Injuries mar rep trial

Injuries to two of the more outstanding performers, Carterton lock Tomasi Kedarabuka and Eketahuna No 8 Steve Olds, marred what was an interesting if not memorable Wairarapa-Bush rugby trial match at the Memorial Park No 2 ground in Masterton yesterday.
Kedarabuka had clearly been the best lineout forward on the paddock before he left the field with a badly gashed leg while there was no more penetrative runner in broken play than Olds until he was sidelined with what appeared to be a dislocated shoulder.
The injuries must place Kedarabuka and Olds in doubt for selection in the Wairarapa-Bush squad to play a Wellington XV in the annual Jimmy Cotter Memorial Trophy match in Masterton on May 22 and there must also be a question mark over likely skipper, hooker Joe Harwood, who left the field early in Carterton's club match with Pioneer on Saturday after a knock to a shoulder.
Which is all bad news for new selectors Graeme Cheetham and Lofty Stevenson, who will also have do without several other members of last year's Heartland championship team who have either transferred out of the district, retired or not yet available for representative selection.
Cheetham and Stevenson would have pleased though with the endeavour displayed by the 40-odd players who turned out for yesterday's trial.
The skill levels in several aspects of play might not have been anything to write home about but considering most of the participants had played club rugby less than 24 hours previously you had to admire the physical nature of the forward exchanges and the willingness of the backs to spread the ball wide at every opportunity.
If Cheetham and Stevenson had hoped the trial would throw up a number of new faces with the potential to play at the top level they would probably have been disappointed.
The star acts in an individual sense were mostly players who have been there, don't that in the representative arena???Kedarabuka, Olds, Gladstone loosie Mike Spence, Eketahuna outside backs Simanu Simanu and Jorgi Tamani, and Gladstone midfielder Mike Shaw.
Pioneer stalwart Nathan Rolls probably did enough in the loose forward department to remind them that while he has been around for a while now he retains the ball running skills to be of nuisance value in any company.
Gladstone youngster Baden Stevenson looked handy enough on the wing and Marist halfback Daryl Pollock generally provided a quick and accurate service.
With longtime incumbent first-five, Marist's Patrick Rimene not available for at least the early rep games this season, there was considerable interest in the efforts of Matt Easton (Gladstone) and Jason Liverton (Puketoi) in the pivotal role.
They both played well enough but whether they have the tactical astuteness to take the next step up is still a matter of debate.
For the record the black and white team beat the green and reds 17-15 with a late converted try securing the former's victory.
Club matches
A ruling from referee Tom Roseingrave was the main talking point after Carterton's 19-17 win over Pioneer in their Wairarapa-Bush premier division match played at the Colombo Road grounds on Saturday.
Roseingrave awarded Pioneer a penalty in almost directly in front of the Carterton posts and about 25 metres out in the dying seconds of play.
With first string kicker Richard Carroll off the paddock with a badly crocked ankle young centre Jordan Fox stepped up to take what could have been the winning kick at goal for Pioneer and had the mortification of seeing the ball topple over as he prepared to move in.
As he hurried to replace the ball on the kicking tee several Carterton players charged forward to spoil his efforts and, on them doing so, Roseingrave sounded the final whistle.
Not surprisingly his ending of the game was greeted with jubilation by the Carterton camp as it signalled the first win of the season for the defending champions.
And it was a result which probably fairly signalled the merits of the two teams with Carterton holding a slight territorial advantage overall in a match which was kept interesting for a good-sized crowd more by the closeness of the scores than the actual standard of play.
Many of the exchanges were scrappy in nature and any progress made with ball in hand invariably came through individual efforts rather than team unity.
Fullback Jono Hurley played a big part in the Carterton win, not only kicking three penalties and converting Tomaski Kedarabuka's try but twice in the second half saving what looked like two certain Pioneer tries with spot tackles.
A wobbly dropped goal by steady first-five Nathan Sanson also produced three vital points for Carterton, who benefitted too from the aggressive running of No.8 Glen McPhee, the hustle and bustle on both defence and attack of flanker Reece Percy, the lineout skills of Kedarabuka and the soundness of halfback Justin Lett.
Pioneer had the most dangerous runner on the paddock in Jamie Smallman, who broke tackles at will practically every time he received the ball.
Loose forward Nathan Rolls had a huge workrate in all facets of the game and Carroll was his usual steadying influence until his ankle injury.
Prop Colin Jones and winger Shane Ireland had powerful games for Martinborough in their 24-12 win over East Coast and prop Brendan Walker, No.8 Steve Olds and halfback Darren Yates were the try scorers as Eketahuna secured a deserved 28-10 victory over Greytown-Tuhirangi at Eketahuna.
Marist had to battle harder than expected to get the better off Puketoi with the score standing a 7-7 with just 20 minutes of play remaining.However, Marist finished the stronger of the two to win 29-7.
Masterton Red Star defaulted to Gladstone after a spate of injuries and unavailabilities saw their forward resources seriously diminished.
However, club officials reported yesterday that the default should be regarded as a "one-off" and were confident it would not be repeated in the weeks ahead.