Wairarapa blast to the top

Wairarapa-Bush rocketed to the top of the NPC third division rugby points table with their 39-12 win over West Coast at Greymouth on Saturday, and guaranteed themselves a home semi-final in the process.
They went into the match trailing Buller by just a solitary point on the competition ladder, but with Buller being on the end of a 34-5 thumping by Horowhenua-Kapiti they were left three points clear of the field with just one preliminary round match to go, against Mid-Canterbury in Masterton next weekend.
Horowhenua-Kapiti have now moved to second, and along with third placed Buller and fourth placed King Country are also assured of semi-final spots.
The draw for the semis will see the top seeded side play the fourth seeds, and the second seeds meet the third seeds with the winners of those games, then squaring off in the competition decider, which will be played at the home of the highest seeded side.
So if Wairarapa-Bush can beat Mid-Canterbury, and then win their semi-final, the third division grade final will be in Masterton.
That being the case it would be the first time any divisional final has been played here, and coach Peter Russell admits that alone is a huge incentive for his team to perform well over the next fortnight.
"We've always had a home final in the back of their minds, and now we're so close to it we're determined not to let the opportunity slip," Russell said. "We fell at the last hurdle last season and everybody is keyed up to go one better this time."
Russell conceded the challenge posed Wairarapa-Bush by West Coast at Greymouth was a lot sterner than the end result would indicate.
He said the Coasters had obviously gone into the match intent on "beating up" the Wairarapa-Bush forwards, and it had taken a good while for the latter to wear them down.
"They were pretty ferocious the way they played," Russell said of the West Coast pack. "They were a bulky lot and they got stuck into us in more ways then one right from the word go. There were a few things going on which were a bit ugly, but we coped OK in the end."
The West Coast approach was not conducive to a flowing brand of rugby, and Russell said the best description of the game would be "messy".
"They made it hard for us to get on a roll?they were in our faces all the time," he said. "We copped a few more cuts, gouges and gashes than we would normally would , they weren't taking any prisoners, that's for sure"
With the forwards facing such a battle in their struggle for superiority, it was vital that the Wairarapa-Bush backs came to the party whenever they had the chance to demonstrate their attacking skills, and they answered the call in a positive vein. They were a class and more above their West Coast counterparts, especially in midfield where they regularly exposed defensive deficiencies.
"Our backs were the difference, no doubt about that," Russell said.' They were really sharp on attack and they (West Coast) had nothing to match them. We ran rings around them there."
Russell had anticipated the Coasters' forward-orientated game plan before the match, and with that in mind had two of his in-form players, hooker Rob Foreman and loosie Daimon Neal on the bench, replaced in the starting XV by the heavier Ritchie McDonald and Steve Olds respectively.
And McDonald and Olds, who played at No.8, contributed strongly as the Wairarapa-Bush eight slowly but surely gained the ascendancy in the battle for possession.
There was good work too up front from locks Tomasi Kedarabuka and Mike Robinson in the lineouts, while the pick of the loosies was Sam Henderson, who covered huge territory on both attack and defence and who maintained a high tackle rate throughout the game.
It was centre Simanu Simanu who was the star of the Wairarapa-Bush rearguard. Not only did he run in three tries, but he was an absolute menace practically every time he received the ball in attacking situations, constantly breaking the first tackle and creating room for his supports.
And he was just as lethal on defence, pulling off a number of bone-shaking tackles.
Second-five Nathan Couch was only slightly inferior to Simanu as an attacking force
And there were some neat touches from fullback Glen Bunny, who was having his first start for Wairarapa-Bush and looked right at home in the custodial role.
Simanu Simanu (3), Rob Foreman, Daimon Neal and Glen Bunny scored tries for Wairarapa-Bush and Paddy Rimene kicked three conversions and a penalty goal.