Gladstone grab grand final glory

The end result pretty much told the story of the game when Gladstone beat Marist 14-8 in the grand final of the Wairarapa-Bush senior first division rugby competition at Memorial Park, Masterton on Saturday.
That less than a converted try separated the two teams was a fair indication of the merits of the two teams but no one could begrudge Gladstone a victory built around the hard, driving play of their forwards and the astute tactical direction of their inside backs.
It would be unfair on Marist to suggest that Gladstone actually dominated the exchanges up front for the gap between the two packs performance-wise was by no means huge but the edge Gladstone achieved there was to be a vital one.
What it meant was not only did Gladstone fare better in the battle for territory and possession but that the highly-regarded Marist backs seldom had the time and space to fully utilise their attacking capabilities.
The unity of the Gladstone forwards in the rucks and mauls was the most impressive feature of the whole game.
Seldom did they fail to make good metreage from this avenue through the "pick and go" with their low body positions and close support play often stretching the Marist defence to its absolute limits.
Locks Andrew McLean and John Stevenson were two of the leading lights for Gladstone there, aided and abetted as they were by the likes of hooker Richard Puddy, flanker Steve Wilkinson and No 8 Mike Spence.
McLean, who would have been a leading candidate for any player of the match award, also ensured that Gladstone fared well at lineout time by making a number of clean takes and when it came to the snaffling of loose ball the two flankers, Wilkinson and Marcus Totman, were both quick and constructive.
The Marist pack though could claim to have had the better of the scrums.
Theirs was clearly the more stable platform, thanks in large part to the skills and power of front rowers Lee Paku, Kyle Karaitiana and Terry Norman.
Lock Corey Reid was a handy provider of possession in the lineouts for Marist and there was a lot to admire about the constant willingness of No 8 Joe Nuku to impose himself on the Gladstone defence with his barging runs.
Seldom did he fail to get over the advantage line.
In halfback James Bruce Gladstone had the most influential back on the paddock.
He chose his options cleverly in attacking situations, with his ability to find space with his kicks a particular highlight, and defended like a fourth loose forward around the fringes of the scrums, rucks and mauls.
Showing similar qualities to Bruce in his option taking was first-five George Williams who hardly put a foot wrong all game and Gladstone also benefited immensely from the confrontational approach on both attack and defence from second-five Mike Shaw and utility Russell Thompson.
The latter seemed to spend almost as much as time in the forwards as he did in the backs, such was his enthusiasm to get involved in the action.
Thompson's gustiness was further evidenced by his playing on after suffering a decent gash on the lip which required time in the bloodbin.
A doctor was called for to do possible stitching but none were present and after the wound was cleaned up Thompson was back in the fray and every bit as busy as he was before.
The Marist backs were typically inventive in their approach but simply didn't get enough front foot ball to make the sort of impact they would have liked.
First-five Patrick Rimene and second-five Nathan Couch did enough though to show they are still the best in the business in the region in those positions, Phil Aporo was always a hard man to stop, whether he be on the wing or in midfield, and wing Jaco Pieterse's try was the game's individual highlight.
Gladstone fullback Matt Easton opened the first half scoring with a penalty goal and then Patrick Rimene levelled things up with a superb kick when Marist were awarded a penalty 22m out and close to the sideline.
It was Gladstone who went to the break with an 8-3 lead though, No 8 Mike Spence bursting over for an unconverted try after receiving a neat inside pass from halfback James Bruce.
Their effort came not long after wing Dave Drummond had featured in a long kick and chase which ended with the ball beating him into touch just short of the corner flag.
Marist drew level again early in the second spell when Drummond had the mortification of seeing an attempted chip kick gathered in by Marist's Pieterse who scampered more than 50m for the try, pushing off Easton in the process.
Rimene could not convert and it was 8-8.
Two further penalties by Easton made up the remainder of the second half scoring action and they were due reward for Gladstone who spent most of that 40 minutes camped deep in Marist territory.
They came close to scoring on at least two other occasions, once after a charging run by lock Andrew McLean and then again when Easton was put in the clear with about 15m to run and no one to beat but lost his footing.
They also had a penalty attempt by Easton hit the posts and rebound back into play.
To Marist's credit though it was they who provided most of the excitement of the last five minutes as they threw everything but the proverbial kitchen sink at Gladstone in an desperate attempt to score the converted try which would have given them the title.
But the Gladstone defence held, with the last crucial clearing kick of the match appropriately being made one of their best, James Bruce.
Then the celebrations began &