Spotlight on...
Gareth Davies
For our May edition, we’ve asked some questions to current World Champion, Gareth Davies...
Are you into any other sport besides Bowls?
Crikey, what am I not into!! At age 18 I became a Professional Golfer, after long passages of competitive Swimming and Football. I’ll quite happily sit and watch almost any sport on TV or live, morning, noon and night! Thank god for box sets!!
How long have you been playing bowls?and how did you get into it?
I first give it a whirl when on holiday when I was about 8. Dads mum in Shropshire played flat and crown green and I used to have a go when the sun was out and played in a couple of matches. I first gave short mat a go at Benson when I was about 10 with Mums mum, Pat Dunn to spend some time with and keep her company. I played the county singles at some point early on and won a match, but then school, football, swimming and golf got in the way until I started again sometime around 2008 at the Con Club to spend more time with Mum and Dad.
What does the sport give you? can you explain how much it means to you and many others?
The majority of my circle of friends has come from it and of course, most will know that almost all of both sides of the family play so it’s great to have something in common with them all. Other than that, it’s good to keep my competitive juices flowing and provides good respite from what can be stressful work.
Many will know that you have played at every possible level over the years. What would you say makes the difference from a league player to a county player to an international player?
For me, there are 2 things. One is consistency and the other is competitiveness. The great thing with our sport is that anyone can beat anyone and names and reputations mean very little when there’s a 2 foot draw to win!
Having already achieved so much with short mat bowls, and given that you have many years of bowling in front of you, have you ever considered moving over to long mat indoor bowls, where the potential rewards are clearly greater?
In short, no. I don’t like how long it takes and I think that short mat is more skilful and tactical which is what I love about it.
What’s the one piece of advice you’d give anyone looking to make any step up in their game?
Practice playing shots that you’re not typically comfortable with and listen intently to those around you - even if your playing against them!! Every day is a chance to learn. I will always remember asking for some advice from Dave Wiggins when we were both at Wootton one evening and I’ve always remembered it since, about my front foot position on the mat and how moving it around the ‘delivery box’ that we have can change the ability we have to play different shots.
If you look back, what are you most proud of in your career so far?
There are a few, but I sure have a top 3 or 4 which I’ll keep brief. The first would be winning the National Fours with Geoff Cross, Tim Cross and AJ Brown, the year after losing in the final. It was a family team and to win, we had 4 consecutive finals to play after getting through the group as the games were so hard! The next would be skipping AJ and Roger Wiggins to the National Triples. Roger came in as a sub for Geoff after he fell ill, so we’ve always dedicated that to him. Then would be winning the County Pairs back to back with Dad - a proud father/son moment. The one that stands out of course is winning the World Fours in Sweden in 2018 after losing in the final 2 years earlier to the same team we beat. It was purely chance that I was well enough to play the qualifier. I first had the original conversation in my hospital bed after one of the original team had to drop out - I’m a lucky boy in more ways than I know!!
Name three characteristics that you think a good player should have.
Confidence, ability to read a head and your opponent, and the ability to play all the shots - just to the best of their ability, because then you play the right shot every time regardless of the result.
Give us 3 names of who you think are the best players of all time in our game (short mat)
Oh gosh... Stephen Williams (Wales), you cant win 7 World Championship Singles and not be! Kevin Conroy (Ireland), has everything and is a nice guy too. The other would be Ryan O’Neill (Ireland), again another nice guy - he has won every discipline in Ireland and the British Isles, and gives back to the game so much, he probably doesn’t get the credit he deserves, it’s a shame he doesn’t really play any more.
Now give us 3 names that you think are the best players right now!?
There are so many, and young ones too!! As I’ve chosen international players above I’ll go in England here...3 that stand out would be Ryan Knight (Gloucester), Alex Kley (Dorset) and Bronagh Toleman (North Yorkshire). All of them can play any shot they’re asked, have great personalities and are very respectful on the mat.
What discipline do you prefer to play & why?
I’d probably say fours now that I have the confidence to skip as it’s the purest of the disciplines. I do like to play pairs though as there is no hiding place for bad bowls.
Where’s the best place you have played? What made it so good?
