Greytown unlikely leaders

Greytown have become the unlikely leaders in the Wairarapa-Bush Tui Cup premier division rugby competition.

The Ritchie Robertson-coached side upset Martinborough 12-9 at Greytown on Saturday in front of a good-sized crowd which included many members of the Greytown squad which won the senior A championship title in 1992. They came together for a reunion over the weekend, starting on Friday and ending yesterday.

And no doubt there were many congratulatory pats on the back for Robertson who just happened to coach them as well.

What makes Greytown's position on the points table so notable is there was a time during the first round series for the Kapene Cup where they were very much in danger of failing to make the top eight, and therefore failing to qualify for the Tui Cup series.

But under Robertson's astute mentorship they have improved markedly as the season has progressed and Saturday's hard-fought success took them to 12 points, one ahead of Martinborough and three clear of Gladstone and Pioneer.

The Isaac brothers, Tana and Tavita, scored tries for Greytown, while all Martinborough's points came from the boot of Cody Whittaker.

Kapene Cup winners Pioneer bounced back from their surprise defeat at the hands of Gladstone the previous weekend with a 31-26 victory over East Coast at the Jeans Street grounds.

The fact 57 points were scored would suggest this was a free-flowing encounter when, in fact, it was a somewhat stop-start affair dominated by the whistle. It was understandable, then, the goal kickers had a big say in the scoreline with Tipene Haira landing four penalties and two conversions for Pioneer and Nick Olson doing exactly the same for East Coast. They also scored a try apiece for good measure to both finish with a personal tally of 21 points.

There was a direct contrast in the tactics of the two teams, Pioneer invariably looking to spread the ball wide and use the attacking qualities of their backs while East Coast were more content to crash and bash the ball upfield courtesy of their forwards.

On reflection the Coasters might have wished they had made greater use of the flair of backs like Jesse McGilvary and Olson, both of whom looked full of running whenever the ball did come their way, particularly winger Olson, who was seldom halted by the first tackle.

Led by the hard-running Lee Ewe, the Pioneer pack measured up well to their opposition who were spearheaded by the ever-reliable Joe Feast, who was not only top value in the lineouts but also for his aggressiveness in general play.

In what was a rematch of last year's Tui Cup grand final defending champions Gladstone again indicated they are hitting their peak at the right time of the season with a 34-17 defeat of Carterton. Gladstone scored three tries to two and Guy Wood, who had scored all 27 of their points in their win over Pioneer seven days earlier, this time provided 24, with five penalties and two conversions.

Eketahuna and Bush Sports engaged in a battle royal with underdogs Eketahuna edging out their near neighbours 13-12.

They scored the only two tries of the game with all the Bush Sports points coming from the boot.

Scoring details:

Greytown 12 (Tana Isaac, Tavita Isaac tries; H.Meyrick conversion), Martinborough 9 (C. Whittaker 3 penalties).

Pioneer 31 (C. Gray, T. Haira, N. Ewe tries; Haira 2 conversions and 4 penalties), East Coast 26 ( R. Cameron, N. Olson tries; Olson 2 conversions and 4 penalties).

Gladstone 34 (I. Katia, A. McKay, G. Wood tries; Wood 2 conversions and 5 penalties), Carterton 17 (M. Apiata, L. Volavola tries; M. Coka 2 conversions and 1 penalty).

Eketahuna 13 (J. Van Vliet and B. Walker tries; B. Mayer penalty), Bush Sports 12 (D. Bennett 3 penalties, J. Bennett-Davies dropped ghoal).

Unofficial competition points: Greytown 12, Martinborough 11, Gladstone and Pioneer 9, East Coast 6, Eketahuna 4, Bush Sports 3 and Carterton 2.