Fired-up Pioneer pack deny Marist

The match itself may not have risen to any great heights but no one could deny Pioneer their celebrations after their gutsy 11-8 win over Marist in the Wairarapa-Bush premier division rugby match at Memorial Park, Masterton on Saturday.
Trailing 3-5 at halftime and with Marist having the bitterly cold breeze art their backs in the second spell, Pioneer seemed destined for their second defeat in as many matches in the championship round.
However, expectations that Marist would build on the dominance they had gained up front in the opening 40 minutes and keep Pioneer pinned deep in their territory were quickly dispelled.
Rather it was a fired-up Pioneer pack which called the tune throughout the second half, controlling possession to the point where the much-vaunted Marist backs were seldom able to express themselves in an attacking sense.
And even when they were they struggled to make much headway against a determined and aggressive Pioneer defence.
No one typified the determination of the Pioneer forwards more than No.8 Troy Mason, who made many storming bursts in broken play and was a doughty defender around both the fringes of the rucks and mauls.
In Mike Harmon Pioneer had a flanker who was quick to the loose ball and a constant thorn in the side of the opposition inside backs while Isaac Rolls continued his progress as a lineout forward of considerable promise and hooker Porky Henare showed why he must be close to a Wairarapa-Bush jersey with an excellent all-round performance.
He managed a tighthead at scrum time, a department in which Pioneer rather surprisingly had a clear edge on their Marist counterparts.
It was a couple of old hands in halfback Tipi Rimene and first-five Richard Carroll who impressed most in a Pioneer backline which further out was guilty of numerous handling and passing errors.
Rimene chose his options well on attack and defence and the same can be said of Carroll, who became his team's special hero when he landed a penalty goal from close range in the last minute to put his team deservedly in front.
The Marist forwards had reason to feel satisfied with their first half effort, none more so than Vern Boyce, Cory Reid and Geordie Walden, all of whom were prepared to step up and do the hard yards in both the tight and looser phases of the game.
Disappointing though was their response to the renewed vigour shown by the Pioneer pack in the second half with a lack of unity being all too obvious at times.
The pick of the Marist backline was big winger Phil Aporo who always looked a threat whenever the ball came his way in the first half but generally the rearguard failed to function with anything like their usual efficiency with passes often being spilled and wrong options taken.
Richard Carroll scored a try and kicked two penalties for Pioneer while Phil Aporo scored a try for Marist and Patrick Rimene kicked a penalty.
Just three points separated the teams in the other two premier division games as well with Gladstone and Eketahuna picking up crucial wins.
Gladstone made the early running against Carterton, leading 12-5 at halftime and 17-5 early in the second spell.
However Carterton clawed their way back to even things up at 20-20 before Ngatai Walker kicked a late penalty to give Gladstone a 23-20 win.
Mike Spence was always prominent for Gladstone up front and there as some tidy play at fullback from Matt Easton. Loosies Andrew Compain and Mike Wakefield shone in the Carterton pack and Lance Stevenson had another strong game at centre.
Boh teams scored two tries apiece with Tomasi Kedarabuka and Stevenson doing the business for Carterton in that respect.
The muddy ground conditions meant the Eketahuna v Greytown-Tuhirangi game was always going to be a forward battle and, in the end, the only scoring action was a Simanu Simanu second half penalty for Eketahuna, Seldom is a 3-0 scoreline seen these days but it was indicative of the evenness of the two sides. The two packs impressed with their unity with Brendan Walker and Peter Bond starring for Eketahuna and Norm Henricksen likewise for Greytown-Tuhirangi and it was not a day where backs were able to shine.