Upsets the order of the day

Upsets were the order of the day in Wairarapa-Bush senior first division rugby matches on Saturday with all three games producing close finishes and all being won by the less-favoured sides.
Perhaps the biggest surprise was Pioneer's 17-13 win over Marist but few would have predicted with any confidence either Carterton's 7-6 defeat off Eketahuna and Greytown-Tuhirangi's 12-9 victory over Gladstone.
With just two series of matches remaining before the semi-finals the battle for the top four has suddenly become a wide open affair with Marist unofficially heading the competition table with 11 points, followed by Carterton and Eketahuna 9, Gladstone 7, Greytown-Tuhirangi 5 and Pioneer 4.
The 17-13 win secured by Pioneer over Marist in an error-ridden but entertaining match at the Park Sportsground was thoroughly deserved.
After experiencing losses in their first two championship round games, including a 50-point plus thumping at the hands of Gladstone the previous weekend, Pioneer started rank outsiders against a Marist side sitting at the top of the points table.
But a combination of their own passion and enthusiasm and Marist's habit of "bombing" prime scoring opportunities through shoddy passing saw Pioneer go to the halftime break with a 12-3 lead, extend that to 17-6 in the second half and then stave off a Marist comeback which saw them climb to within one try off victory with still five minutes of play remaining.
However, it was Pioneer rather than Marist who called the tune in those tense closing stages and no one could quibble at the merit of their success when referee Graeme Reisima, who had an impressive game himself, sounded the final whistle.
Pioneer based their win around a committed team effort with their forwards scrummaging effectively, clearly having the better of the lineouts, and teaching Marist a few lessons in physicality in the rucks and mauls.
And while both backlines had their moments in attacking situations Pioneer's adherence to the basic skills of handling and passing were far superior to that of Marist.
Skipper Nathan Rolls had a typically outstanding game for Pioneer up front. Invariably he was the "go to" man at lineout time and just as invariably he took down clean ball, he ran with aggression and elusiveness in broken play and made several telling tackles through the course of the match.
Veteran Anton Kainuku was an inspirational leader in the tighter exchanges for Pioneer and flanker Boof Carberry was only marginally second to Rolls on the workrate chart. He was a punishing runner with ball in hand and a strong, reliable defender.
The Pioneer backs were well served by halfback Tipi Rimene, who generally chose his options well, Jamie Smallman and Stu Waipuka were commanding figures on both attack defence in midfield and whenever winger Jordan Fox had space in which to work he generally made the most of it.
His try was a piece of individual brilliance.
Marist might use the excuse they were without key playmakers Nathan Couch and Joe Nuku but really they only had themselves to blame for their defeat & even though a win would have been hugely flattering to them.
On at least three occasions they had only one pass to make with the goalline open and the passes were so wild the ball never even touched the hands of the waiting receiver. Many other times too the Pioneer defence was stretched to its limits and possession was spilled through unforced errors rather than opposition pressure.
In reality then Marist made so many simple mistakes they simply didn't deserve any better than their one bonus point, end of story.
There were though good individual efforts within the Marist camp. Kyle Karaitiana was a willing workhorse in the front row, utility forward Corey Reid was industrious in all departments of the forward game, second-five Ben Couch made one try saving tackle late in the game as part of a strong defensive display and wing Luke Kershaw again impressed with his speed despite seldom having the chance to utilise it.
Nathan Rolls, Tipi Rimene and Jordan Fox scored tries for Pioneer and Nathan Rolls added one conversion. Lawrence Matthews scored a try for Marist and Patrick Rimene kicked two penalties and one conversion.
Carterton scored the only try in their match with Eketahuna and it was to prove crucial in the final analysis. Front rower Joe Harwood made the touch down after his team had elected to take a tap kick from a penalty rather than kick for goal. In the absence of Carterton's first string goal kicker Jono Hurley it was Justin Lett who kicked the conversion
All Eketahuna could manage in reply were two penalties to Simanu Simanu.
The match itself was as close as the score would indicate with a talking point being the depowering of the scrum when Carterton was forced to replace an injured front rower with a player who had no experience in that role.
Eketahuna would have been disappointed with the loss but pleased to have Heartland divisional squad player Hamish McKenzie back on deck after a stint in the South Island.
Greytown-Tuhirangi outscored Gladstone two tries to none in their encounter which was also a closely-contested affair. A strong scrummaging effort highlighted the Greytown-Tuhirangi effort with front rowers Dylan Higgison, Carl Peterson and Brett Rudman leading the way there. The astute option taking of halfback Mike Hollis was another feature of the combined team's performance, as was the tightness of their defence.
Gladstone created a number of try scoring chances through the course of the match but a lack of finish told against them.
Carl Peterson and Mike Wilson scored the Greytown-Tuhirangi tries and Tosswill kicked a conversion. Matt Easton kicked three penalties for Gladstone.
A Peter Bresaz try and two Jamie Fraser penalties gave Masterton Red Star a narrow 11-10 win over East Coast in their senior second division match while Martinborough maintained their unbeaten record in that competition with a 29-5 win over Puketoi.