Hertfordshire came 3rd in their Group at the ICC Rinks "A" Series Finals on Saturday 6th April held at the Daventry Indoor Bowls Club. Herts beat Northamptonshire, but lost to a strong Dorset team and only narrowly lost to Kent.

Match 1:  Hertfodshire v Dorset

Hertfordshire lost their opening match against Dorset by 14 shots, only winning on  one of the four rinks.  Herts Team 1 of Julia Bruce, Audrey Fowler, Denis Mack and skip, Brian Fowler got off to a 14 - 6 winning start.  Unfortunately this was our only winning game as Team 2 (Pauline Taylor, Sue Murray, Martin Nash and  Brian McGivern), Team 3 (Jeff Branch, Robin Quarterman, Margaret Ecclestone and Alan Hare) and Team 4 (Carol Still, Jill Quarterman, Margaret Hare and Bill Gearing) all lost. Brian's team lost 8 - 13,  Alan's team lost  10 - 17: and Bill's  rink lost 6 -16.

Result: Hertfordshire 38 Dorset 52

Match 2  v Hertfordshire v Northamptonshire

Herfordshire did much better in their second game beating Northamtonshire by 10 shots and winning on three of the four rinks. Brian Fowler's Team continued their excellent start with an emphatic 19 - 9  win.. Brian McGivern's rink got off to a poor start and were 13 -1 down after 6 ends; however they staged a spirited fight back to close the gap to 15 - 10! In a close game Alan Hare's rink won by 11 shots to 9 and Bill Gearing's team were always leading in their 10 - 7 win.

Result: Hertfordshire 50 Northamptonshire 40

Match 3: Hertfordshire v Kent

Herfordshire  lost their third  match against Kent by only 4 shots overall despite  winning on only one rink . Team Captain, Ken Murray, decided to ring the changes for the final Group match and brought  reserves Toni Gearing and Sam Salmon into Brian McGivern's and Bill Gearing's teams. Again Brian Fowler's rink maintained their brilliant form, winning their game comfortably by 15 shot to 3! Brian McGivern's rink were always chasing their opponents but came back hard through ends 8 to 11 finally losing by 17 shots to 9. Similarly in a close game Alan Hare's team were always behind in losing 12 - 10. Bill Gearing's rink never recovered after going 5 - 0 down in the first 2 ends, and, although they fought back in the second half of the match, they eventually lost 15 - 9.

Result: Hertfordshire  43 Kent 47