Bush Whacked!

There may only have been two points in it at the end but Wairarapa-Bush thoroughly deserved their 16-14 win over Wanganui in the gripping Heartland championship Meads Cup grand final rugby match at Wanganui on Saturday.
Resilience and resolve had been a hallmark of many of Wairarapa-Bush's successes leading into the big one itself, and nothing changed.
With the strong wind in their favour in the first half it was always likely to be a matter of whether they could score enough points in that 40 minutes to tide them over in the second spell.
And that question was still being raised when they went to the break 16-0 ahead, thanks to a fine try by wing Francis Seumanutata and three penalties and a conversion from the ever-reliable boot of first-five Patrick Rimene, now the highest points scorer in the history of the Wairarapa-Bush union.
The dominance of Wairarapa-Bush in that first spell was commanding both in terms of territory and possession but considering the velocity of the wind the prospects of Wanganui making up the leeway were generally being assessed at 50-50, and probably even better than that.
The fact it took the home team all of 20 minutes in that second spell to register their first converted try played a huge part in the end result.
Up until then they had spent most of the half deep in opposition territory but through a combination of oustanding Wairarapa-Bush defence and some sloppy handling and passing they had remained scoreless, and boosted Wairarapa-Bush's chances of snaring the Heartland title as a result.
A second converted try to Wanganui seven minutes from fulltime though, put a somewhat different perspective on things.
Now there was just two points separating the two sides and with the elements guaranteeing that basically all of that period would be played in the Wairarapa-Bush half, the nerves had to be on edge.
A couple of penalties were conceded, but happily, apparently outside the range of the Wanganui kickers and three or four times a desperate defence was stretched to the brink of breaking point.
But the more intense the pressure the more those two R's - resolve and resilieince - enabled Wairarapa-Bush to keep their noses in front and there was a jubilant roar from both players and their hordes of supporters in the 5000-plus crowd when the final whistle sounded as yet another Wanganui attack foundered just short of the line.
How appropriate it was that skipper Joe Harwood, who had an enormous game himself, was quick to pay tribute to the Wairarapa-Bush coaching staff just before the great man himself, Colin Meads, presented the trophy named after him to the Carterton hooker.
For there was no question that when it came to tactical approach, Wairarapa-Bush were head and shoulders above their rivals.
Whereas Wanganui spent most of the first spell running around like headless chooks, Wairarapa-Bush utilised a simple game plan to perfection.
Intent on keeping the ball as close to their forwards as possible and placing huge emphasis on ball protection, they often played the short side from the many scrums, rucks and mauls with the idea of sapping the energy out of the Wanganui pack.
And when they weren't doing that they invariably had robust midfielders Nathan Couch and Simanu Simanu taking the ball up in midfield or the inside combination of Hamish McKenzie and Patrick Rimene turning Wanganui on their heels with well-placed kicks.
It was Rimene who opened the scoring with a penalty from in front of the posts after just three minutes and then came Seumanutata's try which originated out of a rampaging burst by prop Albertus Buckle and some clever support play from Junior Togia, Hamish McKenzie and finally Seumanutata. Rimene converted and Wairarapa-Bush led 10-0.
Two more penalties by Rimene, who was striking the ball beautifully, increased the lead to 16-0 but was it enough as the teams went to the halftime break?
There was a simplicity about the Wairarapa-Bush game plan in the second half too, but then it revolved around the forwards taking up precious seconds by holding on to possession for as long as they could and the mounting of an assertive defence.
Again the pack did their job well, although a couple of messy scrums and two or three equally messy lineouts did raise an extra heartbeat or two.
And while there were occasions when Wanganui were given a little too much latitude on attack the Wairarapa-Bush defensive effort was generally equal to the task.
The first Wanganui try, scored by halfback Denning Tyrell, did appear to be somewhat fortuitous.
A Wairarapa-Bush player was ruled offside before Tyrell seemed to lose the ball forward but rather than come back for the penalty referee Matt Stanish allowed Tyrell to recover possession and dart over for the try which Steelie Koro converted. Wairarapa-Bush 16, Wanganui 7.
The second Wanganui try, which came seven minutes from the game's end, was the result of slick passing which gave winger Asaelie Tikoirotuma space in which to move, and he didnt need a second chance. Koro kicked the conversion from the sideline and it was all on for young and old.
The closing stanzas will undoubtedly live long in Wairarapa-Bush rugby folklore. Wanganui launched a attack after attack and not only did Wairarapa-Bush invariably make their tackles count but they also showed tremendous discipline by not conceding penalties in kickable positions.
That they lasted so well was also a testimony to coach Peter Russell and his assistant Chris Luman as despite their side being in front they made a number of second half substitutions, obviously working on the theory that fresh legs could be very useful as the tempo of the game increased.
Individually, this was a game where there were 15 - no, make that 22 - heroes for Wairarapa-Bush with everyone giving 100 per cent to the team effort.
Harwood, in his first season as skipper, was inspirational in the tighter phases of the forward game and had marvellous support there from the likes of fellow front rowers Albertus Buckle and Dylan Higgison and locks Mike Robinson and Tomasi Kedarabuka.
They anchored a scrum which generally had the edge on their Wanganui counterparts, including one instance where they actually pushed Wanganui off their own ball, and Kedarabuka, in particular, was a towering figure at lineout time.
The Wairarapa-Bush loosies - Sylvanus Iro, Sam Henderson and Mike Spence - were fantastic value on both attack and defence and clearly outgunned their highly-regarded Wanganui opponents through the ferocity and constructiveness of their play.
For the Wairarapa-Bush backs this was always going to be a testing assignment as the Wanganui reaguard are a lively, skilful lot but they came through with flying colours.
Hamish McKenzie sniped wonderfully well from halfback and the control of Patrick Rimene at first-five was just so impressive.
Midfielders Nathan Couch and Simanu Simanu shirked nothing on the tackle and were powerful runners with ball in hand and outside backs, wings Junior Togia and Francis Seumanutata, and fullback Peato Lafaele were generally sound in everything they did.
Saturday's win was made even more memorable for Wairarapa-Bush because it reversed their six-point loss to Wanganui in their top six playoff match which, in the end, was their only defeat in Heartland games.
That left them with the best record of all the Heartland teams and as champions in the truest sense of the word.
And didn't we love it!!!!!!!!!!