A hair-raising experience for Greytown first-five Raneira Peterson as he dives between the posts for a try. PHOTO/KYLIE ALEXANDER
By Gary Caffell
Greytown turned in a blistering second-half performance on Saturday, scoring 24 points without reply against Pioneer to come away with a commanding 29-7 win in their Wairarapa-Bush Tui Cup premier division rugby match at Jeans St, Masterton.
It was a couple of old heads in Nick Olson and Tavita Isaac who lifted Greytown from what had been a pretty ordinary first 40 minutes for the defending champions.
Fullback Olson has long been one of the of the most dangerous counter attackers in the Wairarapa-Bush region and he thrived on the fact that a shaky Pioneer defensive structure regularly allowed him the time and the space to deploy his mix of clever footwork and rapid acceleration.
Very seldom in that second half was he ever stopped by the first tackle.
Generally, he left three or four defenders in his wake before his momentum was slowed, let alone halted.
No 8 Isaac was as equally effective as Olson on attack but in a more direct fashion.
His ability to burst tackles in close quarter situations and link with the likes of fellow loosie Chaz Matthews, who seemed to be forever on his shoulder, was most impressive and a continuation of the excellent form he has shown all season.
Greytown were also well served by the inside back combination of Hamish Meyrick and Raneira Peterson who both became more prominent as the game progressed.
Regan Pope was another forward to shine in a pack which at times struggled to maintain parity with their Pioneer counterparts in the first half but were clearly dominant in the second.
Pioneer would not have been happy with their overall effort.
Through most of the opening 40 minutes they looked the better team with backs like Nikora Ewe and Joseph Thompson showing any amount of flair and determination but they clearly faded in the second spell.
Olson scored 14 of Greytown’s points with one try, one penalty and three conversions and other try scorers for them were Raneira Peterson, Kurt Simmonds and Michael Te Whare.
Nikora Ewe scored the only Pioneer try which was converted by Joseph Thompson.
Ten tries were scored at Martinborough where the home team caused a minor upset by toppling Marist 35-33.
Chris Raymond scored two of the Martinborough tries with others going to Wiremu Haira, Coby Kershaw and Tristan Flutey.
Tipene Haira added five conversions.
Soli Malatai (2), Malatai Malatai (2) and Harmas Potoro were the try scorers for Marist and James Goodger landed four conversions.
Carterton ran in tries by Ethan Pinfold (2), Francis Mueller, Cory McFadzean (2) and Thomas Kainuku in beating East Coast 41-18.
Daryl Pickering also kicked one penalty and four conversions.
Friday’s match under lights at Eketahuna produced a surprise 20-19 victory for Eketahuna over competition leaders Gladstone.
Tom Meuli scored both of the Eketahuna tries with Dion Havea adding two conversions and two penalties.
Andrew Mclean (2) and Scott Day were the try scorers for Gladstone and Inia Katia kicked two conversions.
