Its a Marist v Gladstone final

Marist and Gladstone are through to the grand final of the Wairarapa-Bush senior first division rugby competition next weekend after securing narrow but deserved wins in their respective semi-finals on Saturday.
Marist booked their spot with a 27-20 win over Pioneer at Memorial Park but it was the storming finish by Pioneer which had the good-sized crowd buzzing at the game's end.
Down 27-5 with time fast running out Pioneer were to all intents and purposes done and dusted but three spectacular tries in as about as many minutes saw them reduce the leeway to just seven points or one converted try before referee Andrew Stringer sounded the final whistle.
Gladstone struggled to contain Eketahuna in the first spell of their match at Eketahuna and trailed 9-6 at the break but a strong second half effort saw them score the only try of the game and win 16-9.
It was appropriate that the final margin between Marist and Pioneer should be of single figure proportions as while Marist did enough to deserve the victory anything more than that would have been an injustice to a Pioneer side which played their part in what was a thoroughly entertaining encounter.
In fact, it was Pioneer who actually called the tune through the opening quarter, camping themselves deep in Marist territory and coming mighty close to scoring on at least three occasions.
Indeed they should have the first points on the board when they were awarded a penalty right in front of the posts but they elected to go for the try instead and with the Marist defence holding their efforts went unrewarded.
Even worse for Pioneer it was Marist who scored first against the run of play. They moved the ball wide in what was about their first foray into the Pioneer half and young lock Michael Hughes found himself in space with about 30m to gallop. He pinned his ears back and made it to the line. Patrick Rimene was off target with the conversion but Marist led 5-0.
Stung by that reversal Pioneer mounted yet another series of attacks and levelled the scores when halfback Tipi Rimene pounced on loose ball around the fringes of a scrum and crashed his way over for the try. Nathan Rolls missed the conversion and it was 5-5.
The second 20 minutes of the first spell saw Marist slowly but surely even things up in the battle for possession and with experienced backs Patrick Rimene and Nathan Couch calling the shots with some shrewd tactical kicking they started to get the ascendancy.
It was no surprise then when fullback Jaco Pieterse scored a try after Rimene had found Couch with a long pass and Pieterse was put in the clear. Rimene kicked the conversion and at halftime Marist led 12-5.
Marist began the second spell where they had left off the first and after a charging run by Lee Paku which saw him dragged down just short of the Pioneer line the backs launched a well-executed attack, Ben Couch flicking the ball inside to Patrick Rimene who dived over for the try. Rimene missed the conversion and Marist were ahead 17-5.
Pioneer were having their moments with ball in hand too but a tendency to throw 50-50 passes all too often saw their attacks halted through Marist players picking up vital intercepts.
A Rimene penalty from wide out increased Marist's advantage to a healthy 20-5 and when replacement back Lawrence Matthews dashed over for his team's third try, and Rimene converted, Marist's 27-5 lead meant it was all over bar the shouting.
As it happened though most of that shouting came from the big band of Pioneer supporters as their team produced a memorable last five minutes.
First, hard-running second-five Jamie Smallman crashed his way through for a try, the conversion of which was missed from straight out in front of the posts, and then flanker Boof Carberry and prop Anton Kainuku scored further tries, the first of these coming after a 50m burst by No.8 Nathan Rolls and the second through good lead-up work by backs and forwards.
Neither of them were converted either but Pioneer had unquestionably bowed out of the championship race in a blaze of glory, Marist's lead having been whittled down to just seven points, 27-20.
Individually, there were many outstanding performances in what was a spectacle well worthy of its semi-final status.
Lock Michael Hughes was a standout in a Marist pack which got better as the game progressed, taking down more than his share of clean lineout ball, shirking none of the hard grind in the rucks and mauls and still finding time to make some dashing runs in broken play situations.
Partnering Hughes in the middle row, Corey Reid also had a big game for Marist, especially in the second spell when he was often seen running the ball back at the opposition and making valuable metreage while doing so. Prop Lee Paku was his usual industrious self in the tight and blindside flanker Anthony Balks was effective with his support play on both attack and defence.
As mentioned previously, the experience of Patrick Rimene and Nathan Couch was always to the fore in the Marist back play and again the promise of young halfback Api Matenga was patently obvious. But of all their backs it was centre Ben Couch who impressed the most, running powerfully on attack and making some telling tackles on defence.
The Pioneer loose forwards, Nathan Rolls, Isaac Rolls and Boof Carberry, have been outstanding in recent weeks, and they did nothing to tarnish their reputation here They combined superbly in attacking movements launched around the fringes of the scrums and mauls and were seldom grounded by the first tackle. Nathan Rolls was also his team's best lineout forward, undermining yet again his remarkable versatility.
Props Clifford Graham and Anton Kainuku anchored a Pioneer scrum which generally had the edge in that department with Kainuku being a hard man to stop with ball in hand as well.
Tactically-speaking the Pioneer backs weren't as smart as their Marist opposites in that their kicking lacked accuracy but in second-five Jamie Smallman they had probably the most potent attacker on the paddock. He was dynamic in the manner in which he crashed and bashed his way through three or four defenders basically every time he touched the ball. Wing Jordan Fox only received limited opportunities to stretch his legs but made good ground whenever he did.
Gladstone played second fiddle to Eketahuna on a territorial basis throughout most of the first half of their semi-final clash at Eketahuna.
The home team clearly had the better scrum, often shunting their opposition sideways or backwards, and but for basic handling and passing skills could well have scored at least a couple of tries.
As it happened, however, all the scoring action in the first half came from penalties with Dan White landing three for Eketahuna and Matt Easton two for Gladstone.
Gladstone coach Steve Thompson admitted in his after-match comments that Gladstone were a "bit lucky" be only trailing by 9-6 going into he second half.
"We had spent a good part of that half in our territory and consequently did a lot more defending than attacking," Thompson said. "So to be only three points behind wasn't bad, at least we were still in the game."
The second half was something of a reversal of the first with Gladstone noticeably lifting their effort and having the edge in both territory and possession. Midfield back Mike Shaw provided their highlight with what was to be the sole try of the match and with Easton kicking the conversion and another penalty Gladstone provided all the points registered in that 40 minutes.
Loose forwards Mike Spence and Steve Wilkinson and front rowers Kurt Simmonds and Richard Puddy were the pick of a Gladstone pack which undoubtedly got better as the game progressed while the hard-nosed approach of replacement centre Russell Thompson on both attack and defence was always evident. Second-five Mike Shaw also impressed with his soundness in those two spheres.
Young halfback Corey Broughton had a busy game for Eketahuna with Hamish McKenzie slotting in well at first-five and Dan White showing good skills at fullback. Up front it was Daniel Griffin who took the eye with his ability to take down clean lineout ball and his high work-rate in other areas of the tight forward game.
Second seconds
Puketoi's 30-15 win over Masterton Red Star at Pongaroa earned them a place alongside Martinborough in the grand final of the Wairarapa-Bush senior second division competition next weekend.
Going into the last round of round robin games at the bottom of the points table, the victory enabled Puketoi to leap frog East Coast and Masterton Red Star and clinch a spot in the championship decider.
Jared Bambry, Stu Finnie and Brendan Power all scored tries for Puketoi and Jason Liverton kicked three conversions and three penalties.
Martinborough were made to work hard for their 15-10 win over East Coast. They scored tries through Te Kani and Ireland and Wilson kicked one penalty and one conversion. The Coasters came up with tries to Noora and Karaitiana.
Saturday's results meant Martinborough finished the round robin series with 22 points, followed by Puketoi 13, East Coast 12 and Masterton Red Star 10.