There are a couple, Coleraine in Northern Ireland because of the atmosphere - the floor was pretty good too, but Stromstad in Sweden was an amazing place to play, great atmosphere with a small stand on one side and a quick swingy floor - and that’s not taking into account the place itself- stunning!!
Where do you like to play in Oxfordshire & Why?
I’ll avoid saying Wootton but then I’m biased on that front anyway. Away from home I always like going to Grove (Mat 1), and Benson. I’m not one for the quirky floors but on the whole I’ve learnt to play the shots to play the floors that we play.
Despite having many excellent players, Oxfordshire as a County team often appears to struggle in ICC tournaments, why do you think this is?
There are a few reasons, and many I don’t think are our fault as a committee or from the selection panel. The historic format does not particularly work for us and we always struggle to find the right balance. Availability is always a challenge and you struggle then to get consistency in teams and disciplines because of who doesn’t want to play with who and a lack of back end players. The other which relates to the format, is that because it’s a long day with only 2 games the better players tend not to play from our county. I fit that bracket too, having a young family and with bowls takes up so many weekends in the diary it’s difficult when you work weekends on top of it all, so something has to give unfortunately.
What improvements would you like to see made in the way that Oxfordshire develops, organises and manages its players and teams, which you feel would lead to our county sides being more competitive?
I really think that the proposed change of format will help us immensely as I’ve always said we could have a great team of 16 in fours. I think we as a county do what we can with what we have, but the biggest problem is not the county’s to fix and that is getting around people’s attitudes towards it. We have so many ‘social’ bowlers who prefer to play in the a team at best because the Premier team is too competitive or they just want to bowl league which is fine but it won’t solve the problem. We should play to win in both teams and shouldn’t stop short of trying to achieve that. People playing with and against better players will only make them better too. I’d be excited to see if we can get our top 16 out for the new format because I really think we’d have a chance at a good run to a semi final at least.
You’ve spent a long time on the committee, what would you say are the best bits about being on the committee and the best things you believe the committee has achieved in your time?
Best bits I think are working with a group of like minded people wanting to do the best for everyone else. The committee is very much the thin end of the wedge! What we’ve achieved is very much bringing the association to the digital and current age. Les with his competence to run competitions and league so smoothly - results are out by the end of the week on Facebook which effectively gives us free marketing, and on the website too which I update. We work well together to make it happen as for so many years we had complaints about the management of the website! I agree with Dave that the use of IT to cut costs (especially printing and postage) but more importantly getting information out to clubs and players, keeping everybody in the picture is critical which is why we also do the newsletter at the moment.
If a new player comes to your club, what 3 best tips would you like to teach them?
Enjoy it, be comfortable and get used to finding a consistent line and length. When you’ve established that, you can tweak until your hearts content! The other bit would be to ignore the Jack! Sounds crazy, but people get so fixated with the little yellow thing - it only matters being closest when everyone has played! Touchers are great but they really only afford some insurance, unless they’re up against the Jack in the ditch, and even then you can still lose the end from there!!
Ahead of next season (when we finally get there!), what are your goals?
Finals day and Nationals would be goals for me. I’d love to win the National Pairs or Fours when we get there and also the County Singles against Dave, to complete the set.
Have you played that perfect match yet or are you waiting for it?
Wow, is there such a thing!? I think the closest I’ve come is the National Triples final where I couldn’t really do much wrong, and had to make shot with the last bowl on the last end to win it. I’ve never shaken so much, and remember being so aware of everything that was being said around me. It certainly put a few in their places when I made 5 out of it!!
If your whole family come together for lunch on the weekend before Wootton play Warborough, can you describe banter around the table?
Unfortunately it doesn’t happen as often as we’d like and to be honest it’s usually very respectful before and after. We have a bit of a laugh and a joke of course but we’re both great teams that can beat each other. Mum doesn’t particularly like playing against anyone else in the family as it’s a bit weird, so it’s good that she plays on the same team as Dad and Pat now, and I try to be as respectful on the mat as I can and to have a joke with her as it makes her play better. Afterwards a bit like anyone, we generally talk about the shots that came off or didn’t - as you do!!
If you had to pick and choose a famous person to start playing bowls, who would you like to see and why?
Where to start!? Someone with an unbelievable following on social media would be great for the exposure. Sportsperson wise, I’d love to see Roger Federer have a go, as I’d also like to ask him how he finds having 2 sets of twins, as having one set is more than enough!!
