After having to bide his time for what seemed like an eternity, Sheldon Bagrie-Howley now plans to do whatever is required to become a fixture in New Zealand bowls.

The 28-year-old Gore Bowling Club member won his first tournament as an 11-year-old and has built a reputation as one of the most exciting young talents in the sport.

However, it was his breakthrough national singles win in January which finally propelled him from the fringe into a fully-fledged New Zealand representative, receiving his cap during the Multi Nations Cup on the Gold Coast, a tournament which featured New Zealand, South Africa and a number of Australian teams.

“It’s a monkey off the back,” Sheldon, who won a public vote to claim the Southland Times Sporting Moment competition as part of the ILT Southland Sports Awards last week, said of his New Zealand selection.

“It was hard to crack it and now that I’m there I’ve just got to try and make the most of it. It’s all about performance now, if you can get the chocolates you’ll be there for a long time.”

He recently returned from a Trans-Tasman Challenge series in Perth, a catch up event from 2022 which saw the top five ranked players from New Zealand and Australia go head-to-head.

Sheldon’s form was strong in Perth, his only loss coming in his final match against Western Australian prodigy Jack East.

Elsewhere, Sheldon is enjoying success as part of a three-person team qualifying for big-money Ultimate Bowls Championship events in Australia alongside Dunedin’s Keanu Darby, who put the team together, and Wellingtonian Finbar McGuigan.

The trio take part in New Zealand qualifying events, aiming for a shot at more than $NZ300,000 in prize money.

“We’ve known each other for years. We are all members of the wider New Zealand squad. It’s Keanu’s team, he hit Finbar and I up to have a crack and we’ve just stuck together for that format.”

The big target this year is a return to the Gold Coast, where Sheldon will be part of the New Zealand team for the world championships.

As well as making his world champs debut, Sheldon will skip the triples and fours.

He’s been working with SBS Bank Academy Southland manager and mental skills coach Jason McKenzie to hone the skills required to lead teams on the international stage.

“It’s the pinnacle of bowls. Forty-seven countries are going to be there,” Sheldon says.

“It’s a bit of a step up, but it’s just about doing the basics right. With being in the triples and the four, you’ve got the whole team dynamic that needs to be on song and as long as everyone does their part and puts the time in before the event we will have a decent chance at it.”

Article added: Tuesday 13 June 2023