After the heaviest downpour of the season, Saturday dawned clear and dry—perfect for the 1-5 Interclub. Albeit having shifted to carpet greens due to waterlogged natural surfaces. Twenty-four teams of six battled it out for a spot in Sunday’s post-section, with host venues Ōtāhuhu, Blockhouse Bay, Howick, Epsom, Carlton Cornwall, and St Heliers putting on great hospitality and creating awesome settings for competitive bowls.

Six sides advanced to Sunday. CCB Black, without a single junior rep, had a dream Saturday at home—upsetting Howick to qualify, only to fall to a slick St Heliers team in the quarters. Mt Albert Blue edged past Ōtāhuhu in a nail-biter, with Ryan Hill clinching the singles 21–19 from 19-all in a tense finish. Mt Albert then swept past Papatoetoe in the semis, while the Royal Oak Gemini side powered past St Heliers, thanks to a dominant triples performance and an intense 21–16 singles win by Nicole Singer.

The final was stacked with talent—11 of 12 players are part of the representative performance squad. The early stages were tight, but Mt Albert found another gear. The pairs sealed a 22–15 win, and Hill again delivered in the singles, winning 21–13. Royal Oak edged ahead in the triples but couldn’t stop Mt Albert from taking the title.

Mt Albert now heads to Northland in May to represent Auckland in the Mercedes Cup—and with such form (and little Auckland bias), they’re hot favourites to bring it home.

👉Check full results here