Defending champions Eketahuna consolidated their place in the semifinals of the Wellington premier division women's rugby competition with an encouraging 38-8 win over Oriental-Rongotai in Wellington on Saturday.
But while there was satisfaction in a job well done there was also frustration with the knowledge they will have to do without star midfield back, Black Fern Shakira Baker, as they look to claim a place in the grand final.
Baker, who scored four tries against Oriental-Rongotai, will miss this weekend's semi because of her commitments with the New Zealand sevens squad heading to contest an Oceania tournament in Fiji and her absence cannot help but weaken the Eketahuna attack.
"Obviously we build a lot of our attacks around Shakira and, yes, she's a very difficult player to replace," Eketahuna coach Sid Tatana said yesterday. "It will mean changing the game plan ... we'll probably have to revolve more of the play around the forwards than we usually do."
With that in mind Tatana was pleased with the manner in which his pack gained ascendancy over a physical Oriental-Rongotai eight, especially during a second half in which Eketahuna scored 24 unanswered points.
