Rugby
The Moose Kapene Memorial Cup reaches the halfway mark this weekend when round 5 gets under way.
Bush Sports will be rested after sitting out the bye last weekend and will want to add to their tally of one win but will be pushed all the way by a Pioneer side who recorded eight tries in their demolition of Carterton last weekend. The fact Pioneer were playing away from their Jeans St base appeared of no consequence as their free-running backline cut loose and ran in all eight tries.
For their part, Bush Sports have found scoring points difficult and hardly need reminding that Pioneer half back Joe Thompson has scored more points (41) than the whole of the Bush Sports side (35). Form says it is difficult to see anything other than Pioneer continuing their push towards retaining the Kapene Cup.
East Coast host Marist at Whareama. The Coasties were pinged for infringements around the ruck and maul when they recorded their first loss of the season last weekend and will be keen to bounce back and maintain their push towards lifting the Kapene Cup since they lie second on the table with 14 points. They host a Marist side who let a halftime lead slip against Eketahuna last Saturday. Marist were more than competitive up front then but will need to improve ball retention to stand any chance of grabbing the points and limit the scoring opportunities of a Coast's backline which includes Byron Karaitiana and the elusive Nick Olson.
The game of the round almost certainly will be played in Eketahuna who host table-toppers Greytown. Eketahuna will be bolstered by their come-from-behind victory last time out but will need to be at their best to prevent Greytown recording their fifth straight win. The southerners are on a roll and have opened up a six-point gap at the top of the ladder, in part due to scoring 20 tries to far. They will be in no mood to loosen that grip despite the best efforts of the workmanlike Eketahuna side.
Martinborough, who lie third on the ladder with 12 points, will look for a repeat performance of last weekend's victory over the Coasties when they host Carterton. In Tipi Haira, Martinborough have the second-highest points scorer of the season to date (55) while Carterton will want to treat their 58-22 hiding at the hands of Pioneer as an aberration. However, present form suggests Martinborough should continue on their winning ways.
Meanwhile, a midweek meeting has sorted out matters with Puketoi who will host Gladstone. Puketoi will be pleased to take the field after two successive defaults but will be sadly lacking in terms of game time which impacts on fitness and playing combinations. It is hard to see them registering their first points of the season against a Gladstone side who will be smarting from last weekend's defeat to Greytown and who boast one of the leading try-scorers, Cameron Hayton (5), and are the leading points scorer (61).
The senior reserve fixtures follow the same schedule as the premier teams with the exception of Tuhirangi who host Gladstone. All premier games commence at 2.30pm while reserve grade games start at 1pm.