, Ceri winning by 11-10

After taking the first end, Simon and Pauline soon found themselves 5-1 down against Keelee and Dylan; Johnson not DWJ Jr! A 2 on the fifth end brought the visitors within 2 but then conceded a 2 to trail by 7-3 at half way. A single and a 3 brought Llechryd level before the lead swapped hands three times in successive ends. Down by a shot going into the final end, and holding 1, Pauline's tentative effort to get the 2 needed for victory fell just short and had to make do with a 10-10 draw and 1 point.

The Rhydlewis trio of Morgan, Wyn and Dafydd were quickly out of the blocks, 10-0 up after five ends. Anne, Myra and Alan started their comeback with a 3 on the sixth end. A shot each put Rhydlewis 11-4 ahead with two to play. A single on the penultimate end was followed by a 4, leading Rhydlewis to a 16-4 victory.

Not to be outdone by the triples, Llechryd's th*****me in the rinks, a late withdrawal meant travelling with only 9, Steve, Robert and Elaine, suffered a cataclysmic start to their contest, 7 down after the first end, 12 down after three. They then took a 2 and a 3 to only trail by 7 after five ends. The home quartet of Kieran, Richard, Osian and Robert, a mix of positional front end and tactical back end, completed an emphatic 19-5 victory with a run of 7 shots over the second half.

Rhydlewis - 56 (7)
Llechryd - 29 (1)

On this day in history
1911 - Ronald Reagan born
1952 - Elizabeth II becomes Queen
2026 - Llechryd Short Mat Bowls Club win a game!!!

Caerwedros Short Mat Bowls Club were the visitors to Llechryd Coracle Hall in a battle of the bottom two clubs in the Cardiganshire Short Mat Bowling Association league.

Andrew took on Jane in the singles and after sharing the first two ends scored another single then a 3 to go 5-1 up after four. Jane then took a single before a 3 put Andrew 8-2 up at half-way. A 2 on the seventh put him eight clear. Another single for Jane before Andrew killed the game with a run of 6 shots over three ends to go 16-3 up going into the last. With Andrew holding 4 in a relatively tight head, Jane, who struggled with the pace of the mat all evening, delivered her best bowl of the contest, swinging in across the front two woods to nestle on the jack thus taking the final end but unable to prevent the defeat, going down 16-4.

The Llechryd pair of Simon and Pauline were much too strong for the visiting Sue C and Sue D, restricting them to only 2 scoring shots over their 12 end contest. Simon's accuracy and consistency as lead, complimented by super veteran Pauline, saw the home pair 8-1 ahead after six ends, after the opening two ends were shared. A 2 on end seven followed by "The Sues" sneaking a single on the eighth was just the prelude to a run of 10 shots over the last four ends to see Llechryd home by 20-2

The triples, as with the singles and pairs, started with the opening two ends being shared. Anne, Alan and Myra scored a 2 on the third end before the Caerwedros trio of Barry, Dave and Roy reached the fifth end 6-3 ahead thanks to a 3 and a 2. A single brought Llechryd back to within 2 shots. 2 shots on the seventh put Caerwedros 4 up and after only managing to get a single on the eighth, Llechryd conceded a shot apiece on the last two ends to go down 10-5.

The Llechryd rink of Steve, Dai, Robert and Elaine were quickly out of the blocks; 5 up after two. The next three ends went 3 away, 3 home, 3 away to leave Llechryd 8-6 up after the fifth end. The home side took a giant leap towards the win with a 6 on the sixth end. They restricted the away 4 of Peter, Harry, Irene and Don to only two more singles, scoring 6 themselves in the process, running out the victors by 20-8 and securing the overall win.

Many thanks to Darren for umpiring and very good luck to the Cardiganshire county squad at this weekend's Welsh Short Mat Bowls County Championships at Radnorshire Indoor Bowls Stadium, Llandrindod Wells.

Llechryd - 61 (6)
Caerwedros - 24 (2)

The wait goes on for Llechryd's first win as they remain the only team without a victory this season after yet another close encounter, this time at home to Penrhiwllan Bowls Club.

In the singles, Andrew took on Paul H. and after a tied first end and a single apiece on the next two, went into the seventh end with a 4-2 lead. Paul, starting to get a feel for the mat, took 4 over the next two before Andrew recorded a 3 on the ninth to lead 7-6. Paul scored 3 on the tenth and with Andrew chasing the game, a further 2 on the eleventh to close out the victory by 11-7. Victory on the eleventh end?? Well, the scoreboard was showing 11 going into what was the last end but was in fact only the eleventh. A mixup between scorecard and scoreboard resulted in the match coming to a premature end, a fact that didn't come to light until some time later.

The Llechryd pairing of Simon and Myra, 1 down to the visiting Jane and Alison, after the first end, took 4's on both the second and fourth ends, book ending Penrhiwllan's 2 on the third. The visitors took a full house of their own to only trail by 1 at the half way point. The next four ends were shared before the homesters took the final three ends to record another victory, this time by 16-10.

