Day four and five of the Bowls and Para Bowls event at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games provided some of the most enthralling action of the Games so far.
After their thrilling win against India to finish the group stages, England’s Women’s Pairs duo of Amy Pharaoh & Sian Honnor had fans on the edge of their seats again, defeating Wales in a pulsating semi-final, 5-4, 4-5, 2-0.
With Honnor holding the last shot, and the nearest bowl about to come down to a measure, Honnor seized the moment, putting the result beyond doubt with a perfect draw.
The morning of Day 5 brought the final vs Malaysia.
Once again, the tension was high, but the experienced duo played exceptionally, winning a tight first set 5-4.
Malaysia fought back in the second and held a three-shot lead going into the final end.
Superb lead play by Pharaoh set up Honnor with a chance to tie the set at 5-5, and she duly delivered, sending the crowd into rapturous applause knowing that England had secured gold.
Before the arena could catch their breath, Sam Tolchard walked out to face Malaysia in the Men’s Singles final.
Tolchard had been on fire since a loss vs Fiji in his first game, and that trend didn’t wane in the first set, the Englishman taking it 8-0.
Much like the Women’s Pairs, Malaysia fought back in the second, gaining four shots in the fifth end to force Tolchard into a deficit of three.
With two ends of the set remaining, the Birmingham 2022 silver medallist hit back, knocking his final draw against the red Malaysian bowl to take four and head into the final end with a one-shot lead.
The end proved to be a nervy one, and Malaysia held the last shot with a chance to make two and force a tiebreaker.
His draw shot rolled into the head, but caught the Jack a little too heavily and nudged it towards Tolchard’s blue bowl, triggering a huge cheer from the stands and an outpouring of emotion from the first time gold medallist.
The morning began with possibly the closest final of the morning between England and Scotland in the VI Para Mixed Pairs.
Ron Homer BEM, Sally-Ann Lewis-Wall and their Directors Sue Davies & Elizabeth Shipley had fought valiantly to get to the final, besting Wales in a brilliant semi-final after thinking they were out at one point during the group stages.
England got off to a great start, built an early lead in the first set and held it to win 7-2.
The second set was much tighter, sitting a 3-3 in the final end.
England played a good last end, but a clutch shot from Scotland allowed them to take a three and force a tiebreaker.
The tiebreaker was once again extremely tense, and England had the advantage and the last shot.
Once again, a clutch firing shot by Scotland proved to be the difference, deflecting off a couple of bowls before ditching the Jack.
Lewis-Wall had the near-impossible job of ditching the close Scottish bowl and taking the win.
She came within a whisker, however her bowl just missed, giving Scotland the gold and England a wonderful silver medal.
Great Start for Second Wave
England’s second wave of bowlers in the Women’s Singles, Men’s Pairs, Para Men’s Pairs and Para Women’s Pairs got off to the perfect start, winning four games from four in the evening session.
Seven-time World Indoor Bowls Champion Katherine Rednall took her first victory vs Jersey 8-3, 10-5, coming back from 1-5 down in the second set, showing her class.
Nick Brett & Jamie Walker secured a comfortable win over the Falkland Islands, winning 9-2, 12-1, setting themselves up perfectly in the group.
The Para Men and Women’s Pairs took wins against Singapore and Canada respectively, the men securing a 9-0, 4-3 victory and the women taking their match 4-4, 10-1.
Five of the Best
Day 5 in Quotes
“The pressure was on us, but we’ve got the job done and it’s a huge team effort. So many people support us to allow this to happen. It’s not easy when you are both mums trying to juggle everything while remaining competitive in sport. It’s taken a lot to get back on top of that podium again. This is very different to Delhi. They’re both brilliant in their own way. Being a Commonwealth Games champion again means everything.”
Amy Pharaoh, Women’s Pairs Gold Medallist
“It means absolutely everything, it really does. It’s been such a long road with ups and downs. There have been some really hard defeats over the years to take, but I’ve kept going. It’s my fifth Commonwealth Games and I’ve finally got that gold. A lot of people don’t get that many chances, and I’m very fortunate to have had so many opportunities to get to the top of the podium. Once every four years is extremely tough, especially when you only get one event. Every game you play now, and every practice session, is worth it.”
Sam Tolchard, Men’s Singles Gold Medallist
“Being at the Commonwealth Games has just been fabulous. I’m really pleased with how we’ve played, and it’s been a great experience – I’ve no complaints about a silver medal.”
Sally-Ann Lewis-Wall, VI Para Mixed Pairs Silver Medallist
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