Are you into any other sport besides Bowls?
Crikey, what am I not into!! At age 18 I became a Professional Golfer, after long passages of competitive Swimming and Football. I’ll quite happily sit and watch almost any sport on TV or live, morning, noon and night! Thank god for box sets!!
How long have you been playing bowls?and how did you get into it?
I first give it a whirl when on holiday when I was about 8. Dads mum in Shropshire played flat and crown green and I used to have a go when the sun was out and played in a couple of matches. I first gave short mat a go at Benson when I was about 10 with Mums mum, Pat Dunn to spend some time with and keep her company. I played the county singles at some point early on and won a match, but then school, football, swimming and golf got in the way until I started again sometime around 2008 at the Con Club to spend more time with Mum and Dad.
What does the sport give you? can you explain how much it means to you and many others?
The majority of my circle of friends has come from it and of course, most will know that almost all of both sides of the family play so it’s great to have something in common with them all. Other than that, it’s good to keep my competitive juices flowing and provides good respite from what can be stressful work.
Many will know that you have played at every possible level over the years. What would you say makes the difference from a league player to a county player to an international player?
For me, there are 2 things. One is consistency and the other is competitiveness. The great thing with our sport is that anyone can beat anyone and names and reputations mean very little when there’s a 2 foot draw to win!
Having already achieved so much with short mat bowls, and given that you have many years of bowling in front of you, have you ever considered moving over to long mat indoor bowls, where the potential rewards are clearly greater?
In short, no. I don’t like how long it takes and I think that short mat is more skilful and tactical which is what I love about it.
What’s the one piece of advice you’d give anyone looking to make any step up in their game?
Practice playing shots that you’re not typically comfortable with and listen intently to those around you - even if your playing against them!! Every day is a chance to learn. I will always remember asking for some advice from Dave Wiggins when we were both at Wootton one evening and I’ve always remembered it since, about my front foot position on the mat and how moving it around the ‘delivery box’ that we have can change the ability we have to play different shots.
If you look back, what are you most proud of in your career so far?
There are a few, but I sure have a top 3 or 4 which I’ll keep brief. The first would be winning the National Fours with Geoff Cross, Tim Cross and AJ Brown, the year after losing in the final. It was a family team and to win, we had 4 consecutive finals to play after getting through the group as the games were so hard! The next would be skipping AJ and Roger Wiggins to the National Triples. Roger came in as a sub for Geoff after he fell ill, so we’ve always dedicated that to him. Then would be winning the County Pairs back to back with Dad - a proud father/son moment. The one that stands out of course is winning the World Fours in Sweden in 2018 after losing in the final 2 years earlier to the same team we beat. It was purely chance that I was well enough to play the qualifier. I first had the original conversation in my hospital bed after one of the original team had to drop out - I’m a lucky boy in more ways than I know!!
Name three characteristics that you think a good player should have.
Confidence, ability to read a head and your opponent, and the ability to play all the shots - just to the best of their ability, because then you play the right shot every time regardless of the result.
Give us 3 names of who you think are the best players of all time in our game (short mat)
Oh gosh... Stephen Williams (Wales), you cant win 7 World Championship Singles and not be! Kevin Conroy (Ireland), has everything and is a nice guy too. The other would be Ryan O’Neill (Ireland), again another nice guy - he has won every discipline in Ireland and the British Isles, and gives back to the game so much, he probably doesn’t get the credit he deserves, it’s a shame he doesn’t really play any more.
Now give us 3 names that you think are the best players right now!?
There are so many, and young ones too!! As I’ve chosen international players above I’ll go in England here...3 that stand out would be Ryan Knight (Gloucester), Alex Kley (Dorset) and Bronagh Toleman (North Yorkshire). All of them can play any shot they’re asked, have great personalities and are very respectful on the mat.
What discipline do you prefer to play & why?
I’d probably say fours now that I have the confidence to skip as it’s the purest of the disciplines. I do like to play pairs though as there is no hiding place for bad bowls.
Where’s the best place you have played? What made it so good?
There are a couple, Coleraine in Northern Ireland because of the atmosphere - the floor was pretty good too, but Stromstad in Sweden was an amazing place to play, great atmosphere with a small stand on one side and a quick swingy floor - and that’s not taking into account the place itself- stunning!!
