Heat on as teams battle out semis

Can Greytown-Tuhirangi gain enough ascendancy up front to nullify the attacking talents of the Eketahuna backs?
And is Gladstone capable of maintaining their discipline well enough to lessen the influence of Marist goal kicking wizard Patrick Rimene?
Perhaps the two most important questions to be answered when the Wairarapa-Bush senior first division rugby competition enters its semi-final stage tomorrow.
That Eketahuna will start a firm favourite to beat Greytown-Tuhirangi in their match at Eketahuna is not in doubt.
After all, they did finish a mammoth 17 points clear of any other side at the end of the two preliminary rounds, losing just one of their 18 games and drawing another.
Interestingly enough though the loss was to Greytown-Tuhirangi in a match played at Eketahuna and in that particular game it was the combined team's forwards who laid the foundations for what was a one-point victory.
Eketahuna, of course, will argue they simply had an off day on that occasion but the fact remains that Greytown-Tuhirangi can go into the semis knowing they have beaten them once, and with the conviction that if it can happen once why can't it happen again.
In their favour too is that Eketahuna didn't exactly have the perfect dress rehearsal against Marist seven days previous. Not only were they held to a 15-15 draw but they had more than a few injury worries, one of them to inspirational skipper Steve Olds, whose badly cut knee must make him a doubtful starter for tomorrow.
The loss of Olds would weaken the Eketahuna forward effort to some extent but whether it would be enough to give Greytown-Tuhirangi the edge there is debatable.
The home side will back their front row of Brendan Walker, Rob Foreman and Angus McMillan to master anything in that department, they have promising locks Tim Iro and Josh Mackey to win them lineout ball and players like Dave Smith and Solly Alsop are consistent performers in the loose.
Eketahuna will know that even if their pack only achieves parity in the ball-winning stakes they have enough potential match winners in their backline to place huge stress on the Greytown-Tuhirangi defence.
How often in vital games like this over the past two or three seasons have we seen halfback Hamish McKenzie come up with a cracker of a game for Eketahuna and his sniping runs and astute tactical kicking are sure to be a vital part of his team's armoury again.
And if Greytown-Tuhirangi do manage to keep McKenzie in check they still have two of the best attackers in the business, Simanu Simanu and Jorgi Tamani to worry about, plus Daniel Elms, whose form at fullback this season has been so impressive that several good judges are touting him as representative material.
It's a talented backline by any club standards and while what seems certain to be a heavy surface won't exactly help their cause from an attacking viewpoint it probably won't be enough to stop them from spreading the ball wide on a regular basis.
Greytown-Tuhirangi too have backs capable of making their presence felt , players like Mark Childs, Bart Viguurs and the two Isaacs, Seanoa and Tavita, but as the original question posed here would suggest you get the feeling they will be placing considerable emphasis on forward dominance to produce what would be an upset victory.
It will be important for the combined side that experienced prop Jon Tanner, who has been battling injury, is back on deck tomorrow as along with Wairarapa-Bush rep Dylan Higgison he is the cornerstone of their scrum, and they will need to be right on their game to measure up to Eketahuna in that area.
In former Wairarapa-Bush Player of the Year Norm Henricksen, Greytown-Tuhirangi have a lineout exponent who should guarantee they do well in that department and there is no better loose forward in the union than No.8 Sylvanus Iro, who will want to get his hands on the ball as often as possible.
His rampaging runs have been the launching pad of many a potent Greytown-Tuhirangi attack this season and you can anticipate him being labelled as the star act if the combined side happen to pull this one off..
Who then to win? The form book clearly says Eketahuna and we'll lean that way as well, if only by a few points.
Both Gladstone and Marist will go into their semi-final match at Gladstone in a confident frame of mind after good performances last weekend, Marist having drawn with Eketahuna and Gladstone blitzing Pioneer with an impressive second half performance.
The portents for this game are that it will be close and that the result could very well come down to goal kicking.
If that is the case the smart money will be on Marist for in first-five Patrick Rimene they have a player who has shown outstanding consistency in this department.
He scored all of his team's points last weekend with four penalties and a huge dropped goal and his tally for the club season currently stands at 207.
For Gladstone then the emphasis will need to be on maintaining their discipline, particularly in their own half, as well as taking full advantage of their own scoring opportunities.
Both backlines have any number of players who have the skills to make an impact on proceedings??. James Bruce,John Dodd, Duncan Rutherford and John Uys for Gladstone and Charlie Bargh, Rimene, Nathan Couch,Ben Couch and Jaco Pieterse for Marist
Indeed such will be the backline talent on display that providing the weather man behaves himself some entertaining rugby is very much on the cards.
In terms of the forward battle the chances are that it will be pretty much evens stevens there although Gladstone will probably fancy their prospects of dominating the loose through the efforts of livewire flanker Daimon Neal, who has made a big impression all season. He won't get everything his own way though as in Geordie Walden Marist too have a player who makes a habit of being first to the breakdowns.
So in which corner are we in? Frankly, this is a tough one to call and a win to either side would be no surprise. For the sake of argument though we'll go for the Rimene factor tipping the scales Marist's way.
The four teams placed from fifth to eighth at the end of two rounds of first division preliminary play will contest the semi-finals of the second division championship tomorrow. Carterton will play East Coast at Carterton and Pioneer will take on Martinborough at Jean Street.
And in the President's grade semis it will be Greytown-Tuhirangi up against Pioneer at Pirinoa and Gladstone playing Eketahuna at Gladstone.
Meanwhile, the Wairarapa-Bush colts rugby team for 2005 has been named and will attend training at Memorial Park on Tuesday, August 2, starting at 6.30pm.
The squad is: Jono Owen, Ash Wells, Eruera Henare, Dalkeith Matiaha,Paul Sullivan, Tim Iro, Andy McLean,Ken Scott, Rangi Wolland, Jared Hawkins, Josh Mackey, PJ Harrison,Kieran Anderson, Like Mckenna, John Dodd, Tom Heywood, Byron Karaitiana, Tim Pearce, Shannon Terry, Trent Vatselias, Ritchie McGregor, Tavita Isaac, Jordon Fox, John Uys.
Any player not available should advise Mark Rutene (phones 3788253 or 0274470833)