Club Rugby Finals 2021

16 FEATURE SUPPLEMENT

Friday, July 23, 2021 Wairarapa Times-Age

FEATURE SUPPLEMENT 17

www.age.co.nz Friday, July 23, 2021

C�U� R�G�Y F�N�L�

Moose Kapene Premier Final

GREYTOWN VS CARTERTON SATURDAY 24 JULY 2021 Memorial Park #1 • 3.15pm

Pre-season fitness pays off for Carterton

CLUB FINALS DRAW

WAIRARAPA-BUSH RUGBY UNION

The arc of the Premier season for Carterton has been one of constantly getting better, says coach Neil Rodger.

SATURDAY 24 JULY 2021

HODDER-STEFFERT CUP PREMIER FINAL

Pioneer v Eketahuna

Memorial Park #1

11.00am

Pete Semmens

ARs: James Goodger & Gracyn Evans • Subs: Tom Roseingrave & Chris Jefferies

PRESIDENTS CUP SENIOR RESERVE FINAL

East Coast v Gladstone

Memorial Park #2 11.00am

Vaea Peterson

“Certainly in the last six weeks, which has given the team lots of conÿ dence.”

RYAN CUP SENIOR RESERVE FINAL

Tuhirangi v Mstn Red Star

Memorial Park #1 1.00pm

Matt Perry

ARs: Graeme Reisima & Vaea Peterson • Subs: Tom Roseingrave & John Dyckhoff

CHRIS ‘MOOSE’ KAPENE MEMORIAL CUP PREMIER FINAL

Greytown v Carterton

Memorial Park #1 3.15pm

Alistair Payne

ARs: Chris Jefferies & Pete Semmens • Subs: Kaleb Rowlands & Scott Andrew

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There have been a few small changes here and there that have helped in last ÿ ve or six weeks, Neil says.

“We’ve also been able to be consistent with our selection. We haven’t had to make changes because of injuries.”

Neil puts the lack of injuries down to the players working hard on

their conditioning and ÿ tness levels.

“Some of our bigger boys have been training since December last year. It’s not something we’ve seen before, especially with the numbers we have had, with up to 10 guys [at a training] at a time.

“Players develop over a number of years and they are not all at the same level, so you have to coach to different levels in the team.”

“There was the realisation that we needed to be ÿ tter at the beginning of the season and that that would pay o° later on.”

Working closely with the Senior Reserve side also helped, Neil says. “We would source from each other where we could.”

“We’ve put a lot of hard work in defence. I think in the last six weeks we have only let one try in.

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“This is the way we have wanted to go all year.

Our pack has been really good, especially in the last six games, and the dry weather and artiÿ cial turf will suit our players, so we are really looking forward to the match.”

Neil purposely kept things simple at the beginning of the season.

ALL THE BEST FOR THE FINAL

Congratulations to both teams on reaching the Final

Despite the challenging weather last weekend, Carterton still managed to get away a couple of long range tries towards the end of the game.

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“Players develop over a number of years and they are not all at the same level, so you have to coach to di° erent levels in the team.”

Carterton’s strong defence was on display in the Premier semi-ÿ nal against Gladstone last weekend.

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Friday, July 23, 2021 Wairarapa Times-Age

FEATURE SUPPLEMENT 19

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C�U� R�G�Y F�N�L�

Moose Kapene Premier Final

GREYTOWN VS CARTERTON SATURDAY 24 JULY 2021 Memorial Park #1 • 3.15pm

Physical forward pack foundation of Carterton success so far

RUGBY CLUB CARTERTON

President Steve Hurley rates Carterton’s performance against Gladstone last Saturday, which it won 27-10 as a “clinical” performance that bodes well for tomorrow.

“I think outside of the second quarter of the game, Carterton dominated despite the rain being horizontal at times.

“To be able to put in such a performance in those conditions was very, very satisfying.”

The team has been getting better as the season progresses, Steve says.

“When you consider the conditions, this was our best performance of the year.

“I think to be honest, Carterton has got themselves to the point where they are playing the type of rugby where they can compete with Greytown.

“Greytown has been the yardstick this season, but in saying that, Carterton will be very competitive if it can maintain this standard.”

