Munster bowlers on TikTok inspiring Dutch man Max to shine

Looking out at the start section from Ballincurrig village for the King and Queen of the roads. Pic: Eddie O'Hare

The Netherlands’ Max oude Engberink bowls like someone brought up in a bowling family in West Cork.

He probably never set foot in Ireland till the middle of last week. He got to bowl competitively here for the first time a few days later. His skill, style, and potential as a future King of the Roads were evident from his brilliant first bowl in the International Triple Crown in Ballincurrig.

He didn’t secretly attend a boot camp in Ireland to exactly replicate the Munster technique. His personal coach is not from Ireland. He found his way into the sport through TikTok. 

He became fascinated by videos of Munster bowlers. He disassembled the technique and rebuilt it bit by bit in his own training.

He got his father on board and became more involved in KV Vooruitzicht. He won his place on the Dutch youth team for the 2024 European championships and came home with a bronze medal. He won the 2025 Dutch U18 championship and wore the famous orange jersey in Ballincurrig last weekend.

His teammate, Lotte Telgenhof oude Koehorst, has one of the longest names in bowling and is on the shortlist as heiress apparent to the great Silke Tulk.

German starlet Tomke Harms was flying under the radar as the Germans struggled to keep pace, but before the contest ended she too was being touted as a future Queen of the Roads. Emma Hurley, who helped Ireland to a massive win, is definitely in that league.

Ireland’s Shane Crowley is off the scale. He has speed, a rainbow of shot options, can loft and drive, is calm, and he has resolve. We don’t have to wait and speculate on his potential.

Jannis Saathoff took a while to adjust to the contours of Ballincurrig, but coming towards the line he was driving on with confidence as the Germans pushed the Dutch for silver.

There is a sociological and sporting tide rising.Bowling, one of the smallest sports in Europe, is attracting attention far in excess of its footprint.

Young people want to consume the world in a different way. They want authenticity, autonomy, and want to be the ones shaping their engagement with sport. Bowling is ticking so many of the right boxes.

The visceral contact, demand for personal poise, balance, and the demand to deliver is exactly what they need. Accommodating this flood of enthusiasm and talent is going to be a challenge for the bowling federations of Europe.

Now that Max oude Engberink has assimilated the Munster technique, he can move to an advanced class on delivery. This is how the bowl leaves the hand and encounters the road. In his search on TikTok this time, he should put in the words ‘Kelly Mallon’.

It is doubtful that any other bowler can so consistently deliver a bowl with such fluidity. It’s not just how she casts the bowl. When the bowl hits the road it barely makes a sound, it glides like a stone being skimmed on water.

We can also recommend Max take a close look at King Arthur McDonagh.

His desire to get that crown on his head may have inhibited McDonagh in previous years. Even in his semi-final he took a while to hit his stride. He reeled in Colm Rafferty and then saw his good work disappear when Rafferty got an extraordinary bowl to light at the top of the short straight.

McDonagh was now looking at almost certain defeat unless he could get an virtually impossible shot. From behind a corner he needed to go as far as Rafferty could possibly go on straight road or it was curtains.

He played what will have to rank as one of the all-time great bowls.

His bowl was so close to the right dyke that it must have scorched the grass. Once it was past that it had the velocity to come out onto the road and it went out the bend at Din Tough’s.

Every chip was on the table for that spin. A centimetre left or right and Rafferty would have been playing his brother Ethan in the final.

That same Ethan Rafferty is not only a gifted bowler, but someone of incredible character. He had an off day on Sunday, while McDonagh had the day of his life. He faced it with the dignity of a warrior and left the arena not diminished an iota, but with honour and reputation enhanced.