The Tauranga indoor bowls team is in sixth place after intense matches at the national finals in Pukehohe on Saturday.

Otago has come from behind to snatch the lead for the first time after four rounds of the scheduled five in the 68^th Welch Trophy inter-district national final at the Pukekohe Cosmopolitan Club on Saturday.

At the end of the second day's play with one session remaining the points are Otago 83, Auckland 82, North Taranaki 80, Hutt Valley 69.5, Canterbury 63 and Tauranga 54.5.

In a dramatic round of fours Otago and Auckland won both of their games. This allowed Auckland to retain the lead at that stage but Otago suddenly became a contender when they moved in to second equal place with North Taranaki which had started out with a hiss and roar on Friday night to lead after the first session.

In the fourth round of singles, North Taranaki scored ten points to Auckland's eight and Otago's seven. At this stage Auckland held a two point lead over North Taranaki with Otago in third.

However the pairs saw Otago win three games to North Taranaki and Auckland's one to propel them into the lead.

The final session on Sunday is a nail biting cliffhanger with the Welch Trophy on the line.

The leading performances to date have been provided by Rodney Mills, Auckland and Brandon Williams and Nicholas Sinclair, Otago each winning nine games out of twelve.

Results

Abbreviations: Auckland (AK); Canterbury (CY), Hutt Valley (HV), North Taranaki (NT), Otago (OT), Tauranga (TG).

Round 1: Fours

Paul Smith (TG) bt Marcus Trlin (HV) 11-3;

Grant l'Ami (NT) bt Daniel French (OT) 9-6;

Steve Fisher (AK) bt Simon Thomas (CY) 12-7;

Mark Ridley (NT) bt Simon Poppleton (AK) 12-3;

Joseph Zino (HV) bt Chris Matthews (CY) 11-10;

David Webb (OT) bt Geoff Coughey (TG) 13-6.

Scores: NT 8, TG 4, HV 4, OT 4, AK 4, CY 0.

Round 2: Singles

Joseph Zino (HV) drew Simon Poppleton (AK) 6-6;

Rodney Mills (AK) bt Ross Wright (NT) 6-4;

Ivan Phipps (NT) bt Neil Gash (AK) 10-8;

John Zittersteijn (NT) bt Paul Wright (AK) 8-7;

Chris Matthews (CY) bt David Webb (OT) 12-4;

Brandon Williams (OT) bt Anthony Ouellet (TG) 9-4;

Hugh Bosman (OT) bt Fiona Keegan (TG) 9-4;

Mark Jacombs (HV) drew Blair Spicer (CY) 9-9;

Mark Ridley (NT) bt Geoff Coughey (TG) 9-5;

Kylie Gould (CY) bt Lois Randall (HV) 9-7;

Denise Clarkson (HV) bt Gary Ashby (CY) 8-4;

Raymond Webster (OT) bt Mike Phipps (TG) 9-7;

Paul Smith (TG) bt Daniel French (OT) 9-6;

Shelley Jacombs (HV) drew Gary Taiaroa (AK) 7-7;

Dennis Behrent (NT) bt Val Hagan (TG) 12-6;

Mike King (CY) bt Daniel Sinclair (OT) 9-6;

Steve Fisher (AK) bt Grant l'Ami (NT) 6-4;

Sean Ridley (NT) bt Lorraine Phipps (NT) 9-3;

Dave Philpott (CY) bt Keri Te Tamaki (OT) 10-4;

Alex Reed (AK) bt Shelley Jacombs (HV) 8-4;

Marcus Trlin (HV) bt Simon Thomas (CY) 7-6;

Nicholas Sinclair (OT) drew Rob Osborne (CY) 6-6;

Jordan Keene (HV) bt Colin Williams (AK) 10-7;

Alister Wilson (NT) bt Roger Bartosh (TG) 7-5.

Scores: NT 12, HV 9, OT 9, CY 8, AK 8, TG 2

Aggregate: NT 20, HV 13, OT 13, AK 12, CY 8, TG 6.

