Lights, turf, now let's make history

TOUGH: Andrew McLean on the burst for Gladstone against Eketahuna last weekend. PHOTO/CHRIS KILFORD

HISTORY will be created when unbeaten teams Marist and Gladstone do battle in a Wairarapa-Bush premier division rugby match at Memorial Park in Masterton tonight.

It will be the first official rugby match of any description played on the new artificial turf on the No1 ground, and also the first game played under the four sets of lights recently installed there. Kick-off is at 7pm.

The strong start made to their 2015 campaigns by both protagonists would have guaranteed a good-sized crowd anyway, but the venue should see it build to numbers way beyond what is usually managed for club matches in this part of the country.

It will be interesting to see what, if any, effect the artificial surface has on the pace of the game.

One assumes it should be faster because there will be no mud factor to counter and that the bounce of the ball will be truer.

However, it will undoubtedly take time for teams to adapt and making any firm judgment calls based solely on what occurs tonight would be premature.

No matter what the underfoot conditions though, rugby will always be a game where the team who attain the lion's share of possession should also have the edge on the scoreboard, and so it will be the forward battle that will probably decide this one. There should be no lack of physicality, with the likes of Kieran O'Brien, Shannon Rimene and Liam Devine calling the shots for Marist and Andrew McLean, John Stevenson and Lance Graves likewise for Gladstone.

In the backs there are no more potent attackers around these parts than Gladstone's Inia Katia and Marist's Malatai Malatai. How often they get their hands on the ball could have a big say on the end result as well.

The other three premier division games will be played tomorrow and before each of them there will be brief ceremonies to mark Anzac Day.

Pioneer and Greytown will be celebrating their old timers' days as well. Pioneer will host East Coast at Jeans St in Masterton and, while Pioneer deserve to start favourites after a narrow loss to Marist and a win over Martinborough, it would be no surprise to see East Coast make a close game of it. They have lost both their games to date but have earned plaudits for their enthusiasm and resolve, and any complacency on Pioneer's part could be costly for the home side.

Greytown have started well with two wins and it is hard to imagine them tripping up against Carterton tomorrow. It is a fact, however, that clashes between these two sides have a habit of going right to the wire and Carterton do have enough sting in their pack to keep Greytown honest in each of the major ball-winning departments.

The form book says Eketahuna should have the "wood" on Martinborough in their encounter at Martinborough but here, too, appearances might be somewhat deceiving. Eketahuna are missing some of the key performers from their Tui Cup grand final winning combination of last season and actually had to call on some of their senior reserve players to make up the numbers last weekend.

In the same situation tomorrow, an improving Martinborough could go a lot closer to victory than their current winless record suggests.

The draw for tonight and tomorrow:

Tonight: Premier division: Marist v Gladstone, Memorial Park No1 at 7pm (Alistair Payne; Chris Jefferies and Gary Hall).

Tomorrow: Premier division: Pioneer v East Coast, Jeans St at 2.30pm (Graeme Reisima; Chris Jefferies and Doug Whitcombe); Greytown v Carterton, Greytown at 2.30pm (Shay O'Gorman; Alistair Payne and Dean Goodin); Martinborough v Eketahuna, Martinborough at 2.30pm (Paul Thompson; Ryan Hardman and Blake Stewart). Senior reserves: Masterton Red Star v Eketahuna, Memorial Park No1 at 1pm (Pat Baucke; Goff Moorcock and Pete Semmens); Pioneer v East Coast, Jeans St at 1pm (Chris Jefferies; Doug Whitcombe and Baden Whale); Greytown v Carterton, Greytown at 1pm (Dean Goodin; Alistrair Payne and Kelly Lochhead); Tuhirangi a bye.