Sad ending to Heartland championship campaign

What had already been a disappointing 2008 Heartland rugby championship campaign became even worse for Hansells Wairarapa-Bush at the Levin Domain on Saturday.
Their 37-17 beating by Horowhenua-Kapiti in the Lochore Cup semi-final was a sad ending to a season which has seen them tumble down the national rankings at an alarming rate.
Just two years ago they were the inaugural winners of the Heartland competition's premier section, the Meads Cup, and despite their playing resources being decimated still managed to make the semi-finals of that section last season.
A situation which must, of course, beg the question of just how heavily the axe will fall after they not only failed to retain their Meads Cup spot this time round but didn't even make the top two of the Lochore Cup series, which, if anyone needs reminding, is contested for by the bottom six provincial sides in the country.
In fact they will end the 2008 season with only three teams South Canterbury, Thames Valley and East Coast ranked below them & South Canterbury only by virtue of the fact they lost to Wairarapa-Bush in a preliminary round fixture.
They did, however, have exactly the same number of competition points so to all intents and purposes could be given equal billing.
Any post-mortem on Wairarapa-Bush's fall from grace would have to cover a wide range of issues.
Was it due to administrative bungles over the appointment of the coach and his support team, a club competition which rewarded mediocrity, a schedule of warm-up games which offered no chance of building combinations and morale, questionable selection policies or the inability of players to follow the game plan to the letter of the law?
Or was it purely and simply a case of the material available to work with not being up the standards required to compete with regular success even at the very bottom of the provincial strata?
Or maybe all of the above.
Plenty to discuss for sure, and we can only hope the WBRFU board are willing to take a good hard look at both themselves and what has transpired this season, and make the decisions needed to ensure urgent steps are taken to rectify the situation.
Saturday's Lochore Cup semi-final defeat unfortunately reflected what has happened all too often for Wairarapa-Bush in their Heartland matches this season.
There were times during the course of the game where the omens looked good for a Wairarapa-Bush victory but poor execution and lapses of concentration meant they ended up second, and a distant second at that!
Wairarapa-Bush had first chance to put points on the board when they were awarded a penalty after just three minutes of play but Patrick Rimene's attempt from wide out was just wide.
Four minutes later Horowhenua-Kapiti ran the ball from a free kick, fullback Adam Vardey chipped through and wing Greg Heggelin won the race for the touch down. First-five Rob Aloe converted from the sideline and the home team led 7-0.
Almost straight from the resumption of play Wairarapa-Bush posted their first try.
Flanker Nathan Rolls charged down a clearing kick from Aloe and in the ensuing scramble it was lock Tomasi Kedrabuka who got the five pointer.
Rimene converted and it was 7-7.
Then came a superb individual try by Aloe for Horowhenua-Kapiti.
He threw an outrageous dummy which was brought lock, stock and barrel by the Wairarapa-Bush defence and he waltzed in under the posts.
He converted his own try and Horowhenua-Kapiti led 14-7.
An Aloe penalty from close range in the 22nd minute increased the Horowhenua-Kapiti lead to 17-7 and he was at it again soon after and the home side was looking comfortable at 20-7.
The closing stanzas of the first half though were all Wairarapa-Bush with wing Junior Togia starting their resurgence with a scything run which saw him stopped only metres short of the line.
But the visitors were not to be denied and after the ball was moved quickly from a free kick No.8 Mike Spence crashed over for the try.
Rimene converted and at halftime Wairarapa-Bush were down 20-14 but still well in the game.
It was Wairarapa-Bush who continued to call the tune early in the second spell.
A 30m sideline sprint down by Rolls almost stretched the Horowhenua-Kapiti defence beyond breaking point and then after some strong, driving play from the forwards a penalty was awarded which Rimene converted into points.
Horowhenua-Kapiti 20, Wairarapa-Bush 17.
There was a distinct feeling now that if Wairarapa-Bush scored next they would have their opposition well and truly on the back foot but it didn't happen. Rather flanker Joe Feast was penalised for a late tackle, Horowhenua-Kapiti kicked for touch and won the lineout, the ball was moved slickly though the backs and winger Francis Seumaratafa crossed for the try in the corner. Aloe missed the conversion but Horowhenua-Kapiti were back in the driving seat with a 25-17 advantage.
Some nifty footwork by Wairarapa-Bush centre Jordon Watene did, however, see him dance his way to within close proximity of the Horowhenua-Kapiti line and a determined burst by Rolls had definite scoring potential until the ball was spilled.
Another clever dart by Aloe then had Horowhenua-Kapiti on the offensive but they were held out by a somewhat shaky Wairarapa-Bush defence and minutes later Wairarapa-Bush were awarded a free kick, captain Joe Harwood charged towards the line but again spilled ball stopped the momentum.
Aloe and centre Ashley Drake then combined to make good ground for Horowhenua-Kapiti with some clever running and with just eight minutes remaining on the clock fullback Vardey went on a jinking run for the home team. His forwards were there in numbers when he was halted and halfback Michael Papps threw himself over the line for the try. Aloe converted and Horowhenua-Kapiti were safe at 30-17.
The closing stages of the match saw Wairarapa-Bush throw everything but the proverbial kitchen sink at Horowhenua-Kapiti as they looked for what would have been a consolation try but, as it happened, their desperation to get their hands on the ball meant it was them who actually conceded the final points.
There was no cover defence on the short side when Horowhenua-Kapiti won the ball from a maul close to their line and a quick pass to the unmarked winger Seumararafa saw him race 80m for the try. Aloe converted and Horowhenua-Kapiti were deservedly through to the Lochore Cup final with a 37-17 victory.
For the Wairarapa-Bush forwards this was something of a "mixed bag" performance.
Their scrum was solid and their lineout play efficient and they were competitive enough in the rucks and mauls as well.
They did, however, struggle to get the same numbers to the breakdowns as did Horowhenua-Kapiti and therefore ball was too often turned over there and again there was an inclination to deliver possession to their backs when they would have been better off taking it through at least another couple of phases themselves.
Individually, it was young prop Kurt Simmonds who made the biggest impression, not only for the solidness of his scrummaging but for his high workrate in other facets of the tight game, and also for his diligence in close quarter defence.
Lock Tomasi Kedrabuka was, as usual, the main "go to man" in the lineouts and was seldom bettered there, flanker Nathan Rolls was his team's most dangerous runner with ball in hand and No.8 Mike Spence was his customary hard working self, both on attack and defence.
It wasn't the most consistent of games for the Wairarapa-Bush backs either. Having four kicks from outside the 22m line go into touch on the full didn't help their team's cause, neither did judgement calls which sometimes saw ball run when it should have kicked, or vice versa.
The midfield combination of John Guillard and Jordon Watene did, however, show promise and while wings Junior Togia and Charlie Walker-Blair had only limited opportunities to show their attacking skills they generally made useful ground.
The curtain-raiser fixture between the Wairarapa-Bush and Horowhenua-Kapiti under-14 sides saw Horowhenua-Kapiti score a try in the dying seconds of play to earn a 15-15 draw.