Colm Rafferty win the All-Ireland senior bowling championship

BOWLING: It was a busy weekend with All-Ireland finals across all age groups. Picture: ©INPHO/Tom Honan

Colm Rafferty is the latest hero in this golden year for Armagh sport. He won the All-Ireland senior bowling championship by a bowl of odds over Munster champion, Martin Coppinger, at Eglish county Tyrone.

His aunt Dervla Toal-Mallon won the senior women’s crown last month at Castletownkenneigh in Cork on the same weekend his brother Ethan won the intermediate men’s title. The Armagh footballers, that include Ethan Rafferty, claimed the All-Ireland football and Daniel Wiffen added Olympic gold. The Orchard county seem to be swapping gold for orange in 2024.

This was a massive win for Rafferty who was very often the best-man at the big family sporting occasions. He earned it. He had to produce top quality bowling, on a road surface made mendacious by rain. He lost the lead after a period of dominance, but had the confidence and will to storm back for an heroic win against one of the great stars of the sport.

Coppinger put his chips on the table with a huge first bowl towards Moy Point, but Rafferty responded with a super bowl down the left past the point to win the tip by 60m. Coppinger clipped that lead to a metre with a searing second shot. Rafferty didn’t blink, he beat another good shot from Coppinger to keep the lead to McNally’s.

Coppinger slipped delivering his fourth bowl and was well short of Kelly’s. Rafferty’s reply brushed the left and went out light. Coppinger missed light again so there was almost two bowls in it facing up to the big tree.

Coppinger then played three of the biggest shots ever seen in an All-Ireland final. The first was a truly astonishing bowl past the big tree up towards the school cross, which brought the lead under a bowl. He was at the school cross with his next one. He then played another incredible bowl up over the brow and out past Daly’s. All of that required a sensational ninth bowl from Rafferty to stay in front by 25m.

Rafferty did better in the next two to light at Hunter’s corner, where he had a 15m lead. Coppinger upped the ante when his 12th bowl cannoned off a kerb and won him the lead with a massive bowl into the hollow. Rafferty showed some guts to follow that with a brilliant bowl towards the junior b line to regain the lead.

Even after a short 14th bowl, Rafferty was back on track after a big throw to light at Reid’s. There was still some drama as his next bowl was in the grass on the right, but it still made the last bend. He followed up with a perfect bowl past the bend into the middle of the straight. That gave him a bowl of odds again with less than two throws to the line.