Rugby
Wairarapa-Bush will be without inspirational skipper Kurt Simmonds for their Heartland Championship rugby campaign this year.
Simmonds left the field late in the Meads Cup semifinal with Wanganui last season with a broken right arm which required the insertion of a steel plate. Early expectations were that he would be back playing again by next month, or June at the latest.
Unfortunately, however, his return has now been delayed until next season at the earliest because the fusing process has not worked as well as anticipated and he is awaiting an operation which will see bone from his hip or pelvis used to speed things up.
"It's disappointing but considering it's the first serious injury I've had I guess I can't complain too much," a philosophical Simmonds said yesterday. "It's going to be different watching from the sidelines but hopefully it's only one season. It could have been worse."
Meanwhile, matches in the Wairarapa-Bush premier division competition will continue tomorrow and a brief preview of the matches is:
MARIST v EKETAHUNA, Memorial Park at 2.30pm: Last time Marist were on Memorial Park they gave Puketoi a decent thumping and they will need to show the same energy and enthusiasm to have any chance of footing it with an Eketahuna side who have emerged as one of the "dark horses" in the Kapene Cup series. Forwards like the Lochhead boys and Richard Thurston might not be household names but they don't mind doing the hard yards in the Eketahuna jersey and the same goes for players such as Tom Meuli and Chris Terry in the backs. It's good old-fashioned, workmanlike stuff and tough to master. Marist do have an expert ball winner in James Goodger up front and probably more zip than Eketahuna in the backs but, all things considered, they have to start as underdogs. Prediction: Eketahuna by 12.
BUSH SPORTS v PUKETOI, Pahiatua at 2.30pm: Neither team has managed a win in three games to date and, quite frankly, are probably already out of the reckoning for the Kapene Cup, which goes to the leading team at the end of one complete round of matches. Puketoi defaulted last weekend because of a lack of players and while coach Graeme Cheetham is as wily as they come you'd have to think they will struggle against a Bush Sports unit which has shown more promise than their results would suggest. Halfback Jordan Bennett Davies and lock Sam Marshall Wilson are a couple of Bush Sports players worth watching with an eye to possible representative selection later in the year while Puketoi have a couple of talented loosies in Leroy Pitt and James Hooper-Smith.
Prediction: Bush Sports by 20.
PIONEER v CARTERTON, Carterton at 2.30pm: Pioneer are the defending Kapene Cup champions but can probably kiss goodbye to a repeat success in 2013 if they lose this one. Carterton, on the other hand, are nicely poised to challenge hard for the major spoils although they too can hardly afford a loss here if that is to happen. The Carterton tactics will be interesting. The temptation for them will be to focus on dominating the forward exchanges through the skills of seasoned campaigners Blair Heming and John McFadzean and therefore take dangerous Pioneer backs Hoani Peacock, Damian Kamo Paku and Nikora Ewe out of the equation but that might be easier said than done. Prediction: Carterton by 2.
MARTINBOROUGH v EAST COAST, Martinborough at 2.30pm: Unbeaten East Coast strikes Martinborough at a bad time. The green-and-blacks will be hurting from their narrow loss to Eketahuna last weekend and with their home crowd lending their customary vocal support they will come out firing on all cylinders. With names like Hawkins, George and Marshall up front there is good reason to anticipate Martinborough more than holding their own in the battle for possession but the $64,000 question is, can they contain an East Coast backline which has talented playmakers such as Zeb Aporo, Nick Olson and Byron Karaitiana calling the shots? We'll go for a minor upset here, Martinborough by 5.
GLADSTONE v GREYTOWN, Gladstone at 2.30pm: This is the big test for Greytown. They have won three from three to date but you get the feeling this assignment will be a lot tougher than any which have gone before. Having missed a game last weekend because of the Puketoi default won't have helped their cause, either, as game time is vital at this early stage of the season. Gladstone, for their part, might not have been as consistent as coach Steve Thompson would like but they have certainly been performing well enough to suggest they will give Greytown plenty to think about right across the park. Two of the top try-scorers in club rugby will be in action here, Tavita Isaac having touched down five times for Greytown and Cameron Hayton four times for Gladstone. Prediction: Gladstone by 3.