Wairarapa recorded three wins and one loss against higher graded opposition at an under-18 boys regional hockey mini tournament played at Palmerston North last weekend. Coach Lance Hare was delighted with the results which showed Wairarapa are on target to achieve their 2008 objective of earning promotion to the premier nationaltourney for their age group. Wairarapa is currently part of the second tier event, known as the championship tourney. All four of the teams played in Palmerston North are, in fact, premier sides and Hare said that alone was an ideal incentive for his team to produce the goods. Their opening fixture against Wellington was, however, not the best of starts with Wairarapa failing to settle and Wellington, helped by some "soft goals" capitalising and winning 7-1. The need for a better structure to their play was stressed to the Wairarapa players for their next game against Hawke's Bay, a polished unit which had actually beaten Wairarapa the last time they met. This time though it was Wairarapa who ran out 3-2 winners in a match as closely-contested as the final scoreline would suggest. Wairarapa took a little while to warm their task against Wanganui on Sunday morning but once they found their rhythm it was one-way traffic, Wairarapa winning by 7-1. Taranaki was their opponent in Wairarapa's final game and with rain settling in it was always going to a dour battle but their determination shone through and Wairarapa won 3-1. The commitment shown by his players especially pleased Hare who said the relegation to the championship tourney had been a bitter pill to swallow and they were keen to show they were better than that. He was reluctant to single out any players for special mention because their good results were largely due to a strong team effort but said he was impressed by the vast improvement shown by Cameron Sinclair and the leadership of Dane Lett and Thomas Annear.
