Sam Tolchard is embracing the pressure of must-win bowls as he builds momentum in the men’s singles at Glasgow 2026.

Tolchard lost his opening match to Fiji’s Rajnesh Prasad but has bounced back with victories over Wales’ Ross Owen and Mohammed Ayub Qureshi of Pakistan.

The 37-year-old beat Qureshi 2-0 in a dominant performance on Saturday.

His early defeat means he has little room for error ahead of this final two group matches but the Torquay bowler is not fazed.

He said: “The format is pretty small and I was aware of that before coming in.

“Things didn't go my way in the first game, but that's how it's going to go. Everyone is going to do well in this competition.

“I came back really strongly in a huge game against Ross. I managed to win today, and that's the plan for the next two days. We'll see where we end up.

"Every day is a cup final for me. I had to step up again and did what I needed to do yesterday. Today was different because the rinks are always different. Two wins on the bounce give you a lot of confidence.”

There was further success for Team England as Amy Pharaoh and Sian Honnor made it three wins from three in the women’s pairs.

They beat Maltese sisters Rebecca Louise Rixon and Connie-Leigh Rixon 2-0 to put themselves in pole position to qualify for the medal matches.

But Honnor insisted the job is far from done ahead of two matches on Sunday.

She said: “We've got a tough day tomorrow. This is an incredibly tough group and you absolutely can't take anyone for granted. These are strong competitors.

“The Tongan ladies play in Australia, as do the two Malta sisters. They are very fierce competitors.

“It's brilliant to get the three wins, of course, but we've got a big day tomorrow. We need to knuckle down, forget what's gone, and go out again and try and smash it.”

Both Pharaoh and Honnor have their children in attendance in Glasgow and hope to spend time with family alongside preparing for their next matches.

“We've both got our families and children here, so we spend a little bit of time with them, but they know we're here to compete,” added Honnor.

“We spend a bit of time together as well. It might be cards or just some downtime. We can have conversations outside of bowls occasionally!”

James Reid/Sportsbeat 2026