Defeat leaves difficult task for Wai-Bush

SOLID: Tom Fleming, a leading light in Wairarapa-Bush pack.PHOTO/FILE

WAIRARAPA-BUSH are now a longshot to be involved in any play-off rugby in the Heartland championship this season.

They might have picked up a bonus point for their 12-9 loss to Horowhenua-Kapiti at Levin on Saturday but that will have done little to ease the disappointment of their supporters.

With three qualifying round matches to go before the top four teams in the 12-team competition head into the semifinals of the Meads Cup and the teams ranked fifth to eighth do likewise for the Lochore Cup, Wairarapa-Bush sit 10th on the points table, eight points behind eighth-placed North Otago.

What that means is to have any chance of making the Lochore Cup semis they would have to go through their remaining qualifying games without defeat and when you consider the opposition to come is Thames Valley, Wanganui and Buller that is a huge ask by any standards.

Currently Thames Valley lies fifth on the table, Buller are out front and Wanganui are ninth and clearly on an upward trend after their 44-7 thumping of East Coast in Wanganui on Saturday.

A quirk of the Heartland championship draw is that each team doesn't get to play two others in the qualifying rounds and unfortunately for Wairarapa-Bush the two teams they don't strike this season are the only two behind them on the points table, West Coast and East Coast.

The weather dictated that Saturday's action in Levin would very much revolve around the forwards and, as it transpired, all the points came from penalty goals. Horowhenua-Kapiti first-five Perry Hayman slotted four for Horowhenua-Kapiti, the last of them very late in the game, while a newcomer to the Wairarapa-Bush squad in Greg Mullaney, also playing in the No10 jersey, landed three for them.

Two of Mullaney's successful kicks came in the first half when Wairarapa-Bush had a strong wind in their favour and the general feeling at the interval was that their slender advantage would not be enough to stave off a Horowhenua-Kapiti side, which were also defending the Bruce Steel Cup, having lifted that trophy off Wanganui earlier in the season.

And so it proved, although the home team did find it more difficult to get their noses in front than many might have expected.

Horowhenua-Kapiti skipper Anthony Fox was a standout for Horowhenua-Kapiti along with mobile locks Ryan Shelford and Billy Tovo while the pick of the Wairarapa-Bush pack were loosies Isaac O'Connor and Tom Fleming and lock Andrew McLean.

It was not a day on which backs were ever likely to shine but Hayman for Horowhenua-Kapiti and halfback Zeb Aporo for Wairarapa-Bush were solid performers.

Heartland results were: North Otago 19, Thames Valley 15; Wanganui 44, East Coast 7; Horowhenua-Kapiti 12, Wairarapa-Bush 9; King Country 15, West Coast 10; South Canterbury 32, Poverty Bay 28; Buller 29, Mid-Canterbury 29.

Competition points: Buller 22, South Canterbury 20, Horowhenua-Kapiti 19, Poverty Bay 17, Thames Valley 15, King Country 14, Mid-Canterbury 12, North Otago 11, Wanganui 9, Wairarapa-Bush 3, West Coast 2, East Coast 0.

Wairarapa-Bush's next assignment is against Thames Valley at Memorial Park.