Championship changes open it up to all

The Wairarapa-Bush Rugby Union's council of clubs could stand accused of catering for mediocrity after making changes to the format for this season's senior first division championship.
The latest system is notable for the extension of the grand final process which will now include quarter-finals and semi-finals before the competition decider scheduled for Saturday, August 2.
What this means in effect is that eight of the nine participating teams will still be in championship contention going into the quarter-finals no matter what their win-loss record is at that stage.
And with a seeded draw in place the opportunity will now exist for the eighth ranked side to eliminate the top seeds from the title race even though their formlines might be poles apart.
But it's not only the introduction of quarter-finals which gives credence to the "catering for mediocrity" claim.
The fact that points earned from first round matches, which are currently in process, will not be carried over into the main championship is also a huge benefit to those sides languishing well off the pace. Instead these points will only count towards the Moose Kapene Memorial Cup which raises the question of how seriously clubs will take the latter stages of that competition when they find themselves in a position from where overall victory is completely out of the question Indeed some of them.have practically reached that stage already. There is one benefit for the better-performed teams in the Kapene Cup With time limitations meaning the first round of the main championship can only cater for six series of matches the top three placegetters there are guaranteed a bye and the four points which will go with it.
Just which three of the other six teams will also receive the bye (and the four points) will depend entirely on the luck of a draw which could well see one or more teams unfortunate enough to miss the bye and also miss playing any of the lesser-performed sides, thereby enhancing their chances of, at worst, being eliminated from the quarters or, at best, meeting the top ranked side there.
Also intriguing (for want of a better word) is the decision not to award bonus points in the main championship for the scoring of four or more tries yet retain them for losing by seven points or less.Inquiries suggest the bye scenario had something to do with this but if that's the case why have any bonus points at all? What these series of question marks over the current competition format does is highlight again what can happen when clubs get to decide what that should be. They are torn between what is best for them and what is best for rugby as a whole and, while few are likely to admit it, loyalty to their own club is always likely to take precedence in that situation. Hardly ideal, is it?
KAPENE CUP
Unbeaten Gladstone will be expected to continue on their winning way when Kapene Cup senior first division matches continue tomorrow. They will travel to Eketahuna and while the home team will have been boosted by their narrow win over Pioneer last weekend Gladstone's greater depth at both back and forward should see them home by a comfortable margin.
Martinborough suffered their first loss of the 2008 season when they went under to Gladstone last weekend and they will face another stiff challenge when they play East Coast at Whareama. The Coasters are invariably a handful at home and they play a similar brand of the "hustle and bustle" rugby which has served Martinborough so well. This should be an entertaining match and could go either way.
There should be little in the Carterton v Pioneer match at Carterton either.Carterton will probably fancy their chances of attaining a slight edge in the forward exchanges while Pioneer won't mind if the game loosens up and their backs are given regular opportunity to stretch their legs.
Greytown and Puketoi will do battle at Greytown and here too it will surprise if the winning margin is more than just a few points. Greytown fielded a depleted front row against Marist last weekend and it showed, especially in the scrums, and they will need to lift their effort to match a rugged Puketoi pack.If they manage that then the pace of the Greytown outside backs might be the decisive factor in the end result.