Instead of packing all four of his bowls in one bag, Smith decided to carry two in his backpack and two in his bowls bag. In his rush to travel south to the Speight's NEV 10,000, he overlooked the two he had put in his backpack, leaving them behind at his home in Havelock.
Smith realised his error when he arrived at the tournament yesterday morning.
Knowing he needed four bowls to play, a panic stricken Smith advised the organising North East Valley Club of his plight.
A ring-around had club member Laurie Moore come to the rescue, and much to his relief, Smith was able to begin the tournament with borrowed bowls.
Moore's set of Henselite XGs proved a worthy compromise to his own Greenmaster set as he made steady progress through the first two rounds yesterday. He won his first encounter against Havelock club-mate Josh Boyd 25-20, only to go down to international Shayne Sincock 25-21 in the second round
It is not the first time Smith has arrived at the tournament short of equipment.
Three years ago he forgot to pack his bowls shoes, and on that occasion was also saved by Moore, who lent him his.
