Disappointing loss to minnows

What a pity Wairarapa-Bush couldn't copy the inventiveness and enthusiasm of their loyal bunch of supporters as they crashed to a disappointing 18-12 loss to Horowhenua-Kapiti in their Heartland championship rugby match at Levin on Saturday.
Bare torsos painted in green and red (of the male variety I must hastily add) horn blowing and a banner proclaiming "Go Da Bush" ensured the level of encouragement for Wairarapa-Bush from the sidelines far outdid that for the home side, something indicative of the form background of the two sides going into this particular match.
Seemingly on a roll was a Wairarapa-Bush team whose three wins from their first three games had seem them establish a five-point lead in pool A while at the opposite end of the spectrum was a Horowhenua-Kapiti combination with three successive losses.
On paper then anything less than a comfortable Wairarapa-Bush win was difficult to imagine but, as so often happens in sporting encounters, their past records counted for nothing on this occasion.
It has to be said though that Horowhenua-Kapiti's victory did not happen because they played extraordinarily well.
Yes, the final scoreline was a fair enough indication of the merits of the two teams but it was much more a case of Wairarapa-Bush playing poorly than Horowhenua-Kapiti producing anything special.
Failiure to retain possession through basic handling and passing errors has been a bugbear for Wairarapa-Bush through most of this season and Saturday's performance was very probably their worst in that regard.
This time though it was their forwards rather than their backs who were the main culprits, often from the short passing rushes or "pick and go" situations which can be such a vital component of their attacking armoury.
Sometimes it was the assertiveness of the close quarter Horowhenua-kapiti defence which caused possession to be spilled but more often than not it was simply a matter of wild passing or the intended receiver taking their eye off the ball.
In the rucks and mauls too the turning over of possession became a trait Wairarapa-Bush could well have done without and again there were problems in the delivery of the ball to halfback Hamish McKenzie (and later Zeb Aporo) at scrum time.
It wasn't as if Horowhenua-Kapiti had their measure there as both sides struggled to provide a stable platform but at least they were generally able to clear the ball without too much hindrance from their opposition.
It wasn't total bad news for the Wairarapa-Bush forwards though. With Tomasi Kedarabuka the main "go to" man and Dan Griffin a useful ally they were good value in the lineouts and Kedarabuka, hooker Joe Harwood and skipper Mike Spence were punishing runners in broken play.
Unfortunately, however, their efforts were generally to no avail because once the ball left their hands it was usually spilled within a couple more passes.
The most worrying aspect of the Wairarapa-Bush back play was the almost total lack of penetration once experienced fullback Simanu Simanu left the field through injury at the halftime break.
Simanu hadn't had a lot of chances to stretch his legs in the opening 40 minutes but when he did he generally always managed to evade a tackle or two and provide space for his supports.
Without him the attacking play of the backs became stereotyped and easy to read and consequently the Horowhenua-Kapiti defence had little difficulty keeping them under wraps.
The introduction of the hard-running Phil Aporo on the wing did at least provide some sting in the Wairarapa-Bush tail when the ball did come his way but he too had few opportunities to utilise his talents.
Wairarapa-Bush did benefit immensely though from the goal kicking skills of first-five John Dodd. His two first half penalties gave his side a 6-5 lead at the break and he kicked two more in the second half, the last of which right on fulltime meant Wairarapa-Bush at least came away from the game with a bonus point for finishing within at least seven points of the winning side.
It also meant they maintained their lead on the pool A points table although King Country have now closed to within two points of them and Mid-Canterbury is also close enough to relegate them to third place should they beat Wairarapa-Bush in Masterton next Saturday. That scenario would see Wairarapa-Bush still in the Meads Cup playoffs but facing the prospect of playing only one of their three matches there at home.
For Horowhenua-Kapiti, whose assistant coach is former Wairarapa-Bush player and coach Mark Benton, Saturday's victory was one to savour if only because it broke their "duck" in this season's Heartland matches.
They probably didn't offer any sterner opposition than did King Country, the side Wairarapa-Bush beat the previous weekend, but the fact wing Richard Bussey (2) and James Ngatapuna scored the only tries of the match was reason enough to acclaim them as worthy winners. Dion Nepia came off the reserve bench to kick a late penalty to complete their scoring action.