Fitness was the deciding factor when the Mexted Academy XV beat a Wairarapa- Bush XV 37-0 in a pre-season rugby match played at the Rugby Institute in Palmerston North last Thursday night. The academy team were hot favourites after running up 80-plus points against a Manawatu development squad in a previousencounter but were kept honest by a gritty Wairarapa-Bush line-up, containing very few members of last season's NPC first division championship-winning side. In fact, Wairarapa-Bush trailed by just 13-0 at halftime after having a territorial advantage in the opening 10 minutes. But as Wairarapa-Bush coach Graham Cheetham conceded the superior fitness of the academy side took its toll in the second half and they added four tries to their tally then to win by a relatively comfortable margin. "They were just too fit for us ... we couldn't quite keep up the pace," he said. "And we had a couple of concentration lapses on defence too and that didn't help either." Cheetham was encouraged, however, by the enthusiasm of his players and their commitment through most of the 80 minutes. "They really tried hard, even when they were tiring," he said. "And the skill levels weren't too bad ... there were more plusses than minuses overall." Standout players for the Wairarapa-Bush XV were Eketahuna lock Dan Griffin, who took down his share of lineout ball and toiled away well in the tight, and Carterton flanker Reuben Daysh, who was a livewire in the loose, both on attack and defence.
