Pioneer were fortunate to hold on for the win over a below-strength Marist in Saturday's Wairarapa-Bush premier club rugby.
With time up and leading 23-20, an awful Pioneer attempt to kick the ball out to end the game went straight to a Marist player 40 metres out. Several phases later openside flanker Liam Devine, who probably could have scored himself, flicked a pass to winger Callum Archibald, who dropped the ball a metre from the tryline.
That wasn't the end of the drama though. Referee Alastair Payne went back for a penalty advantage about 20 metres out and 15 metres to the side of the posts; he then advanced the penalty 10 metres for some Pioneer backchat. Instead of taking the relatively easy shot at goal for the draw, Marist went for the tap kick, a knock-on occurred and the Pioneer team and their fanatical supporters raised their arms in victory.
The thrilling finish was an appropriate way to conclude a second half full of drama. That was in stark contrast to an error-ridden first half, where both teams failed to gain any ascendancy. Marist were the first to score on 17 minutes when Laurence Titter burst through from close to the line after a sustained period of forward pressure. Pioneer replied four minutes later, when halfback Chance Ropiha, who had just replaced Joseph Thompson (broken nose), scooted across from a 5-metre scrum. A penalty to Himiona Haira from 39 metres gave Pioneer a 10-7 halftime lead. Marist regained the lead after 47 minutes when replacement winger Ayden Eruera crashed over from a quick tap penalty. The easy conversion was missed. Another Himiona penalty saw Pioneer regain the lead, and they extended that to 18-12 almost straight from the kick-off. Two minutes later Pioneer were in again, when a counter-attack from a poor Marist kick ended with Nikora Ewe scoring close to the posts. Another easy conversion was missed.
Lock James Goodger set up and finished Marist's next try in the 56th minute, with a surging 30-metre run. A couple of passes and he had the ball back to score wide out, after his attempted pass to winger Callum Archibald ricocheted off a Pioneer player over the tryline. Three minutes later it looked like Marist had scored again but, after a lengthy delay, referee Payne disallowed the try for a Marist player playing the ball on the ground. He then went back for a penalty advantage for a Pioneer offside. Goodger slotted the penalty to give Marist a 20-18 lead.
