Tui Cup: Gladstone, Carterton

Gladstone and Carterton are through to the grand final of the Wairarapa-Bush Tui Cup premier division rugby competition next weekend after pulsating semifinal matches on Saturday.
The final whistle sounded immediately after Gladstone first-five John Bailey kicked the penalty goal that took his side to an 11-9 victory over previously unbeaten East Coast at Whareama. It was a stunning ending to a match in which East Coast had taken the lead for the first time in the game just 60secs earlier, through a Dan Porter penalty.
Carterton, playing at home, beat Martinborough 12-10 in a similarly tense and exciting fixture, which saw a desperate Martinborough camp on the opposition goal-line for most of the last three to four minutes of play but unable to force the penalty or score the try that would probably have given them the win.
Both semifinals were played in cold, wet and windy weather conditions, but in each case the players rose above the elements to produce some fascinating and enthralling rugby.
Gladstone opened strongly against East Coast and got themselves out to an 8-0 lead early in the piece through a Bailey penalty, followed by a magical try to outstanding halfback Inia Katia. He took an awkward pass about 15m out from the East Coast goal-line behind his back and somehow managed to juggle the ball into a more comfortable position while still moving at pace.
The remainder of the first half saw both packs engage in a torrid battle for possession and both set of backs do their best to move the ball wide whenever the opportunity arose. But while scoring opportunities were created, there was no further addition to the score.
It was East Coast who came out firing early in the second half with a Porter penalty reducing the margin to 3-8 and, when he kicked a second penalty to cut the Gladstone lead to just 6-8, there was a clear suspicion the tide might be turning the way of the home team.
Gladstone, of course, had other ideas and helped by some tenacious defence they weathered the storm, even if a Porter dropped goal attempt came perilously close and a powerful burst by East Coast fullback Nick Olson would probably have produced a try had the ball been off-loaded to one of the three unmarked players outside him.
Coming down to the very last minute of play, Gladstone were still hanging grimly to their two-point advantage and then came the mistake that allowed Porter to line up a penalty from a handy range. His kick never looked like missing but, unfortunately for East Coast, the joy of their players and spectators was to be short lived.
With only seconds remaining Gladstone kicked off at halfway, East Coast were penalised by referee Chris Jefferies at the resultant maul, and Bailey handled the pressure with aplomb, landing the goal to send his team into the final. Locks Andrew McLean and Corey Reid were the mainstays of a rugged Gladstone pack, in which hooker Joe Nuku and loosies John Stevenson and Duncan Law also had strong games. McLean was the main "go to" man at lineout time and, along with Reid and Nuku, featured in several surging runs. They also got through a power of work on close quarter defence, an area in which Law and Stevenson roamed slightly wider to ensure the dangerous East Coast inside backs were kept honest.
Katita was a constant threat to the home side with his elusive running from the halfback position. His try was a superb individual effort but perhaps the highlight of his performance was a sizzling 50m break early in the second half, when he flummoxed virtually the whole East Coast side with his nifty footwork and rapid acceleration. Bailey was always sound at first-five and was given hero's status after kicking the vital penalty and, while centre Michael Vuicikau had few opportunities to demonstrate his attacking skills, he did everything required of him on defence.
To suffer their first loss of the season in such a vital game was obviously hugely disappointing for East Coast but nobody could question their commitment. In Tereina McLean, Ross Thompson, Joe Feast and Karim Brown they had a group of forwards who gave it everything they had.
Halfback Matt O'Connor gave the East Coast backs a swift and accurate service, first-five Zeb Aporo was always sound, and whenever Olson got the chance to counter-attack from fullback he invariably sliced his way past at least a couple of would-be tacklers.
Meanwhile, Carterton coach Steve Hurley said the strong cross wind - accompanied by driving rain - made a huge impact on the tactics applied in his team's match with Martinborough at Carterton.
Hurley could not recall even one lineout being formed on the grandstand side of the field and he said both sides also quickly realised the difficulties involved in passes being more than just a few metres in length. Therefore seldom did the ball actually move past the respective first five-eighths.
The need to revolve play around the forwards did not detract from the spectacle for the big crowd, however, with the two packs going at it hammer and tongs.
"It was pretty much 80 minutes of trench warfare," Hurley said. "Neither side gave an inch."
It was three of their more experienced campaigners in Dylan Higginson, Johnny McFadzean and Mike Wakefield who shone in the Carterton pack. Their workrate in both the tighter and looser aspects of the forward game was immense and there was a lot to admire about the lineout play and all-round mobility of another old head in Tomasi Kedrabuka.
In Jason Scott and Justin Lett, Carterton had two halfbacks who read the conditions well and played accordingly, while fullback Jared Nyssen mastered the wind to have a 100 per cent record with his goal kicking, landing the four penalty goals that made up Carterton's 12pts.
Martinborough's forwards were typically aggressive in everything they did, with front rowers Adam Marshall and Wilbur Davies anchoring a solid scrum and also featuring in several barging runs. Josh Hawkins was always prominent in the loose.
The inside back combination of Wal Ireland and Greg Dennes called the shots astutely for Martinborough with Dennes, especially, appealing as a first-five with the skills to make an impact at a higher level. Josh Hawkins scored the Martinborough try and Greg Dennes kicked one penalty and one conversion.
Also played on Saturday were the semifinals of the premier division plate series, producing the expected results - Eketahuna beating Greytown 22-10 with new rep flanker Johan Van Vliet scoring two of their four tries and Pioneer defeating Featherston 43-12.