Bush Senior B pre-season match against East Coast brings community out

Jay Edwards secures the ball for Bush B from a lineout.

One thing Covid has done is brought the communities back together stronger - and the 200-plus crowd showed this at Bush Multi Stadium on Saturday when the Bush Senior Bs took on East Coast in a pre-season game, before the Bs start their Manawatu Senior B Division campaign.

Bush B's Scott Neil (left), Brayden Henson and Ian Giblett prepare for a scrum directed by referee Rebecca Mahoney.

The East Coast team gather at halftime.

The Bush Bs started strongly, showing East Coast they weren't afraid of hitting hard with some well-drilled plays set by coach Andy Rankin. However, the team couldn't maintain consistency and found themselves 22-0 down at halftime, with East Coast showing a little more sharpness and speed in the centre.

The Bush B players take in the halftime talk from coach Andy Rankin.

Bush had some great impact off the bench in the second half, restricting East Coast to 10 points for a fulltime score of 32- 0 to East Coast.

Rebecca Mahoney once again kept the game going well with her outstanding reffing.

The Senior Bs kick off their Manawatu competition against Dannevirke on June 27 in Dannevirke and the Senior Women's team start their competition in July.