Coach rapt with effort

For once Wairarapa-Bush rugby coach Peter Russell wasn't lamenting his side's tendency to go off the boil after building a good lead when reflecting on their 28-23 win over Horowhenua-Kapiti in the NPC third division grand final at Memorial Park on Saturday.
Russell could have been excused for taking the same line after Wairarapa-Bush had allowed a 25-6 advantage to reduce to 25-23 with three minutes to play but with the title in the bag he was taking a less serious outlook on what had occurred.
"It was a final?we wanted to keep it entertaining," he said tongue-in-cheek. "We wanted everybody at the park and everybody watching the game at home to be on the edge of their seats. Isn't that what finals rugby is all about?"
Russell was delighted with the way his side had adhered to the game plan in a first half which saw them head to the break with a commanding 15-3 lead.
The need to start well and play sensible rugby had been stressed with the emphasis being put on keeping Horowhenua-Kapiti pinned in their own territory for long periods.
"It was all about applying pressure and waiting for them to make mistakes and I thought we did that very well," he said. "We wanted them to be doing the chasing on the scoreboard and that's the way it was."
While agreeing that the last 25 or so minutes of the match had been dominated to a large degree by Horowhenua-Kapiti Russell was quick to praise his side for the composure they had shown in that vital last three minutes when all their opposition needed was a penalty or dropped goal to clinch the championship.
"We got down their end of the field and stayed there??and that last penalty was a reward for that composure," he said. "We didn't panic and that was very important with the scores so close."
Russell also praised Horowhenua-Kapiti for the manner in which they lifted their effort in the second half.
"We might have gone to sleep at times but, boy, they were fired up, weren't they?", he said. "They really got stuck in and you've got to give them credit for that."
Russell is optimistic that most of the title-winning Wairarapa-Bush squad will be available again in 2006 when they will play in the revamped NPC second division competition.
At this stage only skipper Mike Robinson, who has retired from representative play, will definitely be missing and he will be a hard act to follow in the leadership role.
"Robbo is one of those players who gets the respect of his team-mates because he leads from the front," Russell said. "He's been a huge influence on this year's side, you just can't buy that sort of experience."