Eketahuna have smashing time

Who would have thought Eketahuna would smash Marist by 49-6 in their Wairarapa-Bush senior first division rugby match at Memorial Park, Masterton on Saturday?
Smash is the operative word.
Aware that the best way to nullify the attacking brilliance of the Marist backs was for their forwards to dominate the battle for possession Eketahuna did exactly that.
They were a class and more above their Marist counterparts in every facet of the game with nothing impressing more than their unity. They invariably arrived at the breakdowns in large numbers and consequently made a "meal" of the ruck and maul situations.
There was a lot to like too about the mobility and fitness of the Eketahuna pack. They were still operating on a full head of steam at the end of the 80 minutes which contrasted dramatically with the Marist forwards, some of whom were well and truly down to a canter by that stage.
Front rowers Angus McMillan, Rob Foreman and Brendan Walker and locks Tim Iro and Josh Mackie were diligent workers in the engine room for Eketahuna. They were grand value in the scrums, rampaging runners in broken play and in the case of Iro and Mackie also regular winners of lineout ball.
Captain Steve Olds was always busy at No.8 and was given strong support in the loose by flankers Luke Mahony and David Smith.
Impressive as the Eketahuna forwards were if a player of the match award was up for grabs then it would have been halfback Hamish McKenzie who took the spoils. He gave a masterly exhibition of halfback play, invariably choosing the right time to run or kick and his service to promising first-five Darren Yates was usually swift and accurate.
Yates too chose his options well and there were no more dangerous attackers than wing Jorgi Tamani and fullback Simanu Simanu, both of whom were looking for work all game.
Marist would have been hugely disappointed with their effort. They were basically outgunned in each and every department and were also on the receiving end of a hefty penalty count It must be said though that their frustrations for the latter were understandable for many of the rulings appeared somewhat debatable from the sidelines.
Matthew Rowlands and Kerry Hargood were the pick of the Marist forwards while second-five Nathan Couch was the best of a backline which had very few chances to strut their stuff and.when they did, were too often guilty of shoddy passing.
Tim Iro (2), Simanu Simanu, Darren Yates, Brendan Walker,Hamish McKenzie, Steve Olds and Jorgi Tamani scored tries for Eketahuna. Yates also kicked one penalty and Simanu landed three conversions. Patrick Rimene kicked two penalties for Marist.
Gladstone and Pioneer had their expected close struggle with Gladstone having four points to spare in the end, winning 30-26. It as an entertaining affair with both teams running in a number of tries.
Martinborough led Masterton Red Star by just 3-0 at halftime in their match but dominated the scoring action in the second half to win by 20-7.It was pretty much even stevens in the forwards but Martinborough had a clear edge in the outside backs and used it to advantage. Hard-running midfielder Dan Hape scored the sole Masterton Red Star try.
Greytown-Tuhirangi scored six tries, one of them a penalty try, in their 41-14 defeat of East Coast.
The most pleasing feature for the combined side would have been the improved form shown by the backs of whom second-five Kingi Kaiwai, wing Tavita Isaac and fullback Rupert Handyside were the pick.
Loose forward Sylvanus Iro, who had scored a hat-trick of tries the week before, touched down twice on this occasion with other try scorers being Rupert Handyside,Tavita Isaac and Ryan Hardman.
East Coast scored tries through Te Maika Mason and Nick Olson.
Puketoi were forced to default their first division game with Carterton after being severely depleted by injuries. The front row was a particular problem as they had only the one fit player available in that vital position.
There is now some doubt whether Puketoi will be able to complete the remainder of their first division commitments.