Wairarapa-Bush skipper Joe Harwood has been named captain of the New Zealand Heartland rugby side to play two matches in the United States early next month. It is the third successive season Harwood has made the team selected from the 12 provinces contesting the Heartland championship and the third time hehas been chosen as captain as well. In 2006 he led what was then called the national divisional side on a brief tour to Argentina while last year's team was officially named with Harwood as skipper but did not actually play a game. The Carterton player is the only Wairarapa-Bush squad member included in the latest line-up but it is understood prop Dylan Higgison was a serious contender up until being injured a couple of weeks back and lock Tomasi Kedrabuka missed out only because of citizenship requirements. Harwood admits he was surprised to earn selection in the Heartland team for the United States tour, let alone be listed as captain. "I'm rapt, absolutely rapt," he said. "It hasn't been the greatest of seasons for Wairarapa-Bush and I thought that could count against our players. "It wasn't expected, that's for sure." The first of the two games in the US will be against a Pacific Coast XV in San Francisco on November 3 and five days later they will play a USA Select XV. That match will be played in Salt Lake City as part of the opening for a new stadium there. Harwood described Wairarapa-Bush's overall form in the Heartland competition this season as "very disappointing" and is convinced the players themselves have to take the blame for it. "You couldn't say the preparation wasn't good enough, everything was in place for us to perform well," he said. "We definitely had