Eketahuna's win counts for nothing

Eketahuna hammered competition leaders Kia Toa 41-17 in their Manawatu senior women's rugby match at Eketahuna last weekend but it counted for nothing.
Opposition for Eketahuna was originally to come from Massey but when they withdrew from the competition a new draw was made and Kia Toa became their opponents.
It was a situation welcomed by the in-form Eketahuna side who were justifiably optimistic of their chances of victory on home territory but then came the news via email on Friday night that the game was a "friendly" because Kia Toa had three players trialling for the national women's sevens team.
Eketahuna coach Cory Miller said the lateness of that decision was "very disappointing" but there was little Eketahuna could do about it.
"We were looking forward to taking competition points off them, we really believed a win was on no matter who they had playing for them," Miller said.
And those sentiments were verified by the dominance of Eketahuna in the action which transpired with the home side making use of the regular supply of quality possession which came their way.
Prop Tanya McGregor and openside flanker Trisanna Campbell were outstanding for Eketahuna up front while the pick of the backs were first-five Jess Bennett and wings Shakira Baker and Maria Edwards, the latter scoring two well-taken tries.
It was a performance which raised hopes of Eketahuna beating the powerful Linton side when they clash at Eketahuna this Saturday in a match kicking off at 1pm.
The two teams have met twice already this season with Linton winning 35-0 on the first occasion and a 16-16 draw being the result second time round.
Miller said Linton based their play around a formidable pack and a couple of pacy outside backs and he predicted Eketahuna's chances of victory would very much depend on them at least breaking even in the forward exchanges. "It's going to be a big test for the forwards, they are the key to this one," he said.