Curling
Highland and Lowland Brigade Curling Club Regimental Bonspiel 2009, Perth Ice Rink, 5th March 2009
By Anonymous, from TRL, Spring 2009
Eight rinks contested the Annual Bonspiel at Dewar Rinks, Perth on 5th March 2009. The Black Watch and Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders each fielded three rinks and the Highlanders fielded two rinks. John Lauder celebrated his birthday by Skipping the winning rink in the Bonspiel for the first time with his rink from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. The Low Road was won by Allan Watson’s rink from the Highlanders and the Playoff was won by Bobby Stewart’s rink from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.
First Round
Highlanders A, at the first end, had four against them after some good play by A and SH C. Allan Watson played a perfect draw to gain one shot. At the second, despite two tap ups, Alan Lauder gained one back and at the third, when Allan Watson failed to draw with his last, John Lauder stole a shot. The Argylls stole another at the fourth to go 3-1 up. At the fifth Allan Watson had two against him but had a perfect takeout to gain a shot. All depended on the last end. The Highlanders built up an early position, but John Lauder played two fine shots to lie, and when Allan Watson was inches wide with both his shots, John Lauder gained a two and the match 5-2.
BW C had a cracking game against Highlanders B. The BW gained a single at the first and lost one at the second. Thereafter Jamie Duncan-Miller's rink gained a two at the third and then stole three threes, to win the match comfortably 21-1.
BW A started confidently against A and SH B, gaining a single at the first and stealing a single at the second. Then the Argylls won a three at the third and stole singles at the fourth and fifth ends before finishing with a two, to win the match 7-2.
A and SH A lost a two to BW B at the first end, but then regained them at the second. The Argylls then stole two at the third and fourth ends to get into a strong position and go 6-2 up. A stolen single at the fifth was matched by a single for the Black Watch at the sixth, but the Argylls ran out 7-3 winners.
The First Round winners, who went to the High Road, were Black Watch C along with all three Argyll rinks. The First Round losers went to the Low Road.
Second Round
BW C started with a two against A and SH B, but then the Argylls won one back. The Black Watch won the next end and the Argylls at the fourth, to give the Black Watch a 3-2 advantage. At the critical fifth end, the Black Watch gained a three to put them 6-2 up and then stole a single at the last to win 7-2.
The two other Argyll rinks contested the other High Road match. After a blanked first end, A and SH A gained a single at the second, but John Lauder replied with a three at the third. A stolen single at the fourth and a decisive stolen three at the fifth put John Lauder’s rink 7-1 up. A stolen four at the last end gave the C rink an 11-1 victory over the A rink.
The High Road finalists were Black Watch C and Argylls C.
BW B started with a single against Highlanders A. Allan Watson, with his last stone got a wick to promote and take a single. Another wick at the third was not enough to prevent the Black Watch gaining two shots at the third and a 3-1 lead. At the fourth end Allan Watson had a third wick to draw in for a single. At the fifth the Highlanders built up a good head, and the Black Watch was unable to find a way in, losing a two, and going behind for the first time. Allan Watson had a perfect take out to lie one, and when Jamie Montgomery narrowly missed with a draw into the centre circle, the Highlanders had won the match 5-3.
In the other Low Road match, Highlanders B gained a single at the first against BW A. The Black Watch gained a single at the next and then the Highlanders gained a single at the third, though it should have been a two, when John Finlay’s last stone was short. At the fourth end, John Finlay promoted with his last to steal a single and take a 3-1 lead. The fifth end, as so often, was critical. The Highlanders built up a strong position and were lying two when Tim Usher was wide but had a lucky promote. Tim Usher drew in for a second and the match was peeled at 3-3. In the tight last end, John Finlay was short with his final stone and BW A stole a single and the match 4-3.
The Low Road finalists were Highlanders A and Black Watch B.
Third Round
In the High Road final, A and SH C took a firm grip, gaining a two at the first and then stealing three singles to go five up after four ends. BW C gained a three at the fifth, but the Argylls hit back with a three at the last to win the Bonspiel and the Highland Brigade Cup by 8 shots to 3.
In the Low Road final the Highlanders were in excellent form though BW A won a single at the first end. With two promoted stones, the Highlanders gained a three at the second and then with a take out and guard, Allan Watson stole a single at the third. The Highlanders got stones in the house in the fourth and fifth ends, and with good guarding, stole two more singles to go 6-1 up. Then at the last the Highlanders piled stones into the house and stole 5 shots to win the match 11-1.
The beaten High Road and Low Road rinks played each other in the Playoffs. A and SH A were five up after two ends and defeated A and SH B by 10 shots to 2. Highlanders B had a close match with BW B. The Highlanders gained a single at the first, but then the rinks exchanged singles so that the score was peeled 2-2 after four ends. At the fifth John Finlay had a perfect takeout with his last to gain a two. At the last the Highlanders build up a strong position, drawing a guarding and with his last, John Finlay guarded the only apparent port, but with his last stone Jamie Mongomery played an outstanding shot to draw into the edge of the centre circle to gain a single but lose the match 3-4.
In the Playoffs, the rink with most shots up was A and SH A.
Final Results
High Road Winners: John Lauder (Skip), Alastair Scott Elliot, Willie Scott and Andrew Dewar-Durie.
Low Road Winners: Allan Watson (Skip), Mike Wimberley, Neil McKerrow and Charlie Miller.
Playoff Winners: Bobby Stewart (Skip), Alan Lauder, Mark Sherriff and Alastair Campbell.
