Rugby
A devastating spate of injuries could mean Martinborough have played their last game in the Wairarapa-Bush Rugby Union's Tui Cup premier division this season.
The situation has already led to them defaulting this Saturday's home match against Marist. According to club president Daniel Hawkins, they are "very, very unlikely" to front up for the last of the preliminary round games against Greytown at Greytown the following weekend, or for the play-off matches to follow.
"Right now I'd say it's all done for the premiers, we simply don't have the numbers to carry on.
"We're at the stage where we'd probably need 15 to 20 fit players to suddenly walk through the door, and I can't see that happening."
Martinborough were one of the favourites for the Tui Cup series after finishing the Kapene Cup first round competition with six wins and one draw from eight games, and second only to Greytown on the points table.
Then everything turned to custard with the whole of the front row being ruled out through injury going into the opening Tui Cup match and the injury situation getting progressively worse to the point where members of the club's senior reserves squad were often being asked to not only play for their own side, but fill in for the premiers as well. For last weekend's match with Bush Sports, the Martinborough premiers had just the six regulars in their starting line-up.
"I'd hate to think how many of the premier side are currently on the injured list, ... we've lost 19 players now and I'd say all but a couple are from injuries," Hawkins said.
"The senior reserves have been great the way they have been prepared to help out but, at the end of the day, most of them are playing in that grade because they don't see themselves being fit enough to be part of the premiers."
Hawkins said there was no saying why the injury count was so huge.
"It's not like they have been just the one sort of injury ... there have been shoulders, backs, wrists, ankles, you name it and we've had it," he said. "If it was mainly the one type, you could maybe blame the fields or the training regime but, no, there's been a bit of everything. We're at a loss to know why; it's a complete mystery."
Martinborough are currently sitting second-from-bottom on the Tui Cup points table, having recorded one draw and five losses from their six games. Their first-five, Tipene Haira, holds down third place on the individual points list for this season, having registered 119 points, behind only Cameron Hayton (Gladstone) 175 and Joe Thompson (Pioneer) 144.
If Martinborough do not front up for their last two games, it will not affect the outcome of the race for the Tui Cup semifinals as Marist are last on the competition ladder and Greytown are already guaranteed a place in the top four.
Pioneer and Eketahuna are also in the latter category with East Coast and Gladstone still in the reckoning for the remaining spot.