Gary Caaffell Wairarapa-Bush were far from disgraced in finishing third in the second division of the Hurricanes regional secondary schoolgirls rugby tournament in Levin last week. Their only win was a convincing 21-5 victory over Horowhenua-Kapiti but they also gave a strong account of themselves in narrow losses to Wanganui (17-15) andPoverty Bay (15-10). Coached by the husband-and-wife team of Sharon and Selwyn Haeata, the 22-strong Wairarapa-Bush squad fielded a number of players new to this level of rugby and they responded well to the challenge. "We couldn't have been happier with them, they were a very competitive unit," Sharon Haeata said. The one blot on the Wairarapa-Bush effort in their opening encounter against Wanganui was the amount of ball turned over in the ruck and mauls but after addressing that problem in training they did not have the same hassles against Horowhenua-Kapiti. The game with Poverty Bay, which had beaten Wairarapa-Bush in the second division decider the previous season, could have gone either way with Poverty Bay benefiting from the fact they not only had the wind at their backs in the first half, but in the second as well! Captain Sam Stewart and vice-captain Jess Bennett both led by example for Wairarapa-Bush but the individual highlight was the naming of centre Shakira Baker in the central region team which played their northern counterparts in a curtain-raiser to the Australia v New Zealand secondary schoolboys "test" in New Plymouth over the weekend, a New Zealand team which actually included Baker's brother Cyrus. The central side lost but Baker, who was played on the wing, made a huge impact, scoring two fine tries and Sharon Haeata has no doubts she has the potential to earn national recognition herself. "She is quick and she is strong, she is always looking to impose herself on the opposition," Haeata said of Baker. The full Wairarapa-Bush squad at the Levin tourney was: Nina McKenna, Shelby Walker, Sam Stewart, Sarah Warren Aimee Bubb, Jennifer Snee, Shakira Baker, Jess Bennett, Rebecca Prattley, Chelsea Bracken-Tipene, Anna Biddle, Dena Bracken-Tipene, Georgina Speers, Kate Batty, Meg Roberts, Lily Parker, Sam Palmer, Charisse Gleeson, Charlotte Meo, Grace Southey, Missy Williams, Kayley Blake-Dean.
