Rugby
A blistering last 25 minutes in the first half laid the foundations for Greytown's 47-15 thumping of Eketahuna in the grand final of the Wairarapa-Bush Rugby Union's Tui Cup premier division competition at Memorial Park, Masterton on Saturday.
The defending champions ran in five unanswered tries over that period to lead by a whopping 36-3 at the break and while a plucky Eketahuna outscored them by a solitary point in the second spell the bird had well and truly flown by then.
Taking the halftime scoreline into account it was remarkable that Eketahuna should actually lead 3-0 through a Tom Meuli penalty after 15 minutes, and it should have been 6-0 as Meuli had missed an earlier penalty from almost directly in front.
Not only that, their lead was well deserved as they had camped deep in opposition territory for most of that time, mainly due to the marked ascendancy of the forwards whose physicality in the tighter exchanges often had Greytown back pedalling at a great rate.
It was a brilliant solo effort from halfback Joseph Sio which sparked the Greytown revival. He found himself in open spaces with all of 30 metres to the goalline and with a mix of nifty footwork and rapid acceleration outfoxed several would-be defenders to score close to the posts. Glen Walters converted and Greytown held a somewhat flattering 7-3 lead.
The confidence gained from that piece of individual brilliance was, however, soon apparent. Greytown's forwards went into overdrive and the regular supply of quality possession they earned for their backs was put to telling use. Four more tries, one each to the Isaac brothers Tapaga and Tana and others to Rihi Brown and Hamish Meyrick, were scored before the interval and with Walters adding three conversions and a penalty the Tui Cup was already on its way south for a second successive year.
That the second half should be much more evenly contested was hardly surprising. Pride was always going to be a huge motivating factor for Eketahuna to lift their effort while Greytown's massive lead meant they were more likely to go down a cog or two - and that's what transpired.
An early Walters penalty did stretch the Greytown advantage to 39-3 but Eketahuna's supporters, who made up a good portion of what was an excellent crowd, at last had something to cheer about when first Brendan Walker and then Dean Hopa crashed over for tries, the second of them converted by Meuli. Fittingly, it was Greytown who had the last say, a Reece Lett dropped goal being followed by a late Teihana Brown try.
There were several impressive individual performers in the Greytown squad, none more so than Nathan Iro, converted to lock from his usual spot at No 8. He made several barnstorming runs and invariably it took at least two or three defenders to halt his progress. Hooker PJ Freeman was typically lively about the paddock and flankers Rihi Brown and Kahn Fruean-Walker further enhanced their growing reputations by outshining their much-vaunted Eketahuna counterparts in the looser phases of the forward game.
Midfielders Tapaga Isaac and Teihana Brown were top value for Greytown, both for their hard, straight running on attack and their solidness on the tackle, and wing Tavita Isaac was all power and pace whenever the ball came his way.
Credit must also go to Greytown coaches Tony Lyford and Sam Mitchell, a couple of relative rookies in the coaching game who developed their side into the most consistent over the whole season, having also taken out the Chris Kapene Memorial Cup for first-round winners.
Eketahuna had their moments but, unfortunately , there were not enough of them to make it a decent contest.
Up front Adrian Lochhead and Dan Griffin did some sterling work in the tight and Johan Van Vliet was his usual industrious self in the loose while halfback Clint Algie and fullback Dylan Bennett were the pick of the backs.
In what was a much lauded innovation for grand finals day the two premier division finalists were welcomed on to Memorial Park by a guard of honour comprising JAB players and life members of the union, clubs, referees association and supporters club. The life members had earlier been the guests of honour at a function in the union rooms
Wairarapa-Bush CEO Tony Hargood was delighted at the success of the venture with some 90 life members in attendance and wants it to become an annual event.