Round 3: Pairs

Blair Spicer (CY) bt Raymond Webster (OT) 9-6;

Simon Poppleton (AK) bt David Webb (OT) 12-3

Paul Wright (AK) bt Mark Jacombs (HV) 7-6;

Steve Fisher (AK) bt Marcus Trlin (HV) 8-6;

Mike Phipps (TG) bt John Zittersteijn (NT) 8-7;

Grant l'Ami (NT) bt Paul Smith (TG) 11-5;

Mike King (CY) bt Roger Bartosh (TG) 13-5;

Daniel French (OT) bt Simon Thomas (CY) 8-6;

Daniel Sinclair (OT) bt Alex Reed (AK) 8-3;

Mark Ridley (NT) bt Joseph Zino (HV) 8-5

Alister Wilson (NT) bt Brett Holden (HV) 6-5;

Geoff Coughey (TG) drew Chris Matthews (CY) 8-8.

Scores: NT 9, AK 9, CY 7.5, OT 6, TG 4.5, HV 0

Aggregate: NT 29, AK 21, OT 19, CY 15.5, HV 13, TG 10.5.

Round 4: Fours

Chris Matthews (CY) bt Mark Ridley (NT) 8-4;

Simon Thomas (CY) bt Paul Smith (TG) 11-3;

Steve Fisher (AK) bt Daniel French (OT) 7-5;

Joseph Zino (HV) drew David Webb (OT) 5-5;

Marcus Trlin (HV) bt Grant l'Ami (NT) 9-6;

Simon Poppleton (AK) bt Geoff Coughey (TG) 9-7.

Scores: CY 8, AK 8, HV 6, OT 4, TG 0, NT 0

Aggregate: NT 29, AK 29, CY 23.5, OT 21, HV 19, TG 10.5.

Round 5: Singles

Shelley Jacombs (HV) bt Lorraine Phipps (TG) 11-3;

Steve Fisher (AK) bt Paul Smith (TG) 8-7;

Mark Jacombs (HV) bt Raymond Webster (OT) 6-3;

Denise Clarkson (HV) drew Hugh Bosman (OT) 7-7;

Nicholas Sinclair (OT) drew Sean Ridley (NT) 7-7;

Mark Ridley (NT) bt David Webb (OT) 12-6;

John Zittersteijn (NT) bt Blair Spicer (CY) 9-4;

Jordan Keene (HV) bt Val Hagan (TG) 8-4;

Rob Osborne (CY) bt Gary Taiaroa (AK) 9-6;

Simon Poppleton (AK) bt Chris Matthews (CY) 9-3;

Roger Bartosh (TG) drew Brett Holden (HV) 9-9;

Neil Gash (AK) bt Fiona Keegan (TG) 10-4;

Brandon Williams (OT) bt Lois Randall (HV) 8-6;

Marcus Trlin (HV) bt Daniel French (OT) 9-8;

Mike King (CY) drew Alex Reed (AK) 7-7;

Colin Williams (AK) bt Dave Philpott (CY) 8-5;

Anthony Ouellet (TG) drew Rodney Mills (AK) 6-6;

Joseph Zino (HV) bt Geoff Coughey (TG) 9-8;

Mike Phipps (TG) bt Paul Wright (AK) 8-6;

Ivan Phipps (NT) bt Deanne Osborne (CY) 8-7;

Ross Wright (NT) bt Kylie Gould (CY) 10-6;

Simon Thomas (CY) bt Grant l'Ami (NT) 8-3;

Daniel Sinclair (OT) bt Alister Wilson (NT) 7-4;

Dennis Behrent (NT) bt Keri Te Tamaki (OT) 10-4.

Scores: HV 12, NT 11, AK 10, OT 6, CY 5, TG 4

Aggregate: NT 40, AK 39, HV 31, CY 28.5, OT 27, TG 14.5.

Round 6: Pairs

Roger Bartosh (TG) bt Daniel Sinclair (OT) 11-5;

Joseph Zino (HV) bt Chris Matthews (CY) 9-7;

Alister Wilson (NT) bt Alex Reed (AK) 6-4;

David Webb (OT) bt Geoff Coughey (TG) 10-5;

Mike King (CY) bt Brett Holden (HV) 10-4;

Simon Poppleton (AK) bt Mark Ridley (NT) 9-4;

Paul Wright (AK) bt Blair Spicer (CY) 11-6;

Marcus Trlin (HV) bt Paul Smith (TG) 13-3;

Mike Phipps (NT) drew Mark Jacombs (HV) 8-8;

Daniel French (OT) bt Grant l'Ami (NT) 12-9;

Raymond Webster (OT) bt John Zittersteijn (NT) 9-7;

Steve Fisher (AK) bt Simon Thomas (CY) 13-5.