While Steve still rates Greytown as the favourite to win tomorrow’s match, he notes that Carterton’s forwards have improved immensely.

“The backs have always been a strength of the team, but now it is fair to say the forwards are too.”

Defence and support under the microscope

so much Steve says it comes down to commitment.

“I believe they have worked very hard during the year at simple aspects of their game and that is what has worked for them.

Now in his second year as captain of Carterton, Daryl Pickering has seen steady progress in the Premier side over the past two season.

“They have played a simple physical game. They are a very physical forward pack and just do the basics right. There is nothing ˜ ash about them.”

But he says at the beginning of 2021 Carterton was still not a team that was good enough to be in tomorrow’s ÿ nal.

Steve is looking forward to a game where both sets of backlines get the opportunity to stretch out.

“But we have worked really hard and fully deserve to be in it now.”

Carterton has been unbeaten since it lost 20 to 21 against Eketahuna in May, with some new initiatives adding to the

“I think both teams have got exciting backlines and I think the forward tussle will be the thing that gives either team the edge.”

strength of the team.

Early on, Carterton’s strength was its attack, but the team was getting let down by its defence, Daryl says, “and defence always wins at the end of the day”.

Since then the team has had the help of defence specialist Gareth Thompson, with a lot of emphasis on defence in training.

A lot of focus has been placed on technique, Daryl says, such as the right way to tackle, which has been proving e˛ ective in matches.

There has also been an emphasis on support play.

“We have a lot of guys in the backline who can break out at any point but there have to be other guys in support to o˝ oad to.”

Recently, Carterton has developed a leadership group within the team made up of some of the more experienced players, so not all the weight is on Daryl’s shoulders.

“That has given us stronger leadership within the team and new ideas. Early on in the season we were not too worried, but as games started to depend on whether we won or lost, we got the other boys to help out.”

As to why they have improved

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20 FEATURE SUPPLEMENT

Friday, July 23, 2021 Wairarapa Times-Age

C�U� R�G�Y F�N�L� GREYTOWN RUGBY CLUB

Greytown ready for ‘the big dance’ It was tough grind for both Greytown and East Coast last Saturday but Greytown conÿ rmed its position as favourites when it came out top 17 to 5, with an unchanged second half score line, thanks in large part to torrential rain.

Greytown coach Mark Childs has nothing but praise for his team’s performance.

“Hats o° to the Greytown side who played some good wet weather rugby.

“They played a good game and it was good to get the win and into the big dance.”

Forecast ÿ ne weather and playing

Moose Kapene Premier Final

GREYTOWN VS CARTERTON SATURDAY 24 JULY 2021 Memorial Park #1 • 3.15pm

Premier rugby One good thing that has come out of Covid is a new club rugby format that has proved popular with players and coaches.

Last year’s season ended up being shorter than normal and the feedback from the review at the end of the season was that clubs would like a shorter season but not as short as 2020, says Wairarapa-Bush Rugby Union Chief Executive Tony Hargood.

“The season was reduced from 16 weeks to 12 weeks which meant that players and coaches were able to spend more time before it started with their families. It also created less on the artiÿ cial turf at Trust House Memorial Park means the weather will play little part in tomorrow’s match against Carterton.

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FEATURE SUPPLEMENT 21

www.age.co.nz Friday, July 23, 2021

the winner under new format clashes with summer sports.”

The shorter season increased the intensity of the competition, Tony says. “This was illustrated with seven teams in the race for the top four places in the ÿ nal round.”

Spectator numbers were steady with some important games like the Lane Penn trophy between Greytown and Eketahuna attracting big crowds.

The Union also noted that social media engagement went up 20 per cent on 2020.

There is no question that the level of rugby has gone up again this year, Tony says. “It is my personal opinion that the quality of the

“Both teams will be playing attacking rugby and we will be utilising our full 15 on the paddock which will make for

back play has gone up with some speedsters out there.”

The downside of the shorter season has been that the level of intensity has seen a few teams struggle with injuries, Tony says.

“We will have to have a look at that when we do our debrief with the coaches and managers at the end of the competition.”

There is no question that this year’s competition has provided a good depth of players for the WairarapaBush Heartland squad, he says.”

“With the new format you can’t take your feet o° the pedal each week.

You have got to keep going.”

an exciting match.

