Walking wounded only worry after brave battle

They might have suffered their first defeat of the Heartland rugby championship but Wairarapa-Bush could take plenty of positives from their 28-22 loss to Wanganui at Wanganui on Saturday.
Not only did the bonus point, picked up for finishing seven or less points from the winning side guarantee them a home Meads Cup semi-final against North Otago next weekend, but the closeness of the result against the championship's only other unbeaten side indicated that Wairarapa-Bush remain a strong chance for overall honours.
There was one big worry after the Wanganui match though and that was the number of walking wounded in the Wairarapa-Bush squad
All three loose forwards, Sylvanus Iro, Sam Henderson and Mike Spence, were on the injured list along with experienced lock Mike Robinson and coach Peter Russell was unable to say for certain that any of them will be fit enough to take the field against Mid-Canterbury.
Openside flanker Iro, who was outstanding on both attack and defence in the 38 minutes he played against Wanganui, appears to the worst hit. He took a hefty blow to the back and the extent of the damage won't be known until he visits a physiotherapist today.
Henderson actually suffered a blow to the shoulder in the same incident in which Iro was hurt and would normally have been replaced. But a shortage of loosies on the reserve bench meant he was forced to stay on and while he played well he was not his usual robust self in broken play situations.
Both Spence and Robinson have ankle injuries and Russell is optimistic they will be able to take part in at least the second of two training sessions this week.
"It would be nice all four players will be right by Saturday but right now it's more a matter of keeping the fingers crossed than anything else," he said. "The next few days will be vital in that respect."
Russell was pleased with a first half effort which saw Wairarapa-Bush go the break 22-17 ahead and having scored three good tries in the process.
He was happy with the way the forwards had competed against a Wanganui pack which was probably more competitive in the set pieces than expected and the manner in which the backs often opened up the Wanganui defence when the ball was moved wide. Centre Simanu Simanu was especially effective in that regard, seldom being halted by the first tackle when on the burst.
Wanganui had a building wind at their back in the second spell and with their pack continuing to win a fair share of quality possession they adopted tactics which had Wairarapa-Bush pinned in their own territory for long periods.
Going into the last five minutes the home team were six points in front, and threatening to deprive Wairarapa-Bush of that crucial bonus point.
It was then though that the character and resolve which has been such a strong point of Wairarapa-Bush's efforts this season shone through, and they dominated the closing stanzas, pounding the Wanganui line through a series of forward drives, one of which appeared to have pulled down deliberately by the Wanganui defence but did not draw a penalty.
That was just one of many "interesting" refereeing decisions forthcoming through the course of the game.
Unfortunately for Wairarapa-Bush, however, their late assault did not bring the converted try they were so desperately seeking for victory and so the final whistle sounded with Wanganui clinging to their six-point advantage.
Russell said his players were "really gutted" by the loss, with the feeling in the dressing room at the game's end being that the match was there to win and they had let themselves down by not doing so.
"Wanganui are a good enough side but they are beatable?K?K?Kit would be nice to think we will get another crack at them," Russell said.
If that does happen it would come in the grand final which will be played in Wanganui, providing, of course, that they beat Mid-Canterbury in the other semi next weekend.
For Wairarapa-Bush, of course, the best result then would be for them and Mid-Canterbury to both win as that final would be at Memorial Park, Masterton in that case.
Individually it was Iro was emerged as player of the day for Wairarapa-Bush at Wanganui despite being out of action for all of the second half. His workrate was enormous and he must surely be a leading contender for the national divisional side to be selected for a short tour of Argentina over the next week or so.Also winning top marks for workrate was Tomasi Kedaranuka, who was his team's main "go to" player at lineout time, and Joe Harwood and Mike Robinson also stood out up front..
In the backs Simanu was the danger man on attack and both wingers Francis Seumanutata and Junior Togia generally made the most of their chances.
Nathan Couch , Sylvanus Iro and Joe Harwood were the try scorers for Wairarapa-Bush and Patrick Rimene kicked one penalty and two conversions.
A former Eketahuna player in Dan Allsworth was one of the spearheads in a feisty Wanganui pack and lively halfback Denning Tyrell was the pick of their backs.
?? Meanwhile North Otago were ominously good against Horowhenua-Kapiti, winning 59-23 in Levin as they ran in nine tries, with Seko Qaraniqio, Kilifi Fangupo and Nathan Oakes all touching down twice.
In the Lochore Cup, Buller nabbed the one position in doubt with a rousing 18-16 win over Thames Valley in Paeroa.
The equation was simple for Buller entering the match. They needed victory to confirm their presence for the playoffs next weekend.
They accomplished that mission with some style in a very even contest in which little, on the scoreboard or the field, separated the teams. Thames Valley entered the game as the competition leaders but Buller appeared to want victory more, while the home side were somewhat sluggish compared to some of their more recent performances.