Scores: AK 9, OT 9, TG 7.5, HV 4.5, NT 3, CY 3

Aggregate: AK 48, NT 43, OT 36, HV 35.5, CY 31.5, TG 22.

Round 7: Fours

Geoff Coughey (TG) bt Mark Ridley (NT) 13-11;

Simon Poppleton (AK) bt Joseph Zino (HV) 11-8;

David Webb (OT) drew Chris Matthews (CY) 7-7;

Grant l'Ami (NT) bt Steve Fisher (AK) 9-7;

Marcus Trlin (HV) bt Simon Thomas (CY) 9-8;

Paul Smith (TG) bt Daniel French (OT) 12-7.

Scores: TG 8, HV 4, NT 4, AK 4, CY 2, OT 2.

Aggregate: AK 52, NT 47, HV 39.5, OT 38, CY 33.5, TG 30.

Round 8: Singles

Simon Thomas (CY) bt Daniel French (OT) 8-6;

Nicholas Sinclair (OT) bt Gary Taiaroa (AK) 11-9;

Colin Williams (AK) bt Keri Te Tamaki (OT) 9-8;

Alex Reed (AK) bt Daniel Sinclair (OT) 10-7;

Marcus Trlin (HV) bt Steve Fisher (AK) 9-4;

Rob Osborne (CY) bt Lorraine Phipps (TG) 11-4;

Denise Clarkson (HV) drew Neil Gash (AK) 5-5;

Mike King (CY) bt Roger Bartosh (TG) 9-5;

Grant l'Ami (NT) bt Paul Smith (TG) 12-3;

Sean Ridley (NT) bt Shelley Jacombs (HV) 15-2;

Ivan Phips (NT) bt Fiona Keegan (TG) 9-6;

Alister Wilson (NT) bt Brett Holden (HV) 13-4;

Geoff Coughey (TG) bt Chris Matthews (CY) 9-4;

Brandon Williams (OT) bt Kylie Gould (CY) 8-6;

Hugh Bosman (OT) bt Deanne Osborne (CY) 14-4;

Raymond Webster (OT) drew Blair Spicer (CY) 8-8;

David Webb (OT) bt Simon Poppleton (TG) 8-7;

Lois Randall HV) drew Rodney Mills (AK) 8-8;

Dennis Behrent (NT) bt Jordan Keene (HV) 7-4;

Mike Phipps (TG) drew John Zittersteijn (NT) 7-7;

Joseph Zino (HV) bt Mark Ridley (NT) 11-3;

Ross Wright (NT) bt Anthony Ouellet (TG) 10-5;

Dave Philpott (CY) bt Val Hagan (TG) 7-3;

Paul Wright (AK) bt Mark Jacombs (HV) 9-3.

Scores: NT 13, OT 9, CY 9, AK 8, HV 6, TG

Aggregate: NT 60, AK 60, OT 47, HV 45.5, CY 42.5, TG 33.

Round 9: Pairs

Mark Jacombs (HV) bt John Zittersteijn (NT) 10-7;

Chris Matthews (CY) bt Mark Ridley (NT) 8-5;

Roger Bartosh (TG) bt Alex Reed (AK) 7-3;

Simon Thomas (CY) bt Paul Smith (TG) 7-6;

Daniel Sinclair (OT)bt Brett Holden (HV) 9-5;

Marcus Trlin (HV) bt Grant l'Ami (NT) 8-6;

Mike Phipps (NT) drew Blair Spicer (CY) 9-9;

David Webb (OT) bt Joseph Zino (HV) 12-7;

Alister Wilson (NT) bt Mike King (CY) 15-2;

Simon Poppleton (AK) bt Geoff Coughey (TG) 14-5;

Raymond Webster (OT) bt Paul Wright (AK) 12-5;

Daniel French (OT) bt Steve Fisher (AK) 7-4.

