Wairarapa-Bush barge into semis

Wairarapa-Bush completed their remarkable transformation from easy beats to a Meads Cup semifinalist within one season when they beat Horowhenua-Kapiti 31-5 in the last of their Heartland rugby championship qualifying round matches at Levin on Saturday.

They will now travel to Wanganui next Sunday to take on the defending champions while the other semi will feature top qualifiers East Coast and North Otago at Ruatoria.

This opens the possibility of the Meads Cup final being played in Masterton, something which would occur if Wairarapa-Bush topple Wanganui and North Otago account for East Coast, results which are by no means out of the question.

For all the semifinalists bar Wairarapa-Bush, it is very much a case of deja vu as Wanganui, North Otago and East Coast all reached that stage last season with Wanganui going on to beat East Coast in the final.

It is a far different story for Wairarapa-Bush. They had only one win in the whole of the 2011 Heartland series and finished up seeded 10th of the 12 sides. Their record this year stands at six wins and two losses.

Wairarapa-Bush travelled to Levin knowing victory would cement them a Meads Cup semifinal berth but, conversely, a loss could drop them into the semis of the second tier competition, the Lochore Cup.

And while three Glen Walters penalties had them 9-0 in front at halftime, there were some anxious looks among their army of supporters as they had played with the strong wind and squally rain at their backs, and failed to make the most of several prime scoring chances.

But whatever was said by head coach Mark Rutene and his assistant Paddy Gough at the interval worked the oracle as Wairarapa-Bush took both the elements and their opposition out of the game by retaining possession for long periods, and running in four spectacular tries in the progress.

Wanganui, for their part, had to work hard to stave off King Country by 22-19 while East Coast were also kept honest by Poverty Bay, East Coast winning 24-14. In other Heartland games North Otago beat Thames Valley 28-7, Buller beat West Coast 26-18 and South Canterbury edged out Mid-Canterbury 17-15.

Those results left East Coast and Wanganui on top of the qualifying round points list with 31 points apiece and the fact East Coast beat Wanganui when they met gave them the No 1 seeding for the semis.

Wairarapa-Bush finished a clear third on 28 points followed by Buller and North Otago on 2, North Otago also claiming their semifinal spot under the countback system. South Canterbury were fifth on 24, followed by Mid-Canterbury and Poverty Bay on 17, West Coast 12, Thames Valley 11 and Horowhenua-Kapiti and King Country, both 9.

It was Wanganui who prevailed 26-19 when they played Wairarapa-Bush in the fourth of the qualifying round games but it was a tough slog with Wairarapa-Bush leading 19-13 going into the last 15 minutes.

The closeness of that battle suggests next Sunday's semi will be a cracker with Wanganui deserving to start favourites but Wairarapa-Bush much better than an outside chance. East Coast and North Otago did not meet in qualifying round play and their encounter also has all the hallmarks of a humdinger.