Wairarapa-Bush are determined to finish their 2011 Heartland rugby championship campaign on a high.
Buoyed by breaking their six-match losing streak with a commanding 47-10 win over Horowhenua-Kapiti at Carterton on Saturday they are intent on putting Wanganui to the test in Wanganui this weekend.
Which is a big askwhen you consider Wanganui, with 30 points, are guaranteed a place in the Meads Cup semifinals while Wairarapa-Bush, with eight points, won't even make the semis of the second-tier Lochore Cup, which they won in 2010.
Wairarapa-Bush head coach Mark Rutene concedes Wanganui will be a different kettle of fish from a Horowhenua-Kapiti side also out of playoff contention. After all, Wanganui scored more than 70 points against Horowhenua-Kapiti a fortnight back and hammered West Coast 69-12 on Saturday.
"They are a classy side, the results speak for themselves," Rutene said. "We know we are up against it but we're determined to give a good account of ourselves, we want to at least keep them honest."
What pleased Rutene most about the latest Wairarapa-Bush effort was their consistency, forwards and backs answering the call to start strongly, then maintain the momentum.
"We wanted to keep spreading the ball wide and you can only do that if you do the basics well ... we were a lot more accurate in the way we went about things."
Rutene said the wealth of quality ball the forwards won meant the backs were continually on the front foot when launching attacks and consequently they had produced their most convincing performance of the season.
"They were usually running on to the ball at speed and that gave them the confidence to have a real crack at the defence. It was good to see them having some fun out there."
