Wairarapa-Bush were the surprise packets of the Hurricanes regional under-16 rugby tournament last week, placing third after coming within one scoring movement of making the final.
Wairarapa-Bush, coached by Craig Pepperell and Joe Roberts, needed to beat a strongly fancied Poverty Bay side to play off for the title against Wellington.
It was a tall order considering Poverty Bay had already beaten three powerhouses of age group rugby, Hawke's Bay, Bay of Plenty and Waikato, in lead-up games but a feisty Wairarapa-Bush side had the better of the forward exchanges and cleverly used a slide and hold defence to contain the pacy Poverty Bay backs.
Going into the closing stanzas Wairarapa-Bush, who had battled into the wind throughout the second half, held a narrow lead only for Poverty Bay to hit back in the very last play of the game with a converted try to snatch a 15-13 win.
That defeat left Wairarapa-Bush playing off for third and fourth against Wanganui and in another tightly contested match they came from behind to win 14-13. Both teams handled the wet conditions well although it was obvious that having their third game in four days did take a toll on some of the players.
