Clash of the titans set to go

It's the clash of the pool A titans when Hansells Wairarapa-Bush and King Country meet in a Heartland championship rugby encounter at Memorial Park, Masterton tomorrow.
Both teams go into the game with two wins from as many matches and whoever tastes success here will be well placed to advance the Meads Cup playoffs as top seeds.
It is fair to say that Wairarapa-Bush's flying start has probably caught even their most ardent supporters by surprise.
With only half a dozen of last season's championship-winning Heartland team available even surviving in the Meads Cup section appeared a difficult target but they have quickly dispelled those doubts with a 46-0 thumping of West Coast and a 41-5 beating of Thames Valley.
Questions could, of course, be asked about the quality of the opposition on both occasions especially West Coast who were downright awful but the fact remains that Wairarapa-Bush have been good enough to tally a remarkable 87 points, including 12 tries.
You can hardly sneeze at that, can you?
One hopes for Wairarapa-Bush's sake though that King Country provide them with a considerably stiffer test than did their first two opponents, even if only to properly gauge their chances of beating the stronger pool B teams like North Otago and Wanganui later in the season.
The form book certainly suggests that should be the case with King Country having recorded wins over Horowhenua-Kapiti (34-13) and Mid-Canterbury (22-14) but you have to wonder whether appearances are deceiving in both cases.
After all, Horowhenua-Kapiti were given a walloping by none other than West Coast last weekend while Mid-Canterbury went down to Thames Valley in their first game.
The West Coast win, in particular, was a huge shock, especially for a writer from the Levin area who predicted beforehand that the Coasters would only have two problems, the first being their attack and the second being their defence! Mmmmm, wonder what he thinks now?
If past history is anything to go by King Country will place the emphasis tomorrow on forward domination. Invariably they have a rugged pack expert in the set pieces of lineout and scrum and you can wager that coach Paul Mitchell himself a hard-nosed front rower in his playing days will have them tuned up for a torrid physical confrontation in those areas.
With that in mind it is hardly surprising that enhancing their own scrummaging effort has played a big part in the pre-match preparation of Wairarapa-Bush this week. They were reasonably solid there against West Coast and, from all accounts, even better against Thames Valley but coach Graham Cheetham believes there is still significant scope for improvement, and is keen to see the proof of that tomorrow.
You wouldn't think Cheetham will be too worried about the Wairarapa-Bush lineout play though.
Dan Griffin has been a revelation there and with Tomasi Kedarabuka now fully recovered from his injury hassles and right back to his best form a steady stream of possession from that avenue shouldn't be a problem.
Perhaps the biggest test for the Wairarapa-Bush forwards will come in the rucks and mauls. Under Mitchell's guidance King Country will be well versed in the skills necessary to impose a big physical presence there and it will be important that Wairarapa-Bush answer in kind, especially on defence for King Country seem certain to be very adept at the "pick and go."
Very little is known of the King Country backs except they are a relatively young lot not afraid to chance their arm when the opportunity arises.
The loss of talented youngster Jordan Fox with injury is a blow to Wairarapa-Bush but his replacement on the wing, Lima Lauvi, is quick and elusive and should relish the chance to make a bid for a more permanent place in the starting line-up.
Lauvi will be part of a rearguard which has benefited immensely from the astuteness of the inside combination of Hamish McKenzie and John Dodd in the opening two Heartland games.
Halfback McKenzie, a late starter on the club scene, is now showing the hustle and bustle which saw him earn Heartland national selection at the end of last season while their "importing" of first-five Dodd from Manawatu has proved to be a wise move from the management team. Not only has he shown good judgement tactically but he has also been a prolific points scorer, having already reached the 30 mark.
Wairarapa-Bush have also been benefiting from the versatility of newcomer Heemi Tupaea and old hand Simanu Simanu who are both capable of slotting in at centre or fullback. Coach Cheetham suggested they could even swap positions on a regular basis, something which would keep the opposition defences guessing if nothing else.
Providing an extra incentive for the home side will be an initiative from the WBRFU which will see them providing pre-match drinks and nibbles for a host of people who have supported the unions, mostly on a voluntary basis, over the years & players, coaches, managers, referees, administrators, media etc etc.
It starts at 12.30pm so they should be in good cheer to celebrate another victory, shouldn't they?
The Wairarapa-Bush team is: Simanu Simanu; Lance Stevenson, Heemi Tupaea, Tapanga Isaac, Lema Lauvi; John Dodd; Hamish McKenzie; Steve Olds; Josh Mackey, Tomasi Kedarabuka, Dan Griffin, Mike Spence; Brett Rudman, Joe Harwood, Shane Temana.
Curtain-raiser
The Wairarapa-Bush B's scored an impressive 34-17 win over Thames Valley at Paeroa last weekend and they will be looking to repeat the dose when they play King Country B in the Memorial Park curtain-raiser tomorrow. It was their strong start which laid the foundations for the Paeroa victory with Wairarapa-Bush racing away to a 29-0 lead by halftime. Lock Wills-Clinton Baker was a standout performer in the Wairarapa-Bush pack, along with Tim Fleming and Phil Griffin while starring in the backs were James Bruce ,Kingi Kaiwai and Tavita Isaac. Coaches Steve Thompson and Sid Tatana are keen to see Wairarapa-Bush impose themselves on King Country in similar style tomorrow.
"Early points always puts doubt in the minds of the opposition and that's what we will be aiming to do," Thompson said.
A likely starting XV for Wairarapa-Bush is: Patrick Rimene; Tavita Isaac, Ben Couch, Kingi Kaiwai, Angus Crisp; George Williams; James Bruce; Joe Nuku; Phil Griffin, Wills Clinton-Baker, Tim Fleming, Patrick Cassidy; Willie Leoata, Richard Puddy, Lee Paku.
Rathkeale loss
The Rathkeale College first XV have started their Australian tour with a 15-0 loss to the Warrigah under-20s in a match played under lights at Warrigah Oval but there was no disgrace in defeat. Even though they were up against bigger opponents and used their whole squad, Rathkeale were hugely competitive. They were in front 3-0 through a Matt Dalley penalty going into the last 15 minutes but three late tries gave the home side the win.