A STRONG team spirit was the secret to success for the Wairarapa-Bush under-18 rugby side as they went through their Hurricanes tournament campaign undefeated. Coach Deon van Deventer said the ethos within the squad was to play for each other rather than for themselves and they had responded splendidly to thatchallenge. "The emphasis was always on teamwork and that's what did it for us," he said. "The unity on and off the field was excellent and it reaped its rewards." Wairarapa-Bush's opening match was against Wanganui and despite persistent rain they placed the emphasis on attack and ran out comfortable winners 32-0, scoring six tries in all. Second up they met Horowhenua-Kapiti and this was a much closer game with Wairarapa-Bush dominating the first 20 minutes, but then slackening off and allowing Horowhenua-Kapiti to mount a spirited comeback. However, Wairarapa-Bush again managed six tries in their 36-17 victory. Finals day saw Wairarapa-Bush up against Poverty Bay for the B division title and they again started well, scoring 12 points in the first 10 minutes. Poverty Bay then hit back with a try after relentless pressure but Wairarapa-Bush regained their composure and two further tries gave them a commanding 22-5 halftime lead. It was Poverty Bay who scored the opening try in the second spell, but from then on it was all one way traffic with Wairarapa-Bush scoring nine tries in all in winning 53-12. Overall Wairarapa-Bush scored 121 points and conceded just 29 and their tally included 22 tries and just four against. Sam Monaghan was top try scorer with eight and both Nathan Iro and Troy Bramley scored three apiece. Also impressive was the leadership skills displayed by captain Andy Oldfield and his deputy Jeremy Anderson.
