By Val Febbo
It was a bag of mixed results for Australia’s Jackaroos on Day One of Glasgow 2026 with a late flurry ending the night on a high for the green and gold.
Men’s singles
Continuing in his pursuit of a three-peat in the men’s singles, Aaron Wilson proved too strong in his two contests throughout the day to move to the top of his section.
The New South Welshman began his day with a superb performance against Namibia’s Waylon Wentzel, taking the clash 11-3 6-3.
Going down 0-3 after two ends, the Namibian looked primed for a mighty display before Wilson roared to life, taking the final five ends on the bounce to emerge from the opening stanza with the ascendancy.
The second proved to be more of the same, with the Namibian again heading to a 3-0 lead with the Australian turning the tide once more to salute for his second win of the competition.
He would run riot in the evening session against Botswana’s Diza Mphotho, gaining a sensational 15-1, 14-1 victory in rapid time.
Wilson was on song from the outset, clinching a full count in the very first end of the game to gain control before doubling down on his dominance in the second to end his evening in perfect fashion.
Wilson is in action again tomorrow against the Isle of Man’s Mark McGreal (Sunday 4:15am AEST).
Women’s pairs
The fate was not the same for Dawn Hayman and Kelsey Cottrell in the women’s pairs, suffering a 10-1, 5-2 defeat at the hands of Guernsey’s Rose Ogier and flag bearer Alison Merrien MBE.
Heads would remain tight for the first few ends, with Merrien producing some fine back end bowls when needed as the island nation stormed home in the first.
Proceedings would continue in similar fashion across the opening two exchanges of set two, with Ogier and Merrien having all the answers.
Despite producing some quality bowls, it would not be enough for the Australians to rectify the deficit, leaving them at one win and one loss after two games.
Hayman and Cottrell are back in action tomorrow against the Isle of Man’s Caroline Whitehead and Paula Garrett (Saturday 5:30pm AEST) before their second game against Singapore’s Janice Tan and Ai Lin Cheo (Sunday 2:50am AEST).
Vision Impaired mixed pairs
In their first matches of Glasgow 2026, Jacky Hudson (Claire Turley director) and Jake Fehlberg (Karen Murphy AM director) split their ledger across the day.
The duo were defeated 2-4, 6-3, 2-0 by Wales’ Julie Thomas (Jamie Jones director) and Steffan James (John Wilson director).
Starting in fine fashion, the Australians were able to conjure all of the answers needed in the first set that saw them gain a strong foothold in the clash.
Wales were able to turn the tables in the second, holding off any hopes of a green and gold whitewash with a brilliant set of bowls to send the matchup to a one-end tiebreak for the victory.
Thomas and James put together a superb end to hold two before Fehlberg’s final bowl, which he was just unable to nail as the Welsh claimed an important win.
The 2023 World Bowls Championships gold medallists would rebound strongly in their second contest against South Africa’s Princess Schroeder (Graham Ward director) and Keith Orrell (Trevor Freeman director), taking a 9-2 4-4 win to gain momentum ahead of a big Saturday.
Both played in exemplary fashion in the opener to gain the momentum before their South African counterparts maintained the lead for the majority of the second set.
Needing a two to tie the set and avoid the tiebreak, Fehlberg put down a brilliant delivery to seal the contest and end the night in perfect fashion.
Hudson and Fehlberg will return to the green tomorrow against Scotland’s Mary Stevenson and Robert Barr (Saturday 9:45pm AEST) before taking on New Zealand’s Sonya Woodrow and Kerrin Wheeler (Sunday 5:40am).
