THE Summer Doubles Finals saw the culmination of 30 teams split into four divisions, playing 21 games over seven weeks, with the four division winners meeting in a play-off round-robin to decide the outright trophy winner. The Guernsey Club de Petanque organisers allocated well-groomed double-terrain space for the finals, and the club members turning up in numbers to watch the games added the atmosphere for a great finals night.

Round one saw favourites Les Mouettes (Dave Harvey and Fred Wallnofer) win a tense game 13-6 over underdogs Me and Him (Paul Duchemin and Bonnie Robert).

It was the accurate lead-boule of Wallnofer that cost Me and Him dearly: using too many boules to dislodge or beat it, always put them on the defensive for the rest of the end.

In the other clash of round one, the first big surprise of the finals unfolded, as Flintstones (Neville T. Jehan and Shane Brehaut) out-pointed and out-fired the very strong and joint favourites BouleShooters (John Mahy and Iain Haith) to take the fully deserved victory 13-8.

Round two and the Flintstones with that great win under their belts felt confident as they faced Me and Him carrying one defeat.

To their credit, Duchemin and Robert strengthened their resolve, stuck to their game-plan, held their nerve, and started to point and shoot a great game.

The very necessary touch of luck or run of the cochonnet seemed to desert the Flintstones who strived in vain, having to give best to Me and Him 13-6.

The clash that drew the eyes of everyone watching saw Les Mouettes score a massive five points in only the second end, to lead 5-1 against arch enemies BouleShooters.

Unfortunately for Les Mouettes, that score had the reverse effect, as Mahy started to point at his prolific best and Haith produced shooting much more akin to his capabilities.

They allowed Harvey and Wallnofer to score only two more points in the game of nine ends, winning 13-7.

All four teams each had one win and one defeat with one round to play. Everything was still to play for and any of the teams could be victorious.

Facing Les Mouettes, Brehaut and Jehan, playing some great boule, ran up a 12-5 lead in the seventh end.

It was a big lead and no one would have bet against them getting the one point needed to win the game over the next few ends.

But Les Mouettes never give up, Wallnofer was now pointing with great accuracy while Harvey was shooting and pointing at the top of his considerable form. They crept back into the game 12-8 then 12-10.

Flintstones still attacked every end, determined to get that one point and finish the torture, but it was Les Mouettes who finished with a three-point flourish to win 13-12. It could not have been closer.

On the other terrain, things were equally tense. Duchemin and Robert were holding form, helping each other, using sound tactics and good communication, and giving the BouleShooters many a quandary as to whether to shoot or to point.

Indeed this deliberation of the choice of play began to show in their game as they fell behind 9-3 in the seventh end.

Mahy and Haith just could not establish the ascendancy, and Me and Him won the game 13-4.