Rugby: Wairarapa stun Wanganui

Wairarapa Bush have delivered an important message to all those in the Heartland rugby championship who feared another invincible Wanganui season.

The defending champions were toppled 21-17 by Wairarapa Bush yesterday, their first defeat since losing to North Otago in the 2007 final.

Last year Wanganui crushed all before them but they showed signs of fallibility in the shock result at Masterton, faltering in the face of staunch defence, with their backline and goalkicking particularly error-prone.

Wairarapa Bush dominated the third quarter of the game, scoring 15 unanswered points through a no-frills game plan.

Hooker Ben Pereira scored one of their two tries and was at the forefront of a gutsy forward display.

The result leaves Horowhenua-Kapiti as the only unbeaten team in pool A through two rounds after a surprisingly 33-9 home defeat of West Coast.

James Proctor was a dominant figure in their four-try performance, slowly suffocating a West Coast side who had opened their campaign with a defeat of Wairarapa Bush last weekend.

The other pool A match saw East Coast suffer a second heavy loss, crushed 47-9 by Buller in Westport.

Buller will be disappointed they didn't score more than seven tries after slicing the visitors' defence open all game but only leading 12-9 at halftime.

Two sides are unbeaten in pool B, with Poverty Bay sitting ahead of Mid Canterbury on points differential.

Their wins were of the tight variety, with Mid Canterbury needing a dropped goal from first five-eighth Kieran Lindsay after the fulltime hooter to give his team a 16-13 victory over South Canterbury in Timaru.

A minute earlier, a Lindsay droppie was charged down but he persisted and his three points ensured Mid Canterbury retain the Hanan Shield despite struggling for possession through much of the game.

Poverty Bay did it with slightly more ease, beating North Otago 18-10 at Gisborne after leading 15-7 at halftime.

North Otago dominated the second spell but struggled with their goalkicking and were denied a bonus point when first five-eighth Scott Leighton slotted a late penalty.

King Country bounced back from a loss to Poverty Bay in the first weekend with an emphatic 35-13 defeat of Thames Valley in Te Kuiti.

They snared a bonus point through a fourth try 20 minutes from the end but couldn't go on with it, allowing the visitors to cross for their line try soon before fulltime.

- NZPA