Bowls: Meet the 12-year-old Kiwi taking the greens by storm

Liam Hill is about to contest the Auckland lawn bowls finals this weekend, competing against rivals who have played the game for more than 60 years and former New Zealand representatives. 

He's only 12 years old.

Not many young bowlers throughout the country play at the top level, but there are enough to get the ball rolling.  

For some, the Easter Sunday bowls is a fun day out, but Hill was not messing around. 

He's is no stranger to the green, brought up around the sport with Poppa and Uncle Jamie both former New Zealand representatives.

"It's good to see he's doing well," Jamie Hill tells Newshub. "He is actually doing very well, winning a lot of games and stuff."

Hill was by far the youngest at the Auckland men's singles open last week, qualifying for the senior semi-finals this weekend. 

"It does feel weird playing people triple your age," Liam says.

But he's not the only other young gun on the green, with David Motu, 13, taking up the sport three years ago. He wishes they could play against other school-aged athletes. 

"People treat it as an old man's sport," Motu says. "But yeah, it would be more fun if more young kids would play."

The pair are also more than happy to give people a helping hand. Both have New Zealand rep teams in their sights and are determined to get there. 

"I want to make it in the New Zealand team one day, if they see my talents," Liam adds.

And they have all the time in the world to get there.