Greytown to start as favourites

Rugby

Greytown are favoured to win back-to-back Tui Cup premier division titles when the Wairarapa-Bush Rugby Union stages their finals day at Memorial Park, Masterton, tomorrow.

The defending champions are sure to confront a determined challenge from an Eketahuna squad whose main strength is undoubtedly the physicality of their pack but the edge Greytown have in all-round capability should be enough to get them home.

That Eketahuna will make a decent go of it in the forward exchanges is guaranteed. In Johan Van Vliet, Joss Tua-Davidson and Rupeni Tamani they have a loose trio second-to-none at club level; lock Dan Griffin is a reliable winner of lineout ball and a rampaging runner in broken play and the experienced Brendan Walker spearheads a battle- hardened front row.

Forget, however, any thought of the Eketahuna eight bullying their Greytown counterparts into submission.

The southerners place great store in a scrum anchored by under-rated front rowers Daniel Gilmore, PJ Freeman and Brett Rudman. From all accounts they towelled East Coast in that department in the semis and you get the feeling they will be looking to dominate Eketahuna there as well. Old hand Norm Henricksen never gives an inch at lineout time and his partner in the middle row, Nathan Iro, along with loosies Kahn Fruean-Walker, Rihi Brown and Tana Isaac, are all bruising runners who will relish any chance to demonstrate their attacking wares.

For Fruean-Walker, in particular, this will be a key game as he bids to force his way into Wairarapa-Bush's Heartland championship squad. The competition for loose forward spots is intense but if club form is to be the main selection criteria he would have to be a leading contender. His battle with the always assertive Van Vliet at the breakdowns promises to be a cracker.

It is in the backs where the greatest point of difference lies. Here the main attribute for Greytown is their depth of attacking talent.

Midfielders Tapaga Isaac and Teihana Brown are strong, hard runners who usually manage to get themselves over the advantage line and there are few better finishers than pacey wing Tavita Isaac who already has 16 tries to his credit at club level this season. Throw in the silky skills of Glen Walters, who will start at fullback, and you have a rearguard capable of cutting loose from anywhere on the paddock.

Walters also gives Greytown surety in the often important goal-kicking department but Eketahuna are well served there too by Tom Meuli, whose solidity at first-five has made him a standout figure in a backline which, in all honesty, lacks anything like the speed and flair of their Greytown opposites. The only exception there would be fullback Dylan Bennett, whose brilliant solo try against Pioneer in the semis was a classic illustration of his counter attacking skills.

For the Eketahuna backs, then, it will mainly be about chasing Meuli's kicks and mounting a stout defence and how focused they are in each of those areas of the game will very probably have a big say in just how competitive they are overall. Victory for them is by no means out of the question especially if the rains come - but we'll plump for Greytown by a double figure margin.

Likely starting line-ups for tomorrow

EKETAHUNA: Dylan Bennett; Brad Harriman, Richard Thurston, Chris Terry, Anthony Eagle; Tom Meuli; Clint Eagle; Rupeni Tamani; Johan Van Vliet, Bo McShane, Dan Griffin, Joss Tua-Davidson; Brendan Walker, Zac Wilkie, Adrian Lochhead.

GREYTOWN: Glen Walters; Tavita Isaac, Teihana Brown, Tapaga Isaac, Hamish Meyrick; Kingi Kaiwai; Joseph Sio; Tana Isaac; Kahu Fruean-Walker, Nathan Iro, Norm Henricksen, Rihi Brown; Daniel Gilmore, PJ Freeman, Brett Rudman.