Scores: OT 12, CY 7.5, HV 6, TG 4.5, NT 3, AK 3.

Aggregate: NT 63, AK 63, OT 9, HV 51.5, CY 50, TG 37.5

Round 10: Fours

Joseph Zino (HV) bt Geoff Coughey (TG) 7-5;

David Webb (OT) bt Mark Ridley (NT) 10-6;

Simon Poppleton (AK) bt Chris Matthews (CY) 14-7;

Steve Fisher (AK) bt Paul Smith (TG) 7-3;

Daniel French (OT) bt Marcus Trlin (HV) 8-7;

Grant l'Ami (NT) bt Simon Thomas (CY) 15-4.

Scores: OT 8, AK 8, HV 4, NT 4, TG 0, CY 0

Aggregate: AK 71, NT 67, OT 67, HV 55.5, CY 50, TG 37.5.

Round 11: Singles

Geoff Coughey (TG) bt David Webb (OT) 12-2;

Rob Osborne (CY) bt Shelley Jacombs (HV) 14-3;

Jordan Keene (HV) bt Dave Philpott (CY) 8-6;

Mark Jacombs (OT) bt Mike Phipps (TG) 10-2;

Mark Ridley (NT) bt Simon Poppleton (AK) 8-4;

Sean Ridley (NT) bt Gary Taiaroa (AK) 9-6;

Val Hagan (TG) bt Keri Te Tamaki (OT) 8-6;

John Zittersteijn (NT) bt Raymond Webster (OT) 7-2;

Chris Matthews (CY) bt Joseph Zino (HV) 10-2;

Nicholas Sinclair (OT) bt Lorraine Phipps (TG) 10-4;

Dennis Behrent (NT) bt Colin Williams (AK) 11-4;

Paul Wright (AK) bt Blair Spicer (CY) 10-9;

Simon Thomas (CY) bt Steve Fisher (AK) 6-4;

Anthony Ouellet (TG) bt Lois Randall (HV) 10-8;

Fiona Keegan (TG) bt Denise Clarkson (HV) 7-6;

Alex Reed (AK) bt Alister Wilson (NT) 12-8;

Paul Smith (TG) bt Marcus Trlin (HV) 8-7;

Brandon Williams (OT) bt Ross Wright (NT) 16-3;

Ivan Phipps (NT) bt Hugh Bosman (OT) 8-7;

Roger Bartosh (TG) drew Daniel Sinclair (OT) 6-6;

Daniel French (OT) bt Grant l'Ami (NT) 7-5;

Rodney Mills (AK) bt Kylie Gould (CY) 12-4;

Neil Gash (AK) bt Gary Ashby (CY) 8-7;

Brett Holden (HV) drew Mike King (CY) 6-6.

Score: TG 11, NT 10, AK 8, OT 7, CY 7, HV 5

Aggregate: AK 79, NT 77, OT 74, HV 60.5, CY 57, TG 48.5

Round 12: Pairs

Brett Holden (HV) bt Alex Reed (AK) 10-5;

Steve Fisher (AK) bt Grant l'Ami (NT) 7-6;

Mike King (CY) bt Daniel Sinclair (OT) 12-10;

Daniel French (OT) bt Paul Smith (TG) 10-7;

Alister Wilson (NT) bt Roger Bartosh (TG) 11-8;

Marcus Trlin (HV) bt Simon Thomas (CY) 9-8;

Raymond Webster (OT) bt Mike Phipps (NT) 8-7;

Geoff Coughey (TG) bt Mark Ridley (NT) 9-7;

John Zittersteijn (NT) bt Paul Wright (AK) 10-6;

David Webb (OT) bt Chris Matthews (CY) 12-11;

Blair Spicer (AK) bt Mark Jacombs (HV) 14-5;

Simon Poppleton (AK) bt Joseph Zino (HV) 16-5.

Scores: OT 9, HV 9, TG 6, CY 6, NT 3, AK 3.

Aggregate: OT 83, AK 82, NT 80, HV 69.5, CY 63, TG 54.5.