Wairarapa-Bush rugby head coach Mark Rutene expects to select an extended squad of players for a match against New Zealand Universities at Memorial Park, Masterton, on April 17.
Organised to give NZU a warm-up before they take on Japan four days later, the game virtually comes as club rugby gets under way and Rutene and assistant coach Paddy Gough could name as many as 26 to 30 players as a consequence.
"It's very early to expect players to be fully ready for 80 minutes of hard rugby so we'll probably have a much bigger reserve bench than we normally would," Rutene said.
Wairarapa-Bush plays Horowhenua-Kapiti at the Cake Tin on May 26 in another "friendly".