After sharing the first four ends with Steve, the becrutched Alan playing his first match after a hip replacement and Elaine, the Penrhiwllan trio of Carole, the fit again Gerald, and Alwyn took a 4 on the fifth to lead 8-4. A run of 6 shots over the next three ends gave the visitors a 10 shot advantage going into the last two ends. Llechryd scored 6 over those two ends but had to concede defeat by 14-10

Out of the 160 woods bowled and discounting the large number which either went off the sides or into the ditch, the rinks could only muster 12 scoring shots between them! The away four of Andrea, Finley, Keith and Paul D. were 4 up after the first three ends before Llechryd's Dai, Tricia, Robert and Pauline got off the mark with a single. 4-2 up at half way, Penrhiwllan recorded another 1 on the sixth then had to sit back as Llechryd took the next three ends to go into the lead for the first time, 6-5 up after the penultimate end. With a cluster of woods resting on the jack and numerous visits to the head, Pauline's final delivery came in a touch too hot and turned Llechryd's toucher away. Penrhiwllan didn't bowl their final wood, happy with the shot which gave them a 6-6 draw. The scoreline could have been so different with Llechryd's seemingly impenetrable barricade breached time and again by Keith's Barnes Wallis inspired deliveries either cutting Llechryd down or finding their way through to the jack.

Llechryd - 39 (3)
Penrhiwllan - 41 (5)

Cardiganshire Short Mat Bowling Association

Llechryd Short Mat Bowls Club fought back from losing both the singles and pairs, to record their first draw of the season against Clwb Bowlio Llandygwydd moving off the bottom of the Cardiganshire Short Mat Bowling Association table in the process.

In the singles, Andrew carried on where he started the previous week, 3 down after the first end! He took a 2 on the next but then Darren started to pull away with a 4 and a single to lead 8-2 after 4 ends. A run of 5 shots in the next three ends brought Andrew back to within one after seven ends. Darren reasserted his lead in taking the next two ends. Andrew took a single on the tenth end but a dropped shot on the penultimate end left him needing a full house just to draw. Darren closed out the game with a four to win 16-8.

The Llechryd pair of Simon and Myra shared the first two ends against Teifi and Iestyn and went 4-1 up with a 3 on the third end. A run of five scoreless ends stifled their lead with Llandygwydd moving 7-4 ahead after eight ends. 2 shots on the ninth end brought Llechryd back to 6-7, but it wasn't to be after a further three blanks to end the game. Llandygwydd winning 12-6.

Llechryd's trio of Steve, Tricia and Elaine found themselves down by 2 after the second end but then took the next three to lead 5-2 at the half way mark. Sue, Elin and John took singles on the next two ends to trail by one with 3 ends to go. Llechryd then recorded a nap hand, exorcising the 5 shot drop at the end of their previous outing. 10-4 down with two to play, Llandygwydd pulled 1 back and very nearly made Llechryd pay yet again with a 3 on the final end. 10-8 to Llechryd.

The home four of Anne, Dai, Robert and Pauline were level after two before racing to an 8 shot half way lead against the visiting rink of Aled, Josh, Nicky and Samantha, thanks in large to a massive 6 shot haul on the fourth end. Llandygwydd took a single on the sixth before a 3 and a single of their own put Llechryd 13-2 ahead going into the final two ends. Llandygwydd took 4 over those two ends to make the final score 13-6 to Llechryd and a very welcome 4 points.

Llechryd 37 (4)
Llandygwydd 42 (4)

Plastic chairs for sale.
Approximately 65 @ £2 each.
Would prefer for them to be sold together if possible.
Money to be reinvested in the coracle hall

Llechryd Short Mat Bowls Club remain rooted to the bottom of the table after a heartbreaking defeat at Llechryd Coracle Hall to Manordeifi Short Mat Bowls Club.

Captain Andrew played newly crowned Cardiganshire Short Mat Bowling Association pairs champion Steve Reynolds in the singles and got off to an inauspicious start, 3 down after the first end. He took the next then recorded a 3 of his own on the 3rd end before Steve took 3 successive singles to lead 6-4 at the half way mark. Moving 7-6 ahead after 8 ends, Andrew dropped a shot on the 9th before taking the last 3 ends to complete a well deserved 11-7 victory.

Simon and Myra took on Brian and Gethin in the pairs and, despite sharing the opening 2 ends, were soon chasing the game, the Manordeifi duo 6-2 up after 6 ends. Gethin's precision play was the main difference between the 2 sides; after telling his partner what he was going to do, he very rarely failed to follow through, thanks in large to Brian's white bowls acting as twin beacons, guiding his deliveries home. Llechryd picked up a big 3 on the 8th end to give a little hope but failed to capitalise, eventually going down by 13-6.

The second half of the evening saw a brilliant, if demoralising, ending to the triples. Llechryd's trio of Steve, Dai and Elaine took a 4 on the 1st end, were 5-2 up after 3 but were level at 5-5 after 5. The Manordeifi three of Mike, Steve's county pairs partner Bernie and Syd went ahead for the first time in taking a single on the 6th before a 6 shot run took Llechryd to a seemingly unassailable 11-6 lead going into the final end. With bowls lying at all points of the compass and with a clear path to the jack, Syd, as cool as his namesake the Freemantle Doctor, trailed the jack back a foot to take the 5 needed to secure an 11-11 draw. The hug from Mike at the end showed how much it meant.

The rinks looked all over when Nicola, Nick, Paul Edwards and Paul Monders raced to a 9-0 half way lead over Llechryd's quartet of Anne, Robert, Tricia and Pauline. Llechryd staged a reversal of fortune, coming back to 7-9 with two ends to go. A single on the 9th left Llechryd needing 3 on the final end to draw but were only able to pick up a solitary shot, Manordeifi winning 10-8

Llechryd 36 (3)
Manordeifi 41 (5)