Beth Riva and Emma Blyth help Scotland to retain bowls trophy

A resounding 108-42 win over hosts Ireland set the tone for the travelling Scots, who headed into the second session full of confidence.

They duplicated their morning performance against Wales (116-57) to set up an ‘Auld Enemy’ final session against England.

It looked to be smooth sailing for Scotland as they led 65-39 after 13 of the 21 ends of play.

However, England reacted to the deficit and, just four ends later, had reduced the gap to 12 shots.

Scotland did outscore England crucially on end 19 to reopen a cushion of 13 shots.

That reignited the Scotland fire and they saw the game out 86-75 to create history.

East Lothian pair Beth Riva and Emma Blyth both enjoyed successful contributions over the weekend.

Riva skipped her rink to three sizeable wins and enjoyed an unbeaten series, losing just 17 ends over the three games.

Blyth played third for the entire series and had two great wins against Ireland and Wales, only narrowly losing out 19-18 against England.

Beth Riva and Emma Blyth were part of the successful Scotland team retaining the Acle Trophy

Back in Scotland, the gents’ under-25 team will have home advantage this weekend as Glasgow Indoor Bowling Club hosts the international series.

East Lothian are well represented in the team as Lewis Betts, Danny Stevenson, Dean Riva and Aaron Betts are present in all four rinks of the team and are hoping to retain their title for a fourth consecutive time.

Meanwhile, East Lothian welcomed Midlothian to Meadowmill as they looked to reclaim top spot in their league section.

After an early-season victory away at Midlothian, the home side were under no illusion that the visitors would come looking for revenge and restore their own aspirations of qualifying from the section.

It was the visitors that imposed themselves from the very start, leading 37-20 after eight ends of play.

They extended their lead 44-23 moments later.

By end 15, Midlothian led on all four rinks as they looked set to overturn their home defeat at the hands of East Lothian.

End 18 saw the gap open to 23 shots (50-73) and, although East Lothian did respond with wins for Derek Oliver and a draw for Billy Mellors, they ultimately succumbed to a 60-87 loss.

The squad will head to Blantyre in the last round of fixture with an outside chance of qualifying for the league final.

They would need to overturn the 65-shot deficit plus any winning score Midlothian were to register in their game against Ardrossan.

The gents were given an opportunity to bounce back immediately as they met high-flying Abbeyview in the first round of the Scottish Cup.

The rearranged fixture saw the two sides meet at Dalkeith in a mouth-watering tie.

A full shuffle of the East Lothian team reaped benefits from the very start of the afternoon.

Young star Aaron Betts was given the opportunity to skip and made short work in opening a 10-shot lead and on to a comprehensive win. Mellors added the next two points in his win.

Oliver experienced a frustrating afternoon on the Midlothian carpet, the rink restricting the players’ ability to display their capabilities in a low-scoring affair before winning consecutive ends in adding a third win for East Lothian.

Daniel Gormley was also given the opportunity to skip on his old carpet, delivering yet another two points for East Lothian on their way to a 10-0 whitewash and progression into the second round.

Meanwhile, the ladies’ squad will look to reclaim top spot in their league section as they continue in their stop-start league campaign.

They head to Teviotdale as they look to overthrow Midlothian at the top of the table before their final-fixture showdown with the Dalkeith side.

Finally, the popular Jock Brodie tournament has reached the business end of the competition.

East Lothian ‘A’ have won their section and are joined by Tweedbank, Bainfield and Midlothian.

The semi-finals take place on Wednesday at Meadowmill, with an 11am start.

The well-sponsored tournament welcomes all members and guests for support on the day.