Spalding Indoor Bowls Club duo Ruby Hill and Jordan Philpott were part of the victorious England team in the under-18 British Isles Championships over the weekend.
The Spalding juniors were selected to play together in the mixed pair event at Abbeyview Bowls Club in Dunfermline, with Hill also playing mixed fours and Philpott competing in the singles.
Both players walked away with medals, with Philpott claiming the ultimate honour of singles gold.
The pair also claimed bronze in the mixed pairs as England bagged yet another overall success in the event.
With the mixed pairs up first, the South Holland aces started off against a pair from Wales and took control early on, winning both sets with ease.
Next up was the very strong Ireland side of Reece Millar and Chloe Watson. Despite losing the first set, they managed to win the second to set up a one-end tie break to decide the match.
In the breaker, Philpott found himself needing to draw within six inches to save the match. Amazingly, he held his nerve admirably to draw within four inches, much to the delight of his team-mates and the travelling supporters.
Unfortunately, they bowed out to a good Irish pair in the semi-finals – but that still left them with the chance to play another team from Wales for the bronze medal. They duly won that one 2-0 to take the bronze and get England some points on the overall board.
On the Sunday it was time for singles and the fours. Philpott started off by playing the lad from Ireland who knocked him out in the pairs.
In the first set he got revenge by winning 11-0, before taking the second 10-5 to post a 2-0 scorecard.
Hill was in the fours with Lydia Cutmore, Levi Hembrow and Bradley Coles – but unfortunately they lost to a good Scotland side.
Then came the singles semi final, which saw Philpott post another 2-0 win against Alex Brain, from Wales, to qualify for the final.
There, his opponent would be his England team-mate Thomas Towle, who defeated Carrie Mclean from Scotland.
Back In the fours, Hill’s set managed to beat Ireland and then they defeated the Chanel Islands, which meant they finished a creditable fifth overall.
However, all eyes were now on the singles final.
It didn’t start well for Philpott, who found himself a set down. But he recovered in the second set to take the match to a one end decider.
There, the Spalding ace held his nerve to once again to take the end and claim the gold medal.
Overall, England won the series for the fifth time in a row leaving the home side Scotland in second place.
Hill and Philpott are two more of Spalding’s impressive junior coaching programme, which has produced a number of international bowlers at all levels in recent years.
