Don't let this be another hiding!

Wairarapa-Bush need to be competitive in their representative rugby fixture with Wellington B at Memorial Park, Masterton tomorrow.
Victory may be too big an ask against opposition who will be bigger, faster and more skilful but if Wairarapa-Bush are to make their usual bold showing in the Heartland championship which kicks off next weekend they must take something positive away from this one.
The biggest battle for Wairarapa-Bush will revolve around the attaining and retention of possession.
Their forwards showed definite improvement in the main ball-winning areas of lineout and scrum in the 19-6 loss to Poverty Bay last Saturday but efficient as the Poverty Bay pack were in those areas you can safely assume Wellington B will be even more so.
In Dylan Higgison, Joe Harwood and Brett Rudman Wairarapa-Bush have an experienced trio of front rowers and the onus will be on them to ensure their team has a solid base at scrum time.
Higgison provided the ideal answer in the Poverty Bay game to those sceptics who wondered whether playing at senior thirds level on the club scene might have dimmed his strength in that department with a typically workmanlike performance.
Height could be an issue for Wairarapa-Bush in the lineouts with Wellington B sure to have some tall and athletic timber so it will be important the locals vary their options.Tomasi Kedrabuka will again be their number one supplier of ball there but Nathan Rolls and Jared Bambry will need to come to the party as well.
Rolls was one of the stars against Poverty Bay, matching some good work in the lineouts with some equally good work in the loose, and there was a lot to admire too in the tenacity of openside flanker Jared Hawkins and No.8 Mike Spence, both of whom had a huge workrate on attack and defence.
It is a fair bet that once the Heartland championship gets into full swing the combination of this trio will be one of Wairarapa-Bush's greatest attributes but tomorrow will test their mettle, especially their close quarter defence around the rucks and mauls.
If first tackles are not successfully completed there on a regular basis the locals will be in deep strife for once a team of Wellington B's calibre is allowed to gather momentum in their attacking play they are virtually unstoppable.
Adding to the importance of the Wairarapa-Bush forwards earning themselves at least a reasonable share of possession tomorrow is that their backs have had scant opportunity to demonstrate their attacking worth so far this season, a big concern with the Heartland games so close at hand.
Sure, they did have enough possession in the Poverty Bay match to make an impact but the icy conditions were always likely to lead to more handing errors than usual, and that was exactly what transpired. Not only for Wairarapa-Bush but for Poverty Bay as well.
What last Saturday's game did indicate, however, was that old hands James Bruce and Patrick Rimene remain the prime candidates to fill the halfback and first-five slots and that promising youngster Dean Grant has a future at fullback.
Grant's spot tackling in pressure situations was especially impressive and one gets the feeling he will have plenty of chances to demonstrate that skill again tomorrow.
The Wairarapa-Bush line-up for tomorrow is: Dean Grant; Junior Togia,Jordan Watene, Nathan Couch, Lance Stevenson; Patrick Rimene; James Bruce; Mike Spence; Jared Hawkins, Tomasi Kedrabuka, Jared Bambry,Nathan Rolls; Dylan Higgison, Joe Harwood,Brett Rudman.Reserves: Callum Buchanan, Mike Shaw, Charlie Walker-Blair,Richard Puddy, Kurt Simmonds, Mike Wilson, Joe Feast.
The curtain-raiser at Memorial Park tomorrow signals the first appearance for 2008 of the Wairarapa-Bush B side who are under the guidance of Stacey Grant.They will also meet formidable opposition in the form of Wellington-under 19s. COLLEGE RUGBY
Wairarapa College first XV are playing for a spot in the final of their Manawatu secondary schoolboys competition when they play Wanganui Collegiate at Wairarapa College tomorrow, kick off at 12.;30pm.
It's been a successful season thus far for the Wairarapa College side coached by former Wairarapa-Bush mentor Paul Pottinger, as apart from making the Manawatu semis they have also qualified for the Hurricanes Co-Ed Top Four tourney to be played in Palmerston North on August 28.
Chanel College will be looking to retain their unbeaten record in the Wairarapa-Bush junior under-15yrs secondary school series when they meet Kuranui College in tomorrow 's grand final which gets under way at Chanel at 10am.
Reports suggest it has been the solidity of their forwards which has laid the foundations for Chanel's success with players like Tim Beveridge, Venu Fa'afoua, Adam, Kenny and captain Caleb Agnew-Jones taking the eye.And among the star performers in the backs have been Francis Makaohi, Ben Tuigamala, Shayne Poona, Te Rangi Paku and Te Karanga Marino.