Performance gives fans a rare reason to smile

How do you rate Wairarapa-Bush's crushing 67-23 win over East Coast in their Lochore Cup Heartland championship rugby match at Memorial Park, Masterton on Saturday?
Good question that, and probably one which won't be properly answered until after their semi-final match with Horowhenua-Kapiti at Levin next weekend.
Was it simply a case of East Coast running out of steam by midway through the first half and allowing Wairarapa-Bush the luxury of time and space to run in no fewer 10 tries?
Or did the home team at last produce a performance more in keeping with their capabilities and therefore make East Coast look weaker than they actually were?
Whatever it was it did at least give what must rank as one of the smallest crowds ever to watch a game of this significance at Memorial Park between 400 to 500 at most something to smile about, and that has happened very seldom in 2008!
The first 20 minutes gave little inkling of what was to follow.
It was soon patently obvious that while East Coast lacked nothing on the score of endeavour their fitness levels were not what one would normally expect from teams playing at this level, and that if Wairarapa-Bush were prepared to wear them down up front they would very probably win in a canter.
But, just as they had done in that awful match against Thames Valley, a couple of weeks earlier Wairarapa-Bush were prone to constantly moving the ball wide from first phase situations, and East Coast were happy to send just a handful of their forwards into the mauls and rucks and have the rest congesting space by fringing around the edges.
The huge difference it made when the Wairarapa-Bush pack, invariably led by captain Joe Harwood and his deputy Mike Spence, changed their mindset and took possession through at least two or three phases before releasing the ball to their backs was graphically illustrated by the constant changing of the scoreboard.
Suddenly with the East Coast forwards being committed to the tighter exchanges gaping holes started to appear in their defence and, to their credit, Wairarapa-Bush were quick to capitalise, running in four tries and ending the first half with a commanding 27-6 advantage.
The second spell saw the home team pretty much take up where they had left off and with many of the East Coast players almost down to walk in the gloriously sunny conditions an absolute rout was on the cards.
Four more tries were scored by the home team before East Coast somehow managed to summon the extra energy to manage one of their own.
But their obvious enjoyment at that unlikely turn in events quickly dissipated when Wairarapa-Bush fullback Cash Lafaele scored two tries in short order, giving him three for the match and taking his side to a 67-13 lead with a little less than 10 minutes of play remaining.
If ever there was a time for Wairarapa-Bush to go for the complete kill this was it for they were up against tired and disillusioned opposition, and that they didn't must be a source of concern for their management team. In fact, just the opposite occurred with East Coast actually scoring the last two tries of the game, a huge achievement for them considering they had only touched down twice in their previous Heartland games this season and a definite black mark against Wairarapa-Bush for what could only be described as dreadfully sloppy defence.
Indeed you could argue that by scoring as many as 23 points East Coast provided the game's main talking point as they practically doubled the 27 they had notched up until then.
There were though a number of pluses for Wairarapa-Bush in what could well be their last home game of the season. Their scrum was rock solid with the early replacement at prop of the injured Dean Higgison by Kurt Simmonds having no adverse effect. A tighthead won in the second half was a prime example of their dominance in that department. The lineout too worked well with Tomasi Kedrabuka being well supported there by Andrew McLean, who made a successful fist of his first start at Heartland level and now looks a good bet to be retained for the semis.
As mentioned previously the input of old hands Harwood and Spence was invaluable for Wairarapa-Bush in "pick and go" situations with both players consistently getting themselves over the advantage line and while Joe Feast will probably never be an out-and-out openside flanker his industriousness meant he was seldom far from the centre of action.
For the Wairarapa-Bush backs this was a match where they had ample opportunity to stretch their legs in an attacking sense and they generally made the most of it.
Patrick Rimene chose his options cleverly at first-five while outside him John Guillard was perhaps his team's most reliable defender and a solid link on attack Jordon Watene showed some nifty footwork at centre and fullback Lafaele gave perhaps his most accomplished display of the season. His three tries were a reward for good support play and he was always lively on the counter attack
Lafaele (3), Rimene, Simmonds, Feast, Guillard Junior Togia, Charlie Walker-Blair, Mike Wilson scored tries for Wairarapa-Bush and Rimene also kicked one penalty and seven conversions. Kerehama Blackman, Willie Waitoa and Harley Phillips were the try scorers for East Coast and Lance Maaka kicked two penalties and one conversion.