Hard-won victory for Bush

Hard graft paid rich dividends for Wairarapa-Bush in their history-making 15-9 win over Buller in the Lochore Cup Heartland championship rugby grand final at Victoria Square, Westport, on Saturday.
It was the first time Wairarapa-Bush had won the trophy named after their favourite rugby son, former All Black captain and coach Sir Brian Lochore, and their victory came on the back of the same simple game plan which had seen them rock top seeds King Country in their semifinal clash at Te Kuiti the previous weekend.
The emphasis for Wairarapa-Bush was on controlling the forward exchanges and playing the bulk of the game in Buller territory.
And they did just that, particularly in the first half when they actually had the wind in their faces but were camped in the opposition half for 83 per cent of that 40 minutes, and had a clear 56 per cent to 44 per cent edge in the possession stakes as well.
On that basis one might have anticipated Wairarapa-Bush going to the halftime break with a handy lead but, as it happened, the teams were locked at 6-6 at that stage, Jeremy Te Huia having kicked two penalties for Wairarapa-Bush and Andrew Stephens likewise for Buller.
Twice, however, Wairarapa-Bush had come close to posting tries, the first when lock Brandon Young was ruled to have been held up over the line and the second when prop Kurt Simmonds tried to bullock his way over and was stopped just centimetres short.
There were times too when Buller looked dangerous on counter attacks, most of which were launched by their elusive-running fullback Mark Bonisch but, while the Wairarapa-Bush defence was stretched, it seldom looked like being broken.
Through that first half it was the unity and drive of their forwards which was the most impressive aspect of the Wairarapa-Bush performance.
They came to Westport knowing that the rugged Buller pack would come at them with all guns blazing and they were up for the challenge, giving better than they received in practically every department.
Especially impressive was the metreage made on the "pick and go" with all eight having their turn at making valuable ground with ball in hand, and there was no shortage of aggressive intent in the mauls either.
Protection of the ball was, for the main part, outstanding although there was one obvious area of concern in that respect, and that was at kickoffs where things tended to get rather messy.
The Wairarapa-Bush backs came more into the play in the second spell when they had the elements in their favour.
Their job then was to keep their forwards on the front foot through kicks executed well enough to ensure that if Buller wanted to run the ball back at them they had to do so from deep inside their own territory, and they generally carried out their part of the bargain in an efficient manner.
With a large and vocal crowd egging them on and the thought of winning their first ever Heartland title very much on their minds, it wasn't surprising that Buller did lift their own performance a notch or two in that second half. They still trailed 69-37 on territory percentage but possession was evenly shared.
There were at least a couple of scary moments for Wairarapa-Bush when the Buller outside backs were given the time and space to stretch their legs but, thanks to some desperate cover defence, the visitors somehow managed to scramble out of those situations with their line still intact.
Wairarapa-Bush, for their part, seldom threatened the Buller tryline in the second spell but, importantly, they continued to play the game at the right end of the park and another couple of penalties to Jeremy Te Huia and a dropped goal to Byron Karaitiana took them out a decisive 15-6 advantage. Buller did bring themselves to within a converted try of victory when Stephens kicked his third penalty but that was to be their lot.
Individually there were many notable efforts within the Wairarapa-Bush squad, none more so than that from lock Andrew McLean who not only did all the things expected of a middle row forward but also pulled off a number of tackles in defensive situations.
In what was his last game in the Wairarapa-Bush jersey, hooker and captain Joe Harwood anchored a mainly solid scrum with fellow front rowers Kurt Simmonds, Dylan Higgison and Jared Brock, and it was hard to fault the commitment of flankers Joss-Tua-Davidson and Rupeni Temani.
In the backs, the experience of James Bruce at halfback was a major plus for Wairarapa-Bush. He maintained his composure despite being constantly harassed by the Buller loosies and generally made good judgment calls.
There was an impressive soundness too about the play of Jeremy Te Huia and Byron Karaitiana in the five-eighths and, if fullback Nick Olson wasn't quite as prominent on the counter attack as usual, he earned his stripes by making two or three important tackles.