Gladstone Under-9 player Sam Waddell on the charge against Carterton. PHOTO/SUZANNE OLIVER
RUGBY
Wairarapa’s youngest rugby players were out in force on Saturday as the first round of JAB rugby kicked off.
Gladstone Rugby Club’s nine JAB teams headed to different parts of Wairarapa for their first matches, with the three under-6 teams playing at Pioneer.
For Gladstone Under-6 White, first-time players Monty Booth and Ben Harrington were named player of the day and most improved, while Under-6 Black’s player of the day went to Jonty Wells and most improved to Jayden Pollard. Gladstone Under-8 Gold named Ben Gardiner and Digby Tatham players of the day while notching up a win against Featherston and a loss to Marist White.
Gladstone Under-8 Black had a tough encounter against Masterton Red Star, losing 5-17 with Jack Cates scoring two tries, and the team also had a 1-7 loss to Greytown with player of the day going to Seb Tomlin and most improved to Jack Cates.
Gladstone Under-9 had a strong first half against Carterton but let them come back in the second half, with the match ending in a six-all draw.
Player of the day was Patrick Shaw and most improved was Tom Gardiner.
Gladstone Under-10 beat Martinborough 11-8 and player of the day was Bart Tomlin.
PHOTO/KYLIE ALEXANDER
At Gladstone, the under-11s had a tough first outing and lost to Eketahuna East Coast, with Cian Maclean picking up player of the day and Matthew Hall most improved.
The Gladstone/Tuhirangi Under-13s started the season strongly, beating Masterton Red Star 17-12 with Conall Doyle scoring two tries.
Player of the day was Sam Hislop.
Greytown’s JAB teams also had their first matches on Saturday, with the under-6 rippers enjoying some great competition against Carterton and Featherston.
Players of the day were Emily Mullen and Kelly Carpenter.
The under-8s defeated Gladstone 35-5, with George Fletcher grabbing himself four tries.
Players of the day were Douglas Allen-Alloway and Ollie Clark.
The under-9s had a loss to East Coast, with players of the day going to Albert Donworth and Franklin Wellington, who scored two tries.
The under-11s had a big win against Marist, with Tamati Kerepoa scoring four tries and Jethro Doherty grabbing three.
Players of the day went to Carlo Isaac, Kerepoa and Doherty.
The Southern Under-13s – a combined Greytown, Martinborough, Tuhirangi and Featherston team – defeated Marist Green 31-12 with Conley Alexander scoring a hat-trick.
