Wairarapa-Bush to play Lochore Cup

Wairarapa-Bush were consigned to playing in the bottom section of the Heartland rugby championship, the Lochore Cup, after their 44-19 beating by North Otago at Oamaru on Saturday.
The defeat left Wairarapa-Bush fifth of the six teams at the end of pool A competition. They finished on 10 points, behind North Otago (19pts), West Coast (16pts), Buller (15pts) and Horowhenua-Kapiti (11pts) and ahead of only South Canterbury (8pts).
It was a position which mirrored their form in pool play as of their five opponents South Canterbury was the only one which they managed to beat.
The drop to the Lochore Cup is something new for Wairarapa-Bush in the Heartland championship. It represents their worst-ever effort to date as two seasons ago they won the premier section, the Meads Cup, and they were beaten semi-finalists there last season.
In fact, the only positive about their current status is that they now have the chance to win the trophy named after Wairarapa-Bush's own revered rugby son, Sir Brian Lochore.
The draw for the Lochore Cup had not been made public at the time these notes were penned but it was known the opposition for Wairarapa-Bush in pool play will come from Poverty Bay, Thames Valley and East Coast.
Saturday's loss to North Otago was Wairarapa-Bush's biggest Heartland loss for the season but coach Kelvin Tantrum said their actual performance was perhaps the best of their five matches.
"I know it sounds strange but we actually played pretty well, a lot better than the score would indicate," Tantrum said. "We were competitive for all but a 10-minute period in the second spell and they scored three tries then ... that was the killer."
Down by just 10-7 at halftime Wairarapa Bush conceded a converted try after a clearing kick was charged down early in the second half but then had the bad luck to have a try of their own ruled after a touch judge intervened and a penalty was awarded North Otago,allegedly for foul play.
Tantrum admits that decision was a huge blow for Wairarapa-Bush, not only because the try scored by wing Nick Olson came after some excellent play but because the foul play call was "very difficult" to understand.
"Obviously if we had picked up seven points there we were right back in it ... it couldn't have come at a worse time," he said.
Tantrum was pleased with the scrummaging effort of Wairarapa-Bush against a hefty North Otago pack and also with the efficiency of his forwards in lineout play.
"We had talked a lot about the need to do the set pieces well and we did that," he said.
Tantrum was also happy with the way in which Wairarapa-Bush stuck to their game plan, something they had not always done in previous games.
"The option taking was pretty sound, we didn't really have any problems there,"
As has been the case through most of the season lock Tomasi Kedrabuka was a leading light in the Wairarapa-Bush pack, both for his lineout work and general play. Front rowers Joe Harwood, Kurt Simmonds and Dylan Higgison also impressed up front, while in the backs it was first-five Patrick Rimene and wingers Charlie Walker-Blair and Nick Olson who stood out.
Tantrum said his team was "gutted" at not retaining their Meads Cup spot and were keen to gain at least some compensation by winning the Lochore Cup.
"Obviously that's not where we wanted to be but we can't look back, the focus has to be on stringing some wins together and finishing the season on a positive note," he said..
Lemi Masoe (2), Ross Hay, Samisoni Tongotongo and Jone Paumanu scored tries for North Otago and Pale Tilagi kicked five conversions and a penalty. Charlie Walker-Blair, Peato Lafaele and Junior Togia scored tries for Wairarapa-Bush and Patrick Rimene kicked two conversions.