Marist’s Bon Wilson nails Jack Wakeling of East Coast in a tackle during the Coast’s 46-22 win on Saturday. PHOTO/JADE CVETKOV
RUGBY
chris cogdale
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Upsets and comebacks highlighted the fourth round of the Moose Kapene Cup in Wairarapa-Bush Club Rugby on Saturday.
The biggest comeback, and possibly the biggest upset, came at Martinborough, where the home team came from 19-36 down to beat defending champions Gladstone 43-41 to move into fourth place in the championship.
Gladstone took full advantage of poor defence to go out to a 31-12 lead late in the first half, but a late Martinborough try made it 31-19 at halftime.
Gladdy extended their lead early in the second half and it looked curtains for Martinborough when stand-out loose forward Himiona Haira copped a yellow card for repeat team infringements.
But that only spurred on the home team and they scored two tries while Haira was in the sin bin.
Further tries made the score 43-36, with Gladstone scoring a late try but missing the conversion that would have drawn the game.
Greytown are the only unbeaten team after their 35-7 thrashing of bitter rivals Carterton at Carterton.
Greytown made the home team pay for a lethargic start, scoring three tries in the first 15 minutes. Although Carterton rallied, they were never in the hunt and Greytown cruised to a surprisingly easy bonus-point victory. The result also sees Carterton drop out of the top four.
East Coast got their first win of the season with a 46-22 thumping of Marist at Memorial Park No 2.
Marist went out to an early lead and looked in control at 10-8 approaching halftime. That was until Jack Wakeling latched on to a loose Marist bouncing pass to run 90 metres and score. He successfully converted to give the Coasties a 15-8 halftime lead.
The second half belonged to East Coast, as they ran riot scoring five tries.
Joe Feast and Jeff Meredith dominated the breakdowns, while halfback Guy Percy, standing in for the suspended Brian Arnold, provided good ball for his backline, and Wakeling was a dangerous runner and counter-attacker from fullback.
Eketahuna ran in 10 tries in a 66-0 thrashing of the hapless Masterton Red Star at Colombo Rd, to move into third place in the championship.
The only area where Stars could claim any parity was at scrum time. Otherwise, a reluctance to tackle, especially by the backline, saw them completely overrun.
Eketahuna captain Robbie Anderson scored three tries, while Tom Muele and Daniel Lockwood both scored a brace.
In a woman’s match played at Carterton on Saturday morning, the home team beat Featherston 59-0. It is the first time in seven years that a women’s club match has been played in the province, and organisers hope it will be the forerunner for more matches in the future.
Brief Scores
[home teams first]
Martinborough 43 Gladstone 41; Carterton 7 Greytown 35; Masterton Red Star 0 Eketahuna 66; Marist 22 East Coast 46.
Standings after four rounds
Greytown 19, Gladstone 17; Eketahuna 15, Martinborough 11; Carterton 10, Marist 9; East Coast 6, Masterton Red Star 0.
Senior Reserve scores
Martinborough 43 Pioneer 24; Carterton 19 Greytown 49; Marist 62 Featherston 13; Tuhirangi 76 Gladstone 5; Puketoi 83 East Coast 0; Eketahuna bye
