THEY call these the Friendly Games but that did not stop Bournemouth's Jake Sheaf beating one of his best mates to earn a shot at a Commonwealth Games medal, reports James Toney from the Gold Coast.

Sheaf and partner Chris Gregory booked their place in the semi-finals of the men’s beach volleyball with a 21-14 21-17 win over Scotland’s Robin Brodzski and Seain Cook on trendy Coolangatta beach.

Sheaf and Gregory were ushers at Brodzski’s wedding but ruthlessly swatted aside their British rivals to set up a last-four clash with home favourites Christopher McHugh and Damien Schumann.

The English pair train in a purpose-built facility in Bournemouth, which Sheaf admits gives them an advantage over their Scottish rivals, who commandeered a farmer’s barn when snow blanketed their normal training base on Edinburgh’s Portobello beach.

“It would have been nice to play them a bit later in the tournament but we had to be professional and get the job done,” he said.

“We trained together and lived together and we are really good mates, they’ll be the first to cheer for us now, even though I’m sure they will be hurting.

“It felt like an English tour event almost, just with a slightly bigger crowd and better weather.

“We’re really lucky with our facility in Bournemouth because it gives us the chance to train whatever the conditions.

“We see our job here as raising the profile of the sport and helping it develop so it can have a strong future.

“If this event and our results inspire people to get involved then hopefully the facility we have gives them a pathway. We want to see juniors coming along and getting the sport booming in this country.”

The pair admit the odds will be stacked against them in tomorrow’s semi-final with McHugh ranked in the top 10 at last year’s World Championships in Vienna.

"I'm honestly so stoked to be playing Australians on home soil. The crowd will be wild and it will be an amazing experience to be involved with,” said Gregory.

"I've got a mix of emotions, overall I feel amazing but I'm definitely mainly relieved. Whatever happens now we’ve got a match to take home a medal from these Games, that’s what the plan has always been.

"I have a lot of emotions and nerves for the semi-final but we’ve got a day to relax and prepare now, even if we wish we were just playing again now.”

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