NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Better, but not by much

Wairarapa Times-Age
3 Jun, 2008 05:00 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article


Surprise, surprise&&&..Wairarapa-Bush were outclassed in their non-championship rugby match with a Hawkes Bay XV at Memorial Park, Masterton yesterday.
In what was just another classic example of the gulf which exists these days between those unions playing at the top level of provincial rugby and those participating in the Heartland championship,
the Bay ran in 13 unanswered tries in winning by 77-0.
It wasn't quite as bad scorewise as the 98-0 defeat (16 tries) suffered at the hands of the Wellington XV a couple of weeks earlier but whether that should be seen as a plus is debatable.
The wet, miserable conditions which prevailed for yesterday's game might have been expected to even things up to some degree but all they did in effect was highlight the huge difference in skill levels between the two sides.
Sure, there was the odd occasion when tries went begging for the Bay because of the slippery ball being spilled but mostly their handling and passing was impeccable and they played the game at a tempo way and above what Wairarapa-Bush could ever manage, even on a good day.
The speed of the big Hawkes's Bay forwards around the paddock , in fact,was perhaps the most impressive feature of the entire game with front and middle rowers often accelerating through gaps in a manner of which any midfield back would be proud. And more than that, they were also adept at linking up with their supports once their progress was slowed
The Bay forwards were helped though by the tentativeness of the Wairarapa-Bush defence around the fringes of the rucks and mauls. Invariably the ball carrier was able to work up a full head of steam because of the locals basically waiting for them to make the first move rather than harassing them at the point of contact.
The rolling maul was a launching pad for many of the Bay's most potent attacks and here too their effectiveness was enhanced by the all too often failure of the Wairarapa-Bush forwards to confront them with a fight fire with fire mentality
In the lineouts too the Bay were quick to impose their physical presence with former Wairarapa-Bush rep Stu Smith showing he has lost none of his skills in that area. He took down a number of clean takes in the 40 minutes or so he had on the paddock.
With their pack in such dominant form the Hawke's Bay backs were given ample opportunity to display their attacking wares and they relished the steady stream of quality possession which came their way.Their intent to place the emphasis on attack was obvious from the outset and they ran with purpose, time and again creating overlaps through slick passing and nippy footwork. On a hot, sunny day and a firm surface ones hate to think what havoc they might have created.
The search for positives from the Wairarapa-Bush effort is somewhat akin to looking for a needle in a haystack.
As in the Wellington XV match they spent the large bulk of the game in their own half of the paddock and the number of times they even threatened the Hawkes Bay line could be counted on one hand&.indeed a couple of fingers if we were being totally honest!.
Disruptions caused by injuries suffered in Saturday's club games did not help the forward effort though with the situation being reached in the second half when three hookers were on the paddock at the same time, At hooker then was Joe Harwood with Greytown's Moi Liumaihetau at prop and Greytown's Richard Puddy on the flank.
Harwood's willingness to run the ball back at the opposition whenever he had the chance actually made him one of his team's better performers and another of the old heads in No.8 Mike Spence was also prominent in that respect, particularly from the back of the scrum, which was one area where Wairarapa-Bush actually held their own. Something which suggests in turn that props Kurt Simmonds and Dylan Higgison were solid in that department.
Promising youngster Mike Wilson had his first start for Wairarapa-Bush on the flank but had few, if any, chances to show his considerable attacking skills in broken play.Like fellow flanker Sully Alsop his contribution was more of a defensive kind and they were two of their team's surer tacklers.
The Wairarapa-Bush backs have now gone two games without any prospect of demonstrating their attacking capabilities simply because of a lack of ball. Justin Lett was a late replacement at halfback and made a decent enough fist of things under difficult circumstances and Patrick Rimene was a cool head at first-five.
Josh Maloni (3), Kurt Rowlands (2), Mark Jackman, Chris Eaton, Pama Petia, Rob Evans, Jamie Muir, Peni Tokalece, Jacob Kennedy and Kilifi Fangupo were the try scorers for Hawke's Bay with Mark Jackman (4), Davis Tavita and Jacob Kennedy kicking conversions.
In the curtain-raiser matches the Wairarapa police came from behind to beat their Manawatu counterparts 39-29 while the Hurricanes Co-Ed Cup elimination game between the Wairarapa College and Chanel first XVs was won by Wairarapa College 24-0.
Utility back Dave Drummond was the star of the Wairarapa police team, often causing panic stations in the Manawatu defence with his strong running. Nathan Couch and Jaco Pieterse were two other backs to shine while Greg Peters, Dean Cadwallader and Kerry Fitzgerald were prominent up front.
The college match was expected to be somewhat of a one-sided affair with Wairarapa College calling the shots but while they held a huge territorial advantage the stout defence of Chanel made them earn every point they attained.Wiremu Grace Thomas Kainuku , Cody Whittaker and Reihana Brown stood out for Wairarapa College while No.8 Kirk Tufuga and front rower Joshy Nicho had big games for Chanel.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

Property

Watch: 'My raging backyard river' - North Shore homeowner fears stormwater torrent

11 Jul 06:00 AM
New Zealand

Watch: Shore homeowner fears raging backyard river, council says it can’t pipe stormwater

New Zealand

Flood fears for Auckland

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Watch: 'My raging backyard river' - North Shore homeowner fears stormwater torrent

Watch: 'My raging backyard river' - North Shore homeowner fears stormwater torrent

11 Jul 06:00 AM

'Land eroding, health and safety of young kids has been at risk for the last three years'.

Watch: Shore homeowner fears raging backyard river, council says it can’t pipe stormwater

Watch: Shore homeowner fears raging backyard river, council says it can’t pipe stormwater

Flood fears for Auckland

Flood fears for Auckland

'Evacuate to higher ground': Emergency alert in Tasman, Vector on standby in Akl
live

'Evacuate to higher ground': Emergency alert in Tasman, Vector on standby in Akl

11 Jul 05:50 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP