This year the Munro Cup reverts back to a single league format. As Barry Romilly has two teams in that league it was decided at the start of the season meeting that we would enter two balanced sides in the competition. The first game of the 2026 season at The Rom was a friendly between those two Munro Cup sides. While it may have been scheduled as a friendly it proved to be a very competitive game. The game was played on a sunny but chilly evening on five rinks with the A team, skipped by Pete Hunt, winning the by three rinks to two and clinch a 64-56 victory.
On Rink 1 Alun Bryan’s quartet overwhelmed Dave Curtis’s four with a comprehensive 15-10 victory. Pete Hunt’s side enjoyed further success on Rink 2, Russ Harbron and Paul Mason leading Dave Francis’s rink to a superb win over Bryan ‘Fossy’ Foscolo’s rink who, having led in the early stages fell away badly, giving up six consecutive ends to lose the game 16-9.
Rink 3 saw Jeff Wright’s rink take a lead after the fifth end then race to a comfortable 13-7 victory for Steve Bell’s Club Side Rink 4 provided the most exciting game of the match. The early stages were close before Gary Eastment’s side, led superbly by Phil ‘Herbie’ Herbert, stormed ahead to a 14-7 lead by the twelfth of the fifteen ends. However, Steve Bell’s four, comprising Ben Curtis, Paul Rebane and Ray Hewitson defied the odds to win the last three ends and so win the rink by closest of margins, 15-14.
Rink 5 featured several of The Rom’s more senior players, Steve’s Club side being skipped by Club President Graham ‘Coggers’ Cogbill and Pete’s A side by Mike Doyle. This was a closely fought match, with both Keith Pearson and Leigh Cogbill shining for Coggers’ rink. It proved to be a very close-fought match and it wasn’t until the fourteenth end that Doyley’s team forced themselves into a four-point lead. Their opponents clawed back a point on the final end to finish the game 12-9 in Mike Doyle’s favour. All in all it was a pleasant evening of bowls, most agreeing that It was good to be out on the grass again.