Couch a stellar performer

A STELLAR performance from experienced inside back Nathan Couch highlighted Marist's 38-17 win over Martinborough in their Wairarapa-Bush senior first division rugby match at Memorial Park, Masterton on Saturday.
With usual pivot Patrick Rimene not available Couch came in from his normal position of second five-eighth to first-five and his astute tactical direction was the main difference in a match which saw Martinborough share the honours both in territory and possession.
This was a different Couch from the barnstorming midfield back whose storming runs have been the catalyst to many a Marist win over the past few seasons.
He still starred in a handful of bursts in broken play but, for the most part, he was content to keep his side moving forward through cleverly-placed kicks, which either found the line or open spaces.
And, what's more, he showed the ability to kick equally as well off the left and right foot, something which had been a noticeable weakness in the play of the Wairarapa-Bush backs in their Jimmy Cotter Memorial trophy match with a Wellington XV a few days previously.
As a goal kicker too Couch made a big impression, landing three penalties and a couple of conversions to give him a personal tally of 13 points.
There was a lot to like also about the swift and accurate service provided Couch by halfback Api Matenga, who appeals as a youngster of great promise, and if second-five bench Ben Couch was overshadowed by his brother he still had a strong game on attack, as did hard-running winger Phil Aporo.
It could never be said the Marist forwards gained any semblance of control over their Martinborough counterparts but there were some handy individual efforts there too. The robustness of prop Terry Norman in the tighter aspects of the game was always obvious, Corey Reid was good value in the lineouts, flanker Rhys Severn was always busy and while No.8 Joe Nuku only had a brief spell on the paddock before being injured it was enough for him to again appeal as the sort of aggressive runner who could be very useful at a higher level.
Martinborough probably considered-and with good reason - that the final scoreline did them an injustice. They had a number of willing workers up front with Jared Hawkins, Paul Thompson, Marty O'Neale and prop Rankin among the most impressive of them but unfortunately for them their backs didn't have a Nathan Couch to organise them and their lack of structure nullified their attacking skills to a large extent.
Rhys Severn, Ben Couch, Geordie Walden, Phil Aporo and Anthony Balks were the try scorers for Marist and Nathan Couch kicked three penalties and one conversion Rankin, Namana and Ireland scored tries for Martinborough and Lambert kicked one conversion.
The boot of Matt Easton played a big part as Gladstone kept their unbeaten record intact with a hard-fought 19-13 win over Greytown-Tuhirangi. Easton landed four penalties and a conversion to go with the try by Williams while Boyle scored a try for the combined side and Kaiwai kicked two penalties and a conversion.
Eketahuna bounced back from their surprise loss to Carterton a week previously by dismissing East Coast 47-3 and Pioneer ran in six tries through Harris, Rolls, Rimene, Thompson, Fox and Ewe in defeating Masterton Red Star 36-11. The latter's sole try was scored by new Wairarapa-Bush rep Lauvi Lima.
Carterton, the defending champions, chalked up their third successive win with a 20-6 victory over Puketoi with fullback Jono Hurley kicking two penalties and converting the tries scored by Heming and Harwood.
Morse kicked a couple of penalties for Puketoi.
Results in detail:
Carterton 20 vs Puketoi 6
For Carterton:Tries: B Heming, L Harwood, 2 pen and 2 con J Hurley
For Puketoi: 2 Pen D Morse
Gladstone 19 vs. Greytown/Tuhirangi 13
For Gladstone: M Easton 4 pen, con, J William try
For Greytown/Tuhirangi: K Kaiwai 2 pen, 1 con
J Boyle try
Eketahuna 47 vs. East Coast 3
For Eketahuna: Unable to contact
For East Coast: T Mason pen
Marist 38 vs. Martinborough 17
For Marist: Tries: R Severn, P Aporo, B Couch, J Walden, A Balks, N Couch 2 con, 2 pen
For Martinborough: Tries: J Rankin, K Namana, W Ireland, A Lambert Con
Pioneer 36 vs. Masterton Red Star 11
For Pioneer: Tries: J Harris, N Rolls, T Rimene, V Thompson, J Fox, D Ewe, N Rolls 3 con
For Masterton Red Star: C Millar 2 pen, B Lauvi Try