“We have played the past few matches in not such nice conditions so it will be

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“They played a good game and it was good to get the win and into the big dance.” a nice change.”

PINEHAVEN SUPPORTING GREYTOWN RUGBY

Mark is keen to see the Greytown backline show that it has the measure of its Carterton counterpart.

“Our backline is not often talked about but we are unbeaten this season.

“All the talk has been about the Carterton backline but we have played them twice and won both times, with our backs dominating their backs. So we are looking forward to getting on paddock and showing what can do.”

Win this game, and Greytown will remain unbeaten all season, but Mark says that won’t be a motivating factor for this game.

“We made more of that during the regular season. This is knockout rugby now so we either win or lose.

“The guys don’t need motivation. They will put on a special performance and hopefully come away with the trophy.”

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Friday, July 23, 2021 Wairarapa Times-Age

FEATURE SUPPLEMENT 23

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C�U� R�G�Y F�N�L�

Moose Kapene Premier Final

GREYTOWN VS CARTERTON SATURDAY 24 JULY 2021

Good luck to the

Greytown Senior Rugby team on this weekend’s finals!

Memorial Park #1 • 3.15pm

The conversation at Wairarapa business Inspire Living inevitably turns around to last weekend’s club matches every Monday morning.

captain Tavita Isaac.

This will be the case even more so next Monday as the captains of Greytown and Carterton are part of the team, with ÿ ve of its sta° playing in this Saturday’s match - three for Greytown and two for Carterton.

This is the ÿ nal the local rugby crowd have been asking for, Tavita says.

“The special thing about this game is that Greytown and Carterton are arch rivals on the ÿ eld but also tight allies o° the ÿ eld,” says Greytown

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Tavita says Greytown has had an amazing season so far, going unbeaten.

TH E

“We were taught a hard lesson in last year’s grand ÿ nal where we were ahead of Marist by 30 points but ended up losing.

That has been motivation for us this season.”

- the team that can hold the ball and use it best.

“Everyone gets up on the day, so it will be the

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“In the heat of the moment, one mistake will lose a game. It is a tight game when the top two teams

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“I would like to think the teams are evenly matched. We have beaten them twice this year but they have improved every week and are deÿ nitely a contender and a threat.

“I’d like to think we are quite a well-rounded team across the backs and forwards. It is just whoever shows up on the day

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Hodder-Steffert Premier Final

PIONEER VS EKETAHUNA SATURDAY 24 JULY 2021 Memorial Park #1 • 11.00am

PIONEER RUGBY CLUB

Renewed self-belief inspires Pioneer side This season has been a journey for ÿ rst time Premier coach Koti Whittaker as well as his team.

Last year Pioneer’s Premier side failed to ÿ nish the season, so to reach the ÿ nal of the HodderSte° ert Cup is a huge step up, Koti says.

“Personally, all the games have been enjoyable but the two games that stick out were against Martinborough where we were behind 25-5 at half time but won the game 27-25 on the ÿ nal whistle.

It was a huge upset.

“And then the next week we beat (2020 champions) Marist at their home ground 42 to 31.

“The feeling from that was one of elation. We could feel the weight being lifted.

• • • • • • • • •

“The team had got used to losing , so it was like ‘Wow, this is what it is like to win.’ I felt blessed to be part of it, especially after Pioneer has had seasons without a win.”

Pioneer had a “bit of a fright” the following weekend when they were beaten by Gladstone 40 to 19, “but our belief came back. We knew we could beat teams and start winning.”

The motto of the coaching and management of the team was “more than rugby,” Koti says.

“We focused more on the o° -theÿ eld stu° . It was amazing to see the impact this had and the change in our lives and the way we related to each other.

“We started o° the season with a barbecue and stayed at Ng˛i T˝mapuhia-a-Rangi ki Okautete marae at Homewood.

Pioneer rugby heading in the right direction It was only three years ago that Pioneer was unable to ÿ nd enough players for a Premier side, so club president Richard Carroll is pleased that this year the club has managed to make it into the ÿ nal of the Hodder-Ste° ert Cup.

achieve them. The guys responded well to that and we started to see more commitment.

“There were a few hiccups when nothing was going our way and everyone got frustrated during one of the games.

