As the World Bowls Championships prepare to start and the finishing touches are put to Team England’s Glasgow 2026 selections, it’s worth remembering when Bryant cut one of the most striking sporting characters of the seventies and eighties
With a pipe clenched tightly in his teeth, there was one thing you could guarantee – David Bryant was about to smoke one of his rivals.
As the World Bowls Championships prepare to start and the finishing touches are put to Team England’s Glasgow 2026 selections, it’s worth remembering when Bryant cut one of the most striking sporting characters of the seventies and eighties.
For two decades he dominated his sport and is still regarded as the greatest bowler of all time. He won 15 world titles between 1966 and 1992, as well as five Commonwealth Games gold medals.
Bryant, who died six years ago aged 88, was all-conquering at the 1962 Games in Perth, winning both the singles and fours titles.
He went on to win the singles again at the Games in 1970, 1974 and 1978. Had bowls been on the programme in Jamaica in 1966, he surely would have achieved something no athlete has ever done – five straight wins across five consecutive Games.
Bryant’s image – the pipe wasn’t always lit, and he claimed he used it as a concentration aid – made him TV gold when bowls was a regular feature on screens, often attracting bigger audiences than darts and snooker.
“David had a uniqueness of inner strength above any individual in the game,” said long-time playing partner Tony Allcock, who competed for Team England at three Games and won singles silver in Victoria in 1994.
“He was 100 per cent focused on the job in hand – call it blinkered if you like – but nothing would deter him. He could laugh with the opponent and then immediately stand on the mat and deliver an absolute killer of a bowl.
“What is certain is that the DJB mould is unique. A man whose individuality within the sport bordered on eccentricity at times just adds to the fascination.”
In addition to being recognised as Pipe Smoker of the Year in 1986, Bryant received an MBE and CBE for services to sport. He supplemented his income as a teacher at St Andrew’s Junior School in the seaside town of Clevedon before running a sports shop in Bristol.
When he retired from the greens in the early nineties, so did his famous pipe – on the orders of his wife.
“I was quite a heavy smoker, using up to 50g of tobacco every day,” he said. “I suppose it became a ritual that gave me time to think. But when I retired from competitive bowls my wife, Ruth, said it was time I gave it up, and so I did.”
The top 32 bowlers in the world will compete for the singles title in Norfolk this month, a prize Bryant won nine times between 1979 and 1992, as the World Championships get under way this week with the pairs competition.
Scotland’s Jason Banks will be the one to beat having become the first player to win three titles at the same championships 12 months ago.
Among England’s top hopes are number three seed Robert Paxton, a singles bronze medallist on the Gold Coast in 2018, and ninth seed Nick Brett, a triples gold medallist four years ago in Birmingham.
Former singles world champion Brett got a glimpse of Bryant-like celebrity when he pulled off a miracle shot at the event five years ago, threading his bowl through the tightest of gaps with a piece of skill that immediately went viral, racking up millions of views on social media.
“It was a good bowl,” said Brett, who is asked about the moment virtually every day.
“I’ll always be known as that guy who played that bowl, and I’ve not got a problem with that at all.
“I’ve seen people play better bowls, but coupled with the crowd’s reaction, the commentary, the whole package made it something worthwhile.
“You can do it in practice quite a lot, and I’m sure a lot of players do. The pressure is doing it in front of the TV cameras at the big events.
“Is it the best bowl ever played? No. Is it the best bowl I’ve ever played? Probably not. But with the whole package, it’s something people can relate to.”
Brett still has some way to go to match Bryant’s fame but another world title win at Potters this month won’t do any harm.
