Marist wins with last-gasp try

Good luck rather than good management might have produced the last-minute try which won them the game but no one could quibble at Marist's 24-20 win over previously unbeaten Gladstone in their Wairarapa-Bush senior first division rugby match at Memorial Park on Saturday.
The vital five pointer came after Marist first-five Patrick Rimene had a long range dropped goal attempt charged down with time up on the clock and his side trailing 20-19.
But rather than bounce into open spaces the ball popped into the hands of Marist midfielder Phil Aporo who was able to put flying winger Luke Kershaw on the outside of the cover defence 35 metres out from the goalline.
From there it was a matter of whether Kershaw had the pace to take advantage of the opportunity and that he did, diving for the try in the corner untouched.
For Marist, Kershaw's try provided the perfect climax to a magnificent second half effort which saw them recover from a 20-0 deficit with just 35 minutes left to play.
The odds against them even making a close game of it would have been 100 to one and lengthening at the halftime break.
Gladstone had not only provided all the scoring action in the first spell but such was the control they had in the forward exchanges, allied with the soundess of their backs, that many in the big crowd (big for a club game anyway) were justifiably talking about a win in the vicinity of 40 to 50 points.
That it didn't happen spoke volumes for the resolve within the Marist camp. Rather than simply look to avoid further embarrassment in the second half by adopting a defensive approach which would at least restrict Gladstone's scoring opportunities they came out all fire and brimstone and spent long periods deep in opposition territory.
And, what's more, they kept the scoreboard ticking over regularly enough to always give themselves a chance of not only making up the leeway but perhaps even grabbing the win.
To do so in the manner they did was obviously never part of their strategy but the flukiness of it was easily overlooked when considering the resilience they showed throughout that whole second half.
Hard-running back rower Joe Nuku was a standout in a Marist pack in which dual try scorer Corey Reid, Blair Gardner, Kyle Karaitiana and Lee Paku became more and more prominent the longer the game progressed.
Young halfback Api Matenga again impressed as a player of uncommon promise, Patrick Rimene didn't have the best of days with his goal kicking-missing one penalty from in front and only 22m out but used his tactical nous to telling effect from first-five in the second half, Nathan Couch was effective at both second-five and fullback, Phil Aporo was typically all agression at centre and, of course, Kershaw's sideline dash at the game's end made him the centre of Marist's after match celebrations.
Gladstone must still be wondering how they lost this game such was their dominance both on the field of play and on the scoreboard, at halftime.
Up until then the diligence of tight forwards like Richard Puddy, Kurt Simmonds and Andrew McLean had guaranteed them a steady supply of set piece possession and Steve Wilkinson was clearly the best loosie on the paddock.
Combine all that with the sharpness of James Bruce at halfback, the bold running of Mike Shaw and Dave Drummond in midfield and the excellence of fullback Matt Easton in positional play and goal kicking and, as said before, it just seemed a question of what they would win by.
Undoubtedly Marist did lift their effort several notches in the second half to get themselves back off the ropes and into the heat of the battle but undoubtedly too they were assisted in their efforts by Gladstone taking the foot of the pedal to some degree, a point which is sure to have coach Steve Thompson saying a few harsh words at training this week.
Corey Reid (2), Joe Nuku and Luke Kershaw scored the tries for Marist and Patrick Rimene kicked two conversions. Steve Wilkinson and Matt Easton scored tries for Gladstone and Easton landed two penalties and two conversions
Carterton coach Steve Hurley was rapt with his team's defensive effort in their 10-3 win over Greytown-Tuhirangi.
He said they had placed much of the focus leading into the match on making sure their defence was well organised and it had been a vital component in their success.
"We probably played with more intensity than we have all season & it wasn't a big win but we were pretty happy with the way things went," Hurley said.
Outstanding with the surety of his first up tackling was Jason Scott, who started the game at halfback and then moved out to second-five.
Other Carterton players to shine were national divisional team and Wairarapa-Bush skipper Joe Harwood, who looked well recovered from his shoulder injury, lineout star Tomasi Kedarabuka and lively front rower Mosese Sela. Their sole try was scored by Lance Stevenson and Jono Hurley added one conversion and one penalty. Greytown-Tuhirangi were always close enough on the scoreboard to keep their supporters interested and probably created as many prime scoring chances as their opposition No.8 Nathan Iro had a powerful game, making several storming runs.
In the other senior first division match Eketahuna beat Pioneer at Eketahuna by 27-5. Eketahuna had the edge in the forward exchanges and their backs ran strongly in attacking situations. There was a minor upset in senior second division games with East Coast scoring a narrow 12-11 win over Puketoi while Masterton Red Star also came close to surprising Martinborough, the latter winning their match 17-15.