THE DREAM TEAM - 'WE'RE GETTING THOSE MEDALS'

The bright young stars of lawn bowls are on a roll

- Kelly Bertrand

When lawn bowlers Selina Goddard, Nicole Toomey and Tayla Bruce gather on the green, the thrill of adrenaline they feel is just like any other high-performance athlete.

But as much as lawn bowls is a highly competitive, demanding sport, it's also a sisterhood.

Speaking to Woman's Day the day before they and the rest of the Blackjacks squad (yup, that's what our top lawn bowls team is called!) headed to Birmingham to represent New Zealand at this year's Commonwealth Games, the young bowlers say pulling on the Silver Fern means the world to all three of them.

"I can't even describe the feeling - it's just so much pride," says Nicole, 27, who will be attending her first Commonwealth Games as 2021's national singles champion, and will be competing in the triples and fours disciplines.

"We all have our why - why we do this and why we go as hard as we can - but there are a lot of driving factors. But getting those medals, that's the goal!" All three of the talented athletes will compete in the women's fours team alongside lawn bowls legend Val Smith, with Selina, a former bronze medallist, also partaking in the women's pair, and Tayla and Nicole joining the women's triple.