A dropped pass in the dying stages proved costly for Eketahuna in their Wellington premier division women's rugby match with Old Boys University at Eketahuna on Saturday.
The home team were clinging on to a slender 7-5 lead when the loose ball was scooped up by an OBU player and she raced some 60m for the try which, when converted, gave the visitors a 12-7 victory.
"It was pretty gutting, we were almost there," Eketahuna coach Sid Tatana said. "There wasn't a lot in it all the way through, it always looked like it would go right to the wire."
Old Boys University led 5-0 at halftime after posting an early try but Eketahuna struck back in the second half with a try to Black Fern Shakira Baker, converted by Tatiana Tafatu. And they kept their noses in front until that mistake with time almost up.
Tatana was delighted with the assertiveness of the Eketahuna forwards who matched the strong OBU pack in all departments but, with Black Fern Rebecca Mahoney in temporary retirement and Amy Williams not making the trip north from her Wellington base, the backs struggled to make their usual impact.
Meanwhile, the Ruamahanga colts were beaten 26-12 by Feilding Old Boys in their Manawatu colts competition match on Saturday.
While the result went against them, this was perhaps the best performance of the season from Ruamahanga, who were depleted by injuries but only trailed the competition leaders 7-0 at halftime. The second spell saw Ruamahanga continue to hold their own in the forward exchanges but the slickness of the FOB backs proved to be the deciding factor.
Shannon Rimene and and Sean Robinson scored tries for Ruamahanga and Robinson also landed a conversion.
The Wairarapa College under-15 rugby team have made an excellent start to their Manawatu secondary schools campaign.
Coached by Paul Pottinger and Craig Pepperell, they have had wins over PNBHS Under-14 Specials 38-8, Horowhenua College 29-26, PNBHS Hurricanes 23-0, Feilding High School 18-5, Dannevirke High School 31-0 and Tu Toa 19-17 and the top-placed team in the Wairarapa secondary schools competition, Makoura College, 57-0.
Wairarapa College have a magnificent record in this grade, having missed only once in the past 11 years of making it to the championship play-offs. Pottinger said two of the wins this year had come in the last few minutes and reflected the resolve and character within the squad. "They have made progress because they listen and understand simple concepts that make playing the game easier. They also play as a team, other sides might have more star players but don't operate as well as a unit."