CARTERTON made short work of Pioneer in their Wairarapa-Bush premier division club rugby match played at the Jean St sports ground on Saturday.
Telling the story of a game which kept a good-sized crowd well entertained were statistics which showed that Carterton ran in no fewer than eight tries, four of which were converted, in their crushing 48-3 win, while all Pioneer could muster in reply was a solitary penalty goal.
It wasn't so much their dominance of territory and possession which highlighted the Carterton performance but the structured and disciplined manner in which they went about their work.
As has been the hallmark of a season which has seen them go five games without defeat, Carterton had their forwards working the ball through two or three phases to draw in the opposition defence, only to unleash a backline which clearly enjoyed the space and time given to them to cut their merry capers.
It was totally appropriate that the two Carterton forwards who got their names on the scoresheet were prop Jacko Hull and blindside flanker Lachie McFadzean. They were invariably at the head of many short passing rushes which their team often employed as the first form of attack. Hull, who scored two tries, seldom failed to make decent metreage with his barging runs and McFadzean was similarly effective in that respect. Flanker Morgan Buckingham covered huge ground on both attack and defence and No8 Johnie McFadzean had an impressive work rate as well.
The swift and accurate service given by halfback Daryl Pickering was a big plus for Carterton players like winger Trent Hopwood and fullback Carlos Rimene, who grabbed the chance to display their attacking qualities. Hopwood scored a hat-trick of tries and showed a mix of pace, flair and strength which could see him challenging for higher honours as the season progresses, while Rimene ran hard and straight with telling effect.
Pioneer, who were missing some of their key players, were forced to rely on scraps to display their attacking capabilities and very seldom threatened the Carterton line. The highlight for them was their scrum, which three or four times had their opposition on the back pedal at a rapid rate of knots. Halfback Wiremu Haira also appealed as a youngster of promise.
Trent Hopwood (3), Cory McFadzen (2), Jacko Hull (3) and Lachie McFadzean were the Carterton try-scorers with McFadzean landing one conversion and Andy Humberstone three. Himiona Haira kicked a penalty for Pioneer.
The fact this game was able to be played at Jean St was a huge tribute to Pioneer stalwarts like Blue Hansen, who did the hard yards in providing a surface which, if still on the firm side, was playable.
Nine tries were scored in the Marist v East Coast encounter on the artificial turf at Memorial Park won by Marist 35-27. James Goodger, Tipi Rimene, Ben Couch, Hohepa Rutene and Liam Devine registered the five pointers for Marist with Goodger also kicking five conversions. Colt Pureau (2), Joe Feast and Kevin Jones were the East Coast try scorers and Chance Ropiha added two conversions and a penalty.
Eketahuna remained the main challengers to Carterton for the Chris Kapene Cup, which goes to the leading team at the end of the first round, after their hard-fought 20-13 victory over Greytown. The list of individual scorers for Eketahuna was not available but Greytown's points came from two tries to Nick Olson and a penalty to Abe Southey.
Gladstone and Martinborough also had a good battle with Gladstone prevailing 26-17. Inia Katia, John Stevenson, Cameron Hayton and William Silvey scored the Gladstone tries, and Silvey also kicked three conversions. Try-scorers for Martinborough were Chris Raymond, Stacey Aporo and Tim Priest, and Priest kicked one conversion.
Senior reserve results: Pioneer 20, Masterton Red Star 14; Marist 63, East Coast 7; Martinborough 21, Pioneer Greys 17; Tuhirangi 40, Greytown 13; Featherston 27, Gladstone 16; Puketoi 53, Carterton 0.