Where do you like to play in Oxfordshire & Why?
I’ll avoid saying Wootton but then I’m biased on that front anyway. Away from home I always like going to Grove (Mat 1), and Benson. I’m not one for the quirky floors but on the whole I’ve learnt to play the shots to play the floors that we play.
Despite having many excellent players, Oxfordshire as a County team often appears to struggle in ICC tournaments, why do you think this is?
There are a few reasons, and many I don’t think are our fault as a committee or from the selection panel. The historic format does not particularly work for us and we always struggle to find the right balance. Availability is always a challenge and you struggle then to get consistency in teams and disciplines because of who doesn’t want to play with who and a lack of back end players. The other which relates to the format, is that because it’s a long day with only 2 games the better players tend not to play from our county. I fit that bracket too, having a young family and with bowls takes up so many weekends in the diary it’s difficult when you work weekends on top of it all, so something has to give unfortunately.
What improvements would you like to see made in the way that Oxfordshire develops, organises and manages its players and teams, which you feel would lead to our county sides being more competitive?
I really think that the proposed change of format will help us immensely as I’ve always said we could have a great team of 16 in fours. I think we as a county do what we can with what we have, but the biggest problem is not the county’s to fix and that is getting around people’s attitudes towards it. We have so many ‘social’ bowlers who prefer to play in the a team at best because the Premier team is too competitive or they just want to bowl league which is fine but it won’t solve the problem. We should play to win in both teams and shouldn’t stop short of trying to achieve that. People playing with and against better players will only make them better too. I’d be excited to see if we can get our top 16 out for the new format because I really think we’d have a chance at a good run to a semi final at least.
You’ve spent a long time on the committee, what would you say are the best bits about being on the committee and the best things you believe the committee has achieved in your time?
Best bits I think are working with a group of like minded people wanting to do the best for everyone else. The committee is very much the thin end of the wedge! What we’ve achieved is very much bringing the association to the digital and current age. Les with his competence to run competitions and league so smoothly - results are out by the end of the week on Facebook which effectively gives us free marketing, and on the website too which I update. We work well together to make it happen as for so many years we had complaints about the management of the website! I agree with Dave that the use of IT to cut costs (especially printing and postage) but more importantly getting information out to clubs and players, keeping everybody in the picture is critical which is why we also do the newsletter at the moment.
If a new player comes to your club, what 3 best tips would you like to teach them?
Enjoy it, be comfortable and get used to finding a consistent line and length. When you’ve established that, you can tweak until your hearts content! The other bit would be to ignore the Jack! Sounds crazy, but people get so fixated with the little yellow thing - it only matters being closest when everyone has played! Touchers are great but they really only afford some insurance, unless they’re up against the Jack in the ditch, and even then you can still lose the end from there!!
Ahead of next season (when we finally get there!), what are your goals?
Finals day and Nationals would be goals for me. I’d love to win the National Pairs or Fours when we get there and also the County Singles against Dave, to complete the set.
Have you played that perfect match yet or are you waiting for it?
Wow, is there such a thing!? I think the closest I’ve come is the National Triples final where I couldn’t really do much wrong, and had to make shot with the last bowl on the last end to win it. I’ve never shaken so much, and remember being so aware of everything that was being said around me. It certainly put a few in their places when I made 5 out of it!!
If your whole family come together for lunch on the weekend before Wootton play Warborough, can you describe banter around the table?
Unfortunately it doesn’t happen as often as we’d like and to be honest it’s usually very respectful before and after. We have a bit of a laugh and a joke of course but we’re both great teams that can beat each other. Mum doesn’t particularly like playing against anyone else in the family as it’s a bit weird, so it’s good that she plays on the same team as Dad and Pat now, and I try to be as respectful on the mat as I can and to have a joke with her as it makes her play better. Afterwards a bit like anyone, we generally talk about the shots that came off or didn’t - as you do!!
If you had to pick and choose a famous person to start playing bowls, who would you like to see and why?
Where to start!? Someone with an unbelievable following on social media would be great for the exposure. Sportsperson wise, I’d love to see Roger Federer have a go, as I’d also like to ask him how he finds having 2 sets of twins, as having one set is more than enough!!
