Junior rugby
They might have lost both their games but the Greytown under-8s still made a big impression in Wairarapa-Bush JAB rugby on Saturday.
A first up 5-0 loss to Carterton was followed by a 6-2 defeat at the hands of a well-drilled Eketahuna combination and, on each occasion, the energy and enthusiasm of the Greytown side was most impressive. Try scorers in the second fixture were Tamaiki Kaiwai and Dylan Fenwick.
Greytown under-9s earned themselves a semifinal spot with a six-try-to-two victory over Marist and the under-10s were in grand form as they disposed of Eketahuna Yellow 50-5, the win guaranteeing them a semifinal berth.
In the under-13s grade, Greytown Black were outgunned by a much-improved Pioneer 38-14. Dominating the scoring action again for Greytown was Chris Hemi who came up with two tries and two conversions.
There was a battle royal in the under-6 grade between Gladstone Gold and Eketahuna with Eketahuna taking the honours by just one try, 8 to 7. Hamish Bunny and Hamish Oliver were prominent for Gladstone along with Jock Rutherford, Cameron Wyeth and Zac Blair.
There were some encouraging results from the Rams as many of their teams sought semifinal positions. Outstanding were the under-13s who were up against Gladstone, a team which had run them close at their previous meeting. This time, however, Rams produced some of the best rugby of their season, dominating the forward exchanges through the efforts of players like lock Sonny Tofa, who was a powerhouse on attack and defence. Jayden Lehmstedt was another strong performer up front while Mitchell Cockburn and Jack Eschenbach shone in the backs.
The much-awaited clash in the under-11 grade between Rams and Gladstone was another cracker with the Rams taking inspiration from their under-13s and coming away with a well deserved 27-0 win. No8 Dru Molesi was prominent with his tenacious defence and others to the fore were flanker Ryan Sullivan and backs Nathan Balsillie and Alasana Malatai.
Rams under-10s went down to Pioneer 20-10 with Pioneer taking full advantage of some first half mistakes to lead 20-10 at the interval. Reds came back well in the second half but could not quite bridge the gap. Their player of the day was first-five Dre Rimene and Sam Hutton was the pick of the forwards.
The two Rams under-9 teams had contrasting fortunes. The Black team were up against unbeaten Martinborough and the latter ran out comfortable winners at 65-5. Matariki Gemmell defended stoutly for the Rams and Zane McPhail capped off a strong game with their sole try. The White team played a Carterton side which had beaten them earlier in the season but, this time, it was the Rams who called the tune, winning 50-5. Lock Jacob Lynch produced his best game of the season while Rhemus Hullett dotted down for four tries and Issac Jones showed plenty of speed on the wing.
The Rams under-8 teams were on fire with a collective five wins and one loss. The Black team continued their excellent form with wins over Carterton and Tuhirangi and Zanda Jones was named player of the day for the high standards set in both games. The White side were also in good touch with wins over Martinborough and Pioneer. Cindy Mantell caught the eye with several strong runs. The Grey side had a win over Pioneer and a loss to top seeds Gladstone. The small but speedy Cory Jenkins was their star with two scintillating tries.
Marist under-6s had two epic games last weekend. Outstanding for the Greens were Kayal Brown, Ryder Thompson and Leroy Manesa-Anae while starring for the Whites were Corey Thomas, William Johnson and Austin Grant.
In the under-10 grade, Marist went down to Greytown but there was some fine rugby from Jonty Maunsell who scored both tries and was player of the day. George Karaitiana shone on defence.
Marist Green under-10s gave their semifinal hopes a boost with an impressive 65-25 victory over Carterton-Tuhirangi.