Eketahuna dominating

Statistics clearly illustrate the dominance of defending champions Eketahuna during the first round of play in the Wairarapa-Bush Rugby Union's senior first division competition.
They won the most matches (eight), scored the most points (310), conceded less points than any other side (67) and with 39 competition points are five ahead of their nearest rivals, Gladstone and Carterton, who both have 34pts.
Then come Marist and Greytown-Tuhirangi on 26, Martinborough on 21, Pioneer on 20, East Coast on 16, Masterton Red Star on 8 and Puketoi on 1The one area where Eketahuna have been headed off is bonus points, which are awarded to teams who score four or more tries and who lose but finish within seven points of the winning side.
Eketahuna have accumulated seven bonus points, one less than Pioneer, a team which has highlighted how important these points can be.
They have had exactly the same number of wins (three) as East Coast but are four points ahead of them on the competition table because they have double the bonus points.
Greytown-Tuhirangi have registered six bonus points, Carterton five, Gladstone, Marist, East Coast and Masterton Red Star all four and Martinborough and Puketoi one apiece.
The senior first division draw for tomorrow is:-
MASTERTON RED STAR V EKETAHUNA, Memorial Park at 2.30pm: You wouldn't envy Masterton Red Star, would you? They have made a pretty decent fist in their return to first division play considering their lack of experienced players, but how can they possibly cope with an Eketahuna side which ran Marist ragged last weekend.
The fact Eketahuna will almost certainly be without star back Simanu Simanu is a help but anything less than a 30 point win to them would still be a huge surprise.
There were more than a few spectators watching Eketahuna seven days ago who proferred the view that Wairarapa-Bush could do well to use their pack in entirety and it's impossible to imagine Stars living with them in the battle for possession.
CARTERTON V EAST COAST, Carterton at 2.30pm. Carterton had a week off last weekend when Puketoi defaulted and with so,many walking wounded the break was probably good news for them. At anything like full strength they would have the edge on East Coast all over the park but the Coasters are a gritty lot who will be quick to capitalise on any deficiencies in the home side.
Carterton should win but don't be surprised if the winning margin is in single figures.
PIONEER V GREYTOWN-TUHIRANGI, Jean Street at 2.30pm:When will the union's council of clubs finally realise that having two first division games kicking off at the same time in Masterton but at different venues is ridiculously poor planning?
This should be an interesting duel with Greytown-Tuhirangi at last starting to look as if they could repeat last year's effort of making the grand final and Pioneer in a position where to even reach the top four they will have to start winning on a consistent basis.
With their loyal band of supporters behind them Pioneer is sure to give it a good shot, but the combined side do look to have more depth in vital positions and that could be enough to to tilt the scales in their favour
.
MARTINBOROUGH V PUKETOI, Martinborough at 2.30pm: You have to feel for Puketoi, don't you? They might not be the strongest side in terms of quality but they keep on keeping on. So imagine their despair at having to default last weekend because of a shortage of fit front row forwards?
Hopefully the side which gave us former All Black and Wairarapa-Bush skipper Brett Harvey will be back in action tomorrow.
They will start the underdogs against a Martinborough side which should be too slick in the backs but this is another game where the score could be a lot closer than many people think.
GLADSTONE V MARIST, Gladstone at 2.30pm. This would have to be the day's feature match. Gladstone have the better form of the two, but are meeting a Marist side which will still be smarting from their walloping by Eketahuna last weekend.If ever anything should bring out the best in them that should and Gladstone could have a battle on their hands. Dominating the forward exchanges will be an absolute must for them for if play loosens up the attacking brilliance of the Marist backs could be the vital factor.
Gladstone and Greytown-Tuhirangi are sharing the lead in the senior third division competition.They both have 38pts and are followed by Pioneer 34, Eketahuna 29, Masterton Red Star 23, Featherston 18, Martinborough 17, Carterton 15 and East Coast