The rugby gods deserted Wairarapa-Bush in their Heartland championship rugby match with Poverty Bay at Carterton on Saturday.
The locals lost an enthralling match 23-21 after seeing a last-minute penalty attempt to win the game by fullback Trent Vatselias from about 45m out and straight in front rebound off an upright.
Just a couple of minutes earlier a long range penalty kick by Vatselias from just inside his own half had fallen short - the ball making it over the crossbar on the first bounce - and not long before that the same kicker had a conversion attempt, which would have levelled the scores at 23-23, strike an upright as well.
A draw would have been a fair result in a game in which both teams had periods where they threatened to take control but never quite managed to achieve it.
The sprinkling of Poverty Bay supporters in what was a big crowd attracted by the Rugby Haka and Hangi Festival must, however, have been on good terms with themselves when their side drew out to a 23-10 lead going into the last quarter.
The accurate boot of veteran first-five Scott Leighton, both for goal and for territory, was a major assist in them keeping the scoreboard ticking over on a regular basis.
And with Wairarapa-Bush tending to spill ball or concede turnovers whenever the opposition goal-line beckoned you had to wonder whether there was any way back for the home team.
However, it was Wairarapa-Bush who monopolised the scoring action in that final 15 to 20 minutes with a couple of Vatselias penalties and a try to hooker Jake Tipene providing hope for what would have been the very first win of their 2011 Heartland campaign.
Loosies Joss Tua-Davidson and James Goodger were the star performers in a Wairarapa-Bush pack which gave every bit as good as they received in the battle for possession.
Tua-Davidson was always willing to run the ball back at the opposition, and seldom failed to get himself over the advantage line, and he also got through a power of work on defence, making several telling tackles around the fringes of the rucks and mauls.
Goodger used his speed to good effect when linking with his backs in attacking forays, shirked nothing on the tackle and, along with lock Andrew McLean, ensured Wairarapa-Bush managed to take down most of their own lineout ball.
Tipene too was lively about the paddock as well as a determined scrapper for maul ball and the same could be said of Wilba Davies, who came off the reserve bench midway through the first half to replace Brendan Walker at prop.
The one disappointing aspect of the Wairarapa-Bush forward play was the number of times they coughed up possession in the tackle, as much through lack of numbers supporting the ball carrier as anything else.
The Wairarapa-Bush backs were probably as impressive in an attacking sense as they have been all season. The midfield combination of Sam Mitchell and Michael Vuicikau continually asked questions of the Poverty Bay defence with their hard, straight running, wings Nick Olson and Jesse McGilvary were seldom halted by the first tackle and livewire Inia Katia added noticeable oomph when he joined the action in the second half.
Defensively too there was no shortage of commitment from the backs with Mitchell and Vuicikau also the leading lights in that regard but, on the minus side, there were still problems with the option-taking and the tactical kicking, areas in which the durable Leighton was such a mainstay of the Poverty Bay effort. He also seemed to have time on his hands and his decision-making was generally spot on.
Lock Api Ratuniyarawa was a powerful runner in broken play for Poverty Bay as well as their main "go to" man at lineout time, Sione Ngatu was a quick and constructive flanker and wing Vosaki and fullback Kahu Tamatea were dangerous on the counter attack.
Ratu Vosaki and Lloyd Gabriel scored the tries for Poverty Bay and Scott Leighton kicked three penalties and two conversions. Nick Olson and Jake Tipene were try-scorers for Wairarapa-Bush and Trent Vatselias kicked three penalties and a conversion.
Saturday's loss means Wairarapa-Bush are now completely out of the reckoning for both the Meads Cup and Lochore Cup playoffs. Indeed they sit at the very bottom of the Heartland points table with only matches against fellow cellar-dwellers Horowhenua-Kapiti at Carterton next Saturday and high-flyers Wanganui at Wanganui on September 24 to come.
Competition points are: North Otago 27, Wanganui 25, Mid-Canterbury and Buller 21, Thames Valley and East Coast 17, South Canterbury 16, Poverty Bay 13, West Coast 12, King Country and Horowhenua-Kapiti 5, Wairarapa-Bush 3.
Results on Saturday were: North Otago 11, Buller 8; West Coast 36, King Country 18; East Coast 31, Thames Valley 26; Poverty Bay 23, Wairarapa-Bush 21; Wanganui 76, Horowhenua-Kapiti 8; Mid-Canterbury 34, South Canterbury 22.