It was almost a comeback for the ages, a story fitting for the pool room - but alas, Australia have fallen short in the men’s lawn bowls triple final.

England overcame the Australian trio of Barry Lester, Carl Healy and Ben Twist 14-12 to claim the gold medal, but only after Australia came from 12-1 down to almost pull off a win against the odds.

After establishing their large lead early, England were forced to endure some nervous moments as Australia came back to tie the game, before some big shots down the stretch sealed the result.

England started on fire, racing out to an 8-0 lead after the first seven ends, before extending that advantage to 12-1 by the end of the ninth.

But rather than roll over, it spurred Australia into action and by the 12th end, Australia had reduced the deficit to just 12-8.

By the 16th end, Australia had drawn level to set up a tense finale as players from both sides began to feel the pressure, missing some gettable looks.

The penultimate end looked like it may go the way of the Australians, but some incredible shot-making from the English trio of Louis Ridout, Nick Brett and Jamie Chestney saw England do enough to take the lead, before they again put their lead beyond reach in the 18th and final end.