Mission impossible?

BAY’S MAGIC MAN: Fullback Ethine Reeves looks to offload in the tackle of King Country halfback Nathaniel Smith. Picture by Paul Rickard

POVERTY Bay head to Ashburton to play Mid Canterbury in the Heartland Championship Lochore Cup semifinal — after booking eighth spot with a 35-34 win against Thames Valley in Te Aroha on Saturday. Mid Canterbury finished fifth, losing out on a place in the top-four Meads Cup to Wanganui on points difference, after both teams ended the round-robin format on 26 points.

The South Islanders beat the Bay 34-5 in Round 1, which suggests they should win and that the Bay are on “mission impossible”, trying to win the cup after finishing eighth. But Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union chief executive Marty Davis, who watched the Bay beat Thames Valley, believes otherwise.

“There’s no reason why we can’t win it (the Lochore Cup) this year from eighth place; it’s been done before,” he said.

“North Otago came eighth last year and won their semifinal away from home (beating Mid Canterbury in Ashburton) and then beat King Country in Te Kuiti. That’s not to say we will win it, but there’s a solidarity about this team — mates playing for mates. And when you get guys who enjoy each other’s company off the field, it shows on the field. Apart from Brody Lam, it’s an all-local team, which is great for the district.”

Davis said there was a feeling that the team didn’t want their season to end in Te Aroha.

“Now it’s a case of not wanting the season to end in Ashburton.”

But what about the 34-5 towelling Mid Canterbury gave the Bay in Game 1, a game that Davis watched.

“We held them to 5-5 at halftime, before they got away from us in the second half. But Mana (Otai, Bay coach) and Dwayne (Russell, assistant coach) have been working hard, and we have been improving in our past three matches.

“As Steve (Smith, Bay manager) said before the Valley game, it was not the end of the round-robin season; it was a quarterfinal. Now it’s a semifinal.”

Russell said former All Black back Regan King was the difference between the sides in the first game.

“He’s their helmsman. He played second-five that day and it was his experience and class that stood out in the second half. He made some great decisions under pressure. He will be a key man this weekend. But if we can get parity up front, we have a backline who can score tries. The onus will be on the pack to front up for 80 minutes. If they do that, we’re in with a shout.”

Ethine our magic manIn fullback Ethine Reeves, the Bay have a potential match-winner.

“Ethine is our Nehe Milner-Skudder, our magic man,” Russell said. “I think sometimes the opposition underestimate Ethine because he’s not the biggest back around. But he’s tough, often breaking out of tackles, like he did at the weekend before going on to score a try, which he converted. We’ve also got others capable of scoring tries . . . it’s not all about Ethine. It’s not even about 1 to 22; it’s about 1 to 35, with everyone in the squad making contributions over the season.”

Reeves, who took over the goalkicking role from winger/centre Andrew Tauatevalu in Te Aroha, capped an outstanding game by converting all five tries.

“We leave it up to Ethine and Andrew to sort out the kicking as they see it on the field on the day, and Andrew was happy to let Ethine kick,” Russell said.

Reeves is having a stellar season. He has developed into one of the leadership group. He and Siosiua (Moala, No.8), Everard Reid (lock), captain James Grogan (openside flanker), Willis Tamatea (blindside), Jesse Fleming (midfield), and halfbacks Mario Counsell and Willy Grogan form the backbone of the team.”

Otai said his team had come a long way from Day 1 but Mid Canterbury at home would be tough.

“I’m proud of what is basically a young team, and of the character they showed at the weekend,” Otai said. “This is another big test and we can’t afford to give Mid Canterbury a 17-point lead, like we did Thames.”