Complacency not an issue, says Cheetham

Wairarapa-Bush rugby coach Graham Cheetham is determined complacency won't be an issue when his team takes on Wanganui in a Heartland championship Meads Cup playoff match at Wanganui this coming weekend.
Confidence is running high in the Wairarapa-Bush camp after they guaranteed themselves a semi-finals berth with a shock 15-7 win over previously unbeaten North Otago at Masterton's Memorial Park on Saturday,
However, with an eye to keeping their feet on the ground Cheetham says team discussions leading into the Wanganui game will centre more on an earlier Heartland match than the latest victory.
"We'll be reminding them what happened at Levin a couple of weeks back & that should be enough to stir them along," Cheetham said
That Levin game saw Wairarapa-Bush starting hot favourites to beat Horowhenua-Kapiti and coming away with their tails firmly between their legs.
"We played like we only had turn up to win and that's never the case," Cheetham said.
"It was a real good lesson in that respect."
Cheetham knows Wanganui will be throwing everything bar the proverbial kitchen sink at Wairarapa-Bush as they desperately seek the win which would see them through to the semis as well.
"There are no ifs and no buts for them, they have to win," he said.
"And they'll have a big crowd behind them too."
Adding to Wanganui's fervour will be the fact it was Wairarapa- Bush who beat them in the grand final of the inaugural Heartland championship last year, a result which still rankles in the River City, coming as it did after Wanganui were the dominant team in the qualifying stages of the competition.
The semi-finals will also be on Wairarapa-Bush's minds on Saturday with victory to them very possibly meaning they will be back at Memorial Park for that match.
As the Meads Cup points stand at present North Otago are assured of a home semi with Mid-Canterbury and Wairarapa-Bush contending for that advantage as well.
Mid-Canterbury, which currently sits one point ahead of Wairarapa-Bush , plays North Otago in Oamaru on Saturday and a North Otago win would obviously help the Wairarapa-Bush cause & providing of course that they win in Wanganui.
Cheetham and co-coach Lofty Stevenson will not name their starting XV until training on Wednesday night but few, if any, changes are likely to be made from the side which initially took the field against North Otago.
The most impressive feature of that success was the controlled aggression shown by Wairarapa-Bush, especially on defence.
Indeed the much vaunted North Otago loose forwards and backs seemed almost intimidated by the ferocity of the Wairarapa-Bush tackling.
"We talked a lot before the game about getting in their faces and making sure that they knew we were on the park," Cheetham said.
"We realised that if we sat back and let them come to us we'd be in trouble."
Cheetham is hoping for more of the same against Wanganui.
"Again it's going to be a matter of fighting fire with fire, we need to be just as focused as we were against North Otago."
Meanwhile, the Wairarapa-Bush secondary schoolgirls rugby team is in Wanganui this week where they are contesting their Hurricanes tournament.
They are in pool B where they will play Horowhenua-Kapiti, Wanganui and Poverty Bay.
The Wairarapa-Bush squad is: Shakira Baker, Kate Batty, Jess Bennett, Chelsea Bracken-Tipene, Deana Bracken-Tpipene, Valentina Castillo, Esther Crispin, Laura Gavin, Shani Graham, Loran Hartnell, Lisa-Marie Ireland, Bridget Kershaw, Grace Koskella, Nina McKenna, Lily Parker, Katie Pearson, Lucy Roberts, Sam Stewart, Sam Tipene, Shelby Walker, Tessa Williams, Laura Walsh, Terina Wilson.