Talat Mehmood

Profile: Laufili Ainuu

The bowler for a talking title

SAMOAN bowler Laufili Pativaine Ainuu is already a matai but her Commonwealth Games perform ance was worth of a special “talking ti tle”. The 50-year-old Apia head teacher, who competes under her birth name of Vaiee Siaosi, enchanted bowls

spectators with the flow er behind her ear and her own brand of sports

psychology.

She talks to her bowls. Loudly. And what’s more, the bowls usually do as they’re told.

Siaosi constantly en courages her own bowls with shouts of “hit it, hit

it good girl”, trotting

behind with cloth flap ping as the bowl bears down on the head.

Some bowls make do with silent willpower, boosted by a hip wiffle and a shuffling dance

sideways.

Should an opponent’s bowl threaten her own position, Siaosi will try to dis tract it with calls of “get away, leave it alone”.

Siaosi, who’s been one of Samoa’s lead ing bowlers for nearly 16 years, firmly

believes she must tell the bowls what to do. Left to their own devices, she ex plains, her bowls would probably wander off into neighbouring matches.

And it seems to work. Siaosi sweet talked the bowls and the crowd through three successive victories, including a

surprise win over de

fending champion Wen

dy Line, of England, be fore the hot streak en ded. New Zealand silver medallist Millie Khan, who had beaten Saiosi in her first game, com plained her concentra tion was being upset while playing on the next green. Much to Siaosi’s annoyance, an official approached her during a game and told her to quieten down.

Siaosi grumbled about the interference and pointed out that the bowls rules allow her, or anyone, to exhort their

bowls however they wish. Despite her de fiance and the rule-book, Siaosi admits the complaint upset her game. To the crowd’s disappointment she never really recovered her natural exhuberance, en ding the women’s singles section play in sth, with four wins and four losses. □

Talat Mehmood

Talking title: Laufili on the green.