Champs lay down the gauntlet to opposition

Eketahuna are still the team to beat in the Wairarapa-Bush premier division rugby competition.
That was the message handed out by the defending champions with their 21-10 win over Gladsone at Gladstone on Saturday.
Shooting for their fourth successive premier division title Eketahuna had won all four of their previous games leading into this particular match, but had been nowhere near as dominant as expected over lesser opposition than Gladstone, the beaten finalists in 2005.
And that had fuelled speculation that their stranglehold on the title was on the wane, and that Gladstone was capable of lowering their colours.
As it happened, however, Eketahuna were out of danger of defeat by halftime, at which stage they led by a decisive 21-0.
It was a deserved lead too, for the Bush side had spent the large proportion of that spell camped deep in Gladstone territory and it was not until the dying stages that the home team had even threatened to trouble the scorers.
Most of the credit for Eketahuna's commanding advantage, both in terms of territory and on the scoreboard, was due to the diligence of their forwards, who made a one-horse race of the battle for possession.
Not only were they more united, and therefore more effective in the set pieces of lineout and scrum, but they were an assertive lot in the rucks and mauls as well. Invariably good metreage was made on the pick and go and their support of the ball carrier in such situations was outstanding
Helping the Eketahuna cause too were the tactics of a backline which understood the importance of keeping their forwards going forward (excuse the pun) and most of their tactical kicking was well judged in that respect.
That first 40 minutes ended with Eketahuna having scored three tries through Simanu Simanu, Jorgi Tamani and Hamish McKenzie, all of them converted by Samanu and their 21-0 lead left Gladstone with a huge mountain to climb in the second half; too huge as it turned out.
It was to the credit of Gladstone though that while they never looked a winning hope, they did raise their effort several notches over the second 40 minutes, scoring the only points of that spell through tries to Matt Easton and Ross Batty, and doing enough to suggest they will be serious contenders for a grand finals berth again.
The Gladstone pack were clearly more competitive in the possession stakes in that spell, showing greater stability in the scrums and more cohesion in the lineouts and utilising the speed of their loose forwards well in broken play.
And if the backs generally struggled to make much headway with ball in hand, they did cause Eketahuna some embarrassment on the few occasions it was shifted wide and the three-quarters were given the chance to stretch their legs.
Prop Brendan Walker and lock Josh Mackey were two of the most impressive Eketahuna forwards, while the guile of Hamish McKenzie at halfback was a major plus for them as well. As too was the coolness of Simanu Simanu in midfield,both on attack and defence, and the acceleration of Jorgi Tamani on the wing.
Gladstone loosies Mike Spence and Sam Henderson became more and more prominent as the game progressed and along with hooker Ross Batty did nothing to dent their hopes of Wairarapa-Bush selection this season, Charlie Bargh was a resourceful halfback and Matt Easton ran strongly on the wing.
Carterton and Marist featured in a close encounter at Memorial Park with Carterton winning by 23-21. It was a match which held interest right up until the final with the lead swapping at least twic. Fullback Jono Hurley, wing Chad Laird and loose forward Andrew Compain starred for Carterton, while first-five Paddy Rimene was in fine form for Marist.
Hurley, Laird and Lance Stevenson were the try scorers for Carterton with Hurley adding two penalties and a conversion.Geordie Walden and Roger Cayless scored the Marist tries and Rimene kicked three penalties and one conversion.
Greytown-Tuhirangi scored three tries in beating Martinborough 26-6. Impressive loose forward Sylvanus Iro scored a brace with the other going to Tavita Isaac. Jacob Ross kicked three penalties and one conversion. Martinborough's points came from two penalties but they struggled to obtain enough quality possession in the forward struggle to keep their opposition in check.
East Coast bounced back from their narrow loss to Pioneer the previous weekend with a 19-0 win over Puketoi which is still to pick up any match or competition points this season.