Wairarapa-Bush were the surprise packets of the Hurricanes regional under-16 rugby tournament last week, placing third after coming within one scoring movement of making the final.
Wairarapa-Bush, coached by Craig Pepperell and Joe Roberts, needed to beat a strongly fancied Poverty Bay side to play off for the title againstWellington.
It was a tall order considering Poverty Bay had already beaten three powerhouses of age group rugby, Hawke's Bay, Bay of Plenty and Waikato, in lead-up games but a feisty Wairarapa-Bush side had the better of the forward exchanges and cleverly used a slide and hold defence to contain the pacy Poverty Bay backs.
Going into the closing stanzas Wairarapa-Bush, who had battled into the wind throughout the second half, held a narrow lead only for Poverty Bay to hit back in the very last play of the game with a converted try to snatch a 15-13 win.
That defeat left Wairarapa-Bush playing off for third and fourth against Wanganui and in another tightly contested match they came from behind to win 14-13. Both teams handled the wet conditions well although it was obvious that having their third game in four days did take a toll on some of the players.
The final was more one-sided with Poverty Bay beating Wellington comfortably.
Wairarapa were well led by hooker Andrew Hull while other forwards to shine were flanker Matt Perry, lock Jack Goddard, who earned two player of the day awards, props Sam Tufuga-Piopi and Dallas Wilson and back rower Matt Gain.
In the backs there was some impressive option-taking from Jack Wakeling and the midfield combination of Wiremu Aitken and Bon Wilson was superb. Connor Henare was explosive on the wing and the same could be said of Nick Robertson who scored one of the best tries of the tournament.
Results of matches played by the Wairarapa-Bush under-16s in 2012 are: beat Wairarapa invitation XV 34-5, beat Horowhenua-Kapiti 26-0 (Matt Perry 2, Bon Wilson, Raymond Andrews-Paul tries; Jack Wakeling 3 conversions); beat Wanganui 32-28 (Matt Perry, Taylor Houston, Matt Gain, Raymond Andrews-Paul tries; Josh Pepperell 3 conversions and 2 penalties); lost to Poverty Bay 13-15 (Matt Gain try; Jake Wakeling 2 penalties and 1 conversion); beat East Coast 17-5 (Sam Tufuga-Piopi 2, Nick Robertson tries; Josh Pepperell conversion); beat Wanganui 14-13 (Thor Crombie, Andrew Hull tries; Jack Wakeling 2 conversions).
