Each of the sides still have four preliminary round matches to go which suggests Wairarapa-Bush have basically no chance to qualify for the Meads Cup semis and will probably need to win at least three of their remaining games to stay in the hunt for the Lochore Cup.
After East Coast come matches against Poverty Bay at Carterton, Horowhenua-Kapiti at Carterton and Wanganui at Wanganui and the form book suggests that while the first three can be classified as winnable, it would be a shock if they claimed Wanganui's scalp.
Wairarapa-Bush head coach Mark Rutene agrees anything less than a win at Ruatoria will be a huge setback to their hopes of a successful Lochore Cup defence.
And Rutene is optimistic that if his side shows the same resolve as they did in the 41-26 defeat by North Otago last weekend - after leading 19-13 at halftime - then they will get the result they want.
"I think we can take a lot of positives out of that game, we prepared well and we played well," Rutene said. "We showed we could be competitive with the top sides, it certainly gave us something positive to build on."
East Coast started their Heartland programme impressively with wins over Mid-Canterbury (15-13) and West Coast (20-15) but then came hefty defeats by North Otago (17-52) and Buller (8-34).
In both the latter games, reports suggest fitness and discipline were issues counting against them and that could encourage Rutene and his assistant coach, Steve Thompson, to implement a game plan for Wairarapa-Bush based around swiftly moving the ball away from the set pieces and constantly changing the direction of play.
So well did he perform against North Otago that the "excitement machine" Inia Katia seems very likely to be retained at halfback and, if the attacking stance is to be adopted, then it could pay dividends to have Trent Vatselias moved from first-five to fullback, Nick Olson from fullback to wing and Zeb Aporo or Tipene Haira wearing the No10 jersey.
The switch for Vatselias, who has scored the bulk of Wairarapa-Bush's points this season, would make sense because he is probably the most gifted attacker in the rearguard and fullback would give him greater opportunity to express those talents.
And with the elusive Olson on one wing and probably Michael Vuicikau on the other, it would give Wairarapa-Bush a back three with the potential to cut loose on a regular basis.
So who, then, to fill the midfield spots? The choices are probably between Sam Mitchell and Tommy Harmon at second-five and Jesse McGilvary and Heemi Tupaea at centre and, in each case, they could go either way.
Up front, the only change from the starting line-up from that which initially took the field against North Otago is likely to be Tua-Davidson for Lee Ewe at No8.
Ewe did, from all accounts, have a strong debut game in Oamaru though and might, in fact, be a challenger to two other promising youngsters in Johan van Vliet and James Goodger for one of the flanker berths. The odds are, however, he will start on the bench and enter the fray after half-time.
With Dan Griffin still on the injured list, Andrew McLean and Brandon Young would seem to have the locking roles to themselves and the same with Jake Tipene at hooker.
But there is a keen contest at prop, where Wilba Davies is putting increasing pressure on Brendan Walker and Kurt Simmonds and, while the latter two have done nothing wrong, it would be no surprise if Davies was actually given a start on this occasion.
