A Meads Cup semifinal spot still looms for Wairarapa-Bush despite their frustrating 28-21 loss to North Otago in their Heartland championship clash at Memorial Park, Masterton, on Saturday.
A win over lowly placed Horowhenua-Kapiti in the last of their preliminary round games at Levin next weekend will guarantee Wairarapa-Bush a top-four place on the competition table.
Wanganui are leading with 27 points, followed by East Coast 26, Wairarapa-Bush 23, South Canterbury 22, Buller 21, North Otago 20, Poverty Bay 17, Mid-Canterbury 16, West Coast 12, Thames Valley 11, Horowhenua-Kapiti 9 and King Country 8. The two bonus points deducted from South Canterbury for breaking the "loan player" rules are not included in case of an appeal.
What made Wairarapa-Bush's latest defeat so frustrating was that for the first five minutes of the first half and the last 10 minutes of the second half they played some of their best rugby of the season.
Problem is for the other 65 minutes they resembled a side that had just come together and were still in the process of finding the rhythm and intensity needed to succeed at Heartland level.
North Otago, desperately needing the maximum five points to keep their Meads Cup semifinal hopes alive, were always going to throw everything bar the proverbial kitchen sink at their opposition.
But while due praise must be given them for the manner in which they went about their work they were given a huge helping hand by a Wairarapa-Bush side that constantly turned over ball and fell off tackles. And if that wasn't bad enough, they also lacked accuracy in their tactical kicking game and clarity in their option taking.
It wasn't all doom and gloom for Wairarapa-Bush though.
Firstly, to play so poorly for such an extended part of the game and still come away with a bonus point to show for their efforts was just that - a bonus.
Secondly, the fire and hunger they displayed in the closing stages only needs to be replicated over the whole 80 minutes next weekend for them to achieve what few would have regarded as possible at the start of the season, a Meads Cup semifinal berth.
This is a prospect made to look even more special because they managed just one win during last season's Heartland campaign.
From an individual perspective, the highlight for Wairarapa-Bush was the spark provided by two players who came off the reserve bench in the second half, hooker Jamie Hunt and halfback Inia Katia.
Hunt was all hustle and bustle, contesting aggressively for ball at the breakdowns and making decent metres whenever he was able to snaffle it. Throw in some punishing defence and his was a fine all-round effort.
Katia clearly added impetus to his team's attacking play, often jinking and jiving his way over the advantage line, and, like Hunt, was a solid defender.
In what was his 50th game for the province skipper Kurt Simmonds did his best to spur the troops into action by featuring in two or three rampaging bursts with ball in hand and his fellow prop Jonathan Fuimaono and lock Andrew McLean also had their moments in that regard.
Apart from Katia the pick of a Wairarapa-Bush backline, which lacked their normal precision, was centre Jesse McGilvary who made a couple of scything runs and defended solidly.
North Otago,who led 17-8 at halftime, were certainly good value for their winning margin.
In No 8 Tony Lamborn they had perhaps the most potent attacker on the field and flanker Jack Wolfreys, lock Uliksoni Tahitua and prop Ralph Darling were other forwards to impress. Halfback Tala Fagasoaia, midfielder Lemi Masoe and fullback Chris Talanoa stood out in the backs.
Jack Wolfreys, Rowan McKenzie, Eric Duff and Tim O'Malley scored tries for North Otago, Billy Guyton kicked a penalty and one conversion and Lemi Masoe dropped a goal. Nathan Hunt and Jamie Hunt scored tries for Wairarapa-Bush and Glen Walters kicked three penalties and a conversion, to bring his Heartland points tally to 113.
Saturday's results: Poverty Bay 56, Thames Valley 29; North Otago 28, Wairarapa-Bush 21; Wanganui 39, Buller 12; West Coast 19, South Canterbury 12; East Coast 56, King Country 24; Mid-Canterbury 48, Horowhenua-Kapiti 12.