PLAY THROUGH PAIN: Ruapehu's centre Troy Brown cut the cast off his hand to play Marist on Saturday afternoon and had a strong game at Rochfort Park.PHOTO/MERRILYN GEORGE
HERE. They. Come.
As predictable as a cold Ohakune morning when the swirling winds blow down the mountainside, McCarthy's Transport Ruapehu took another step towards a customary late revival in Tasman Tanning Premier after a classic grinding performance dumped Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist 43-19 on Saturday.
Reclaiming the Grand Hotel Challenge Shield at Rochfort Park, although Marist could not bring it with them as the prize never left Taihape last week, Ruapehu were focused for the do-or-die clash - patching over their injury issues by using representative hooker Roman Tuataha as second-five while centre Troy Brown cut the cast off his fractured hand only that morning.
Marist also had plenty of player absences, struggling to shake their "one-man show" stigma without talisman Steelie Koro, but for the first 35 minutes the rest of them played like they weren't there either.
Ruapehu experimented with more expansive play in earlier games when they were struggling for numbers and fitness, but on Saturday it was back down to business, sticking to the fundamentals, kicking smartly and ramping up the pressure to choke a Marist team which was completely reactive and on the rare occasions they had the ball in the first half they promptly dropped it.
Former Highlander Craig Clare makes such a difference to Ruapehu's chances and functions perfectly as the No10 within their phase-oriented set-up.
His cool goal kicking, tactical chips into open spaces, and confidence to run the ball if he spotted the opening or had no other attacking option available set them on the front foot.
Flanker Jamie Hughes was everywhere - forcing turnovers, saving attacking Marist kicks and taking his turn for hit-ups in the midfield where Tuataha, Brown and No8 Campbell Hart held sway.
After a major tongue-lashing at halftime from coach Jason Hamlin, Marist suddenly snapped out of their funk to score three unanswered tries to close the gap to 21-19 - wingers Tavita Tui and Simeli Koniferedi leading the charge with some strong runs, supported by centre Cameron Crowley until his hamstring got too much, while flankers Marek Willis and Ryan Gill lifted their tempo with bursts and offloads.
Yet it was a scenario Ruapehu have seen so many times before, even if they haven't countered it often in 2016, and they swooped on Marist fumbles and put the ball into the corners, with the pack then driving for the line before feeding Clare to find either space or support runners.
The last two tries were Ruapehu at their finest - first Hart made the bust and then the old-firm combined as Peter Rowe charged on to the ball and made a perfect flick pass for player/coach Andrew Evans to score, before Hart went himself and climbed through three tired tacklers to dot down.
"It's not a surprise package but it was a good effort when our backs have been against the wall," said Evans.
Given Marist had offered nothing in the first half, Evans was pleased his side stayed composed when their opposition finally started to play some rugby, with Clare leading the revival.
"He makes those decisions, offers a lot and is not scared to put his two cents in.
"We didn't go into our shells as we did in the start of the season."
While Evans felt his squad could still use another 5 per cent fitness, Ruapehu are now right back in the hunt given both Marist and fourth-placed Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau lost on Saturday.
It was a glum prospect for Hamlin after his team had done so much good work in the previous fortnight.
"We were nowhere near it in the first half. Just didn't turn up and got bullied off the ball.
"We played 20 minutes of rugby."
Hamlin had spoken to the team about coming to Ohakune with the right attitude, but the relatively young side "didn't find any of it" until after halftime when they were 21 points down, whereas Ruapehu's veterans lifted to a performance Hamlin had sensed was coming.
"They stayed tight, did all their work."
Evans got the first penalty after only four minutes as Ruapehu would camp in Marist's danger zone, then Hughes would have two cracks at the line from the ruck and barged over on the second attempt.
After a couple of misses, Evans handed the tee over to Clare, who promptly landed a penalty with Marist often guilty of getting isolated and not releasing.
Hooker Karl Parker, loving the rough stuff, powered through a gap and despite a couple of bounce passes, the ball reached Clare who put winger Corey Carmichael away, stepping the last tackler for 18-0 in 22 minutes.
Clare lined up a couple of 40m penalty attempts, landing the first to put his team three converted tries ahead before Marist even had a sniff of territory.
The visitors got the message from their coach at half-time as Tui juggled an intercept and outstripped Ruapehu's forwards to run to the other end.
Gill made a good pass to put Marist back on attack, where following a Willis charge, the ball went out to Koniferedi to beat two tacklers and score their second try in eight minutes.
Tui and Crowley made some yards and lock Lake Ah Chong was just dragged down short of the line, before Marist spread back to the posts and Willis snuck through a yawning gap at the ruck for 21-19.
But then Marist got too reckless in their own half and Ruapehu stepped up a gear - driving their way forward before Clare attacked the far corner and put a basketball-style pass overhead for Brown to dive across.
The Evans and Hart tries followed, book-ending another Clare penalty, while the match finished with 14 players each as Marist captain Aiden FitzGerald ended up in a punch-up with Ruapehu reserve forward Brad Scarrow.
-Ruapehu 43 (Jamie Hughes, Corey Carmichael, Troy Brown, Andrew Evans, Campbell Hart tries; Craig Clare 3 pen 3 con, Andrew Evans pen) bt Marist 19 (Tavita Tui, Simeli Koniferedi, Marek Willis tries; Sam Monaghan 2 con).
HT: 21-0.