Upset ends week of drama for Pioneer

The rousing reception given to Pioneer players by their supporters as they left the field after their upset 21-12 win over Martinborough in the Tui Cup premier division rugby match played at the Jeans St grounds in Masterton on Saturday said it all.

It was the perfect ending to what had been a controversy-packed seven days for the Pioneer club but it nearly didn't happen.

Only an 11th-hour call by Martinborough coach James Bruce to former Wairarapa-Bush skipper John Kendal, these days resident in Manawatu, allowed the game to go ahead.

Kendal agreed to a plea to referee the match after the Wairarapa-Bush Rugby Referees Association decided not to appoint any officials for games at Jeans St - Pioneer's home ground - because of safety concerns, a decision which came after the WBRFU board had over-turned an earlier resolution to transfer both the premier division and senior reserve matches between Pioneer and Martinborough from Jeans St to Trust House Memorial Park.

The board's change of heart followed vigorous opposition from Pioneer to their original move with chief executive officer Phil Taylor admitting procedural matters had not been as robust as they might have been.

The initial decision from the board was prompted by a letter from the WBRRA asking for the games to be transferred away from Jeans St after ugly scenes erupted there the previous weekend at the conclusion of the Pioneer v Carterton match.

Pioneer skipper Tommy Harmon, who late in the game had been red-carded for alleged dissent, was held back by his own players before breaking free and having a vocal altercation with match officials. He will appear before the WBRFU judiciary this week.

With no locally-based referees being appointed for Saturday's game, the onus was on the Pioneer and Martinborough clubs to come up with somebody qualified to officiate at premier division level and it was Bruce who made the call to Kendal to see if he would fill the vacancy.

Coaching rather than refereeing is Kendal's major commitment in rugby these days - he is now head coach of the Manawatu women's NPC team - but he was happy to help out and the 2005 winner of the National Maori Sports Umpire-Referee Award did a superb job.

WBRRA spokesman Peter Debney had no issue with Kendal's officiating, saying he met all the necessary qualifications.

"We are very happy the clubs were able to get a referee of John's calibre. There was never any doubt he would fit the bill, none at all."

Apart from a Pioneer player being sin-binned for a tackling offence, there were no behavioural issues on or off the field.

The good-sized crowd was vocal in their support of both sides but remained good humoured throughout a game which saw a depleted Pioneer squad keep their Tui Cup semifinal hopes alive with a thoroughly deserved win over the competition pacesetters.

And if that was not good reason enough for celebration, there was more to come when the Chris Kapene Memorial Trophy for first-round winners was presented to Pioneer by members of the Kapene family in a moving after-match ceremony.