By Val Febbo

The highs and lows of sport were shared among the Jackaroos at Glasgow 2026 with the day ending in mixed emotions.

Men’s Pairs

Corey Wedlock and Aaron Teys began the day with a gutsy 2-7 4-1 2-0 win over Tonga’s Chad Nathan and Liam Hill before a 7-2 5-5 defeat at the hands Northern Ireland’s Adam McKeown and Gary Kelly to put their hopes of progression in danger.

The morning saw Nathan and Hill were bringing the heat early, putting an abundance of pressure on Wedlock and Teys to claim the opening set.

However, the Australians were not to be deterred, producing a tight second to send the match to a tiebreak thanks to some sublime deliveries.

It was a stingy second set with only singles scored across the five ends, setting the Australians up for the tiebreak.

Wedlock was supreme as lead not giving an inch, with Teys managing to lock up any avenue for Tonga to take the victory as the green and gold gained a decisive victory ahead of the clash with Northern Ireland.

All four players know each other mightily well from their time at Warilla, and it was easy to tell early on.

Heads were tight but it was McEown and Kelly gaining the early lead at 7-0 after three ends to seal the first set with an end to spare.

The Northern Irishmen took the first end of the second before the Australians won consecutive ends for the first time in the match to open up a 5-1 lead with one end to go.

Enter Kelly, who sank Australia once more with an extraordinary bowl to make a four and gain prime position to exit the section.

Wedlock and Teys will be in action again tomorrow against New Zealand’s Tony Grantham and Ali Forsyth (Saturday 6:55pm AEST).

Women’s Singles

Ellen Fife’s title defence is still alive thanks to a bruising 11-3 10-2 victory against the Falkland Islands’ Daphne Arthur-Almond.

Fife was rampant in the first set, taking a full count with the opening end as she ran out to a 10-0 lead after just four ends.

The onslaught continued as the defending champion piled on the shots to take a commanding lead into set two.

She would pick up where she left off, running out to an unassailable lead with an end to go and gaining vital shots as she chases Katherine Rednall for first place.

It almost looked brilliant for Fife, with Rednall trailing Connie Rixon 5-8 3-7 with two ends to play in the second before the English star produced an enormous comeback to win in a tiebreak.

Fife will be back in action tomorrow against the Cook Islands Emily Jim (Saturday 8:20pm AEST).

Para Men’s Pairs

Damien Delgado and James Reynolds proved exactly why they are the tiebreak kings at Glasgow 2026 with a a 2-5 7-6 2-0 win against South Africa’s Gareth Rees-Gibbs and Jarid James to ensure their place in Saturday’s semifinals.

The South Africans were out for revenge following the 2023 World Bowls Championships final, where Rees-Gibbs was part of the pair that fell to Delgado and Reynolds in an epic.

They flew out of the blocks too, negating everything the Australians threw their way on route to grabbing a one-set advantage.

Delgado and Reynolds took a four in the opening end of the second, seemingly looking like they had responded, but the South Africans replied with a quadruple of their own.

The Australians remained resolute, opening up a 7-4 buffer with an end to play.

South Africa were unable to convert the chance they had at getting the three they needed, which forced the one-end shootout for the victory.

From there, it was all green and gold as the reigning World Champions held on thanks to a nigh on perfect tiebreak to book their passage to the final four.

Delgado and Reynolds will be back in action tomorrow against Scotland’s Garry Brown and Stuart Sloan (Saturday 9:45pm AEST) before their semi at 4:15am AEST on Sunday morning.

Para Women’s Pairs

Louise Hoskins and Serena Bonnell were in brilliant form to defeat Malaysia’s Norazian Daud and Jariah Zakaria 9-3 3-3 to ensure their place in tomorrow’s semifinals.

Taking a four with the first end, the Australians looked like they could be in for a dominant start to the contest but the Malaysians were up to the task gaining three shots across the next two ends.

Hoskins and Bonnell raised their level from there, storming home to gain the crucial ascendancy in the important clash.

The second set was much more tense with rare multiples scored across the five ends, but the Australians would do enough to tie it and clinch their spot in the post sectionals.

Hoskins and Bonnell will be in action tomorrow against Scotland’s Mary and Pauline Wilson (Sunday 12am AEST) before their semifinal at 5:40am AEST.