“But we did our usual review on a Monday after that match and discussed what was happening.

“I think the team performed really well this season. It is our second year back in the Premier division and they have been building really well since then.

“We dug deep for that. It was quite an intense korero. We all opened up to each other and laid everything out on the table.”

“It is great for our boys to go to the ÿ nals, albeit in the bottom four. But they will experience what ÿ nals are all about and maybe it will prepare them for next year. But we are happy to be where we are at the moment.”

Koti says tomorrow’s game against Eketahuna “is not going to be easy.”

“When we beat Eketahuna (during the rounds) it was a good, hard win.

This weekend it will be a faster track, going both ways. They have a few guns in their backs.”

The Senior Reserves’ season was a mixed bag, says Richard.

“From there we set our expectation and what we needed to do to

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Good luck to Pioneer!

“It was a tough year in terms of commitment and player numbers, but that was typical for other teams in the competition as well.

“It has been a hard year but we had a good core of players who got out there and did their best.

“We are trying to boost player numbers so there is a greater depth of players for the Premier side next year.”

Overall, the Pioneer Club is going really well, Richard says.

“The JABs are really strong.

We had an Under 14 team in the Manawatu rugby league competition. From that side ÿ ve made it into the Maori development side.

“The rugby league games were held before the college rugby season started, which

worked out really well, with improved early season ÿ tness.

“We also have two netball teams and a darts team. We are a busy club.

“We had an old timers day for the ÿ rst time in a few years

and it was good for the club to celebrate with some of its older members.

Pioneer is a very community club, Richard says. “We are a community club that plays sport.”

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FEATURE SUPPLEMENT 27

www.age.co.nz Friday, July 23, 2021

EKETAHUNA RUGBY CLUB

C�U� R�G�Y F�N�L�

Hodder-Steffert Premier Final

PIONEER VS EKETAHUNA SATURDAY 24 JULY 2021 Memorial Park #1 • 11.00am

Eketahuna looking for a positive end to a mixed season The bounce of the ball has not always gone Eketahuna’s way this way this season.

But the Premier side will be hoping for a change of fortune in what looks likely to be an evenly matched game against Pioneer tomorrow.

Club President Blair Percy points out that other than Greytown, which has had the measure of every team it has played against, the competition has been noteworthy for how even it has been this year.

Blair considers Eketahuna’s season highlight to be its game against Marist which it won 31 to 22 – “that was the best game we have played

Fast open game predicted

by Eketahuna coach

all season. We passed the ball well and got a number of long range tries.

“There were a few other games where we should have won but we did not have the luck go our way.”

With no Senior Reserve side, unlike the other clubs Eketahuna had to rely solely on its Premier players.

It struggled at the beginning of the season to ÿ nd players, and like most clubs had issues with injuries.

After struggling to ÿ nd the numbers at the start of the season, Eketahuna put on a solid performance, getting to the Hodder-Ste° ert Cup ÿ nal with a solid 27-5 victory over last year’s Premier champions Marist last Saturday.

“Both teams like to play an expansive game so it should be a good match with both teams looking to move the ball.”

“We’ve had our ups and downs,” says assistant coach Graeme Cheetham. “We’ve played some really good rugby and at other times not so good.

good. The boys are looking forward to it.”

Eketahuna has been playing an open running game during the season.

“I said at the beginning that I wanted to play an expansive game. I told the boys that I wanted everyone to enjoy their rugby.

“But with the amount of senior players we have had available, we’ve punched above our weight and developed a good team.

“Considering we only had limited numbers of players, we have done pretty well, really.”

The team is looking to enjoy a good game of rugby tomorrow, Blair says, “with the aim of ÿ nishing the season o° with a win.”

“Both teams like to play an expansive game so it should “We played a style of rugby be a good match with both where the ball got moved Stephen Pennlooking to move the teams around the ÿ eld and I think we M 027 ball.”

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Not surprisingly, Graeme is expecting a close game.

Lest we forget

“Perhaps we aren’t where we had hoped to be, but we got into this ÿ nal which is pretty

ROWDEN

Eketahuna and Pioneer have played only once previously this season, a game which Pioneer won by one point and which Graeme describes as a “really good arm wrestle.

They deserved to win because they made less errors and some good decisions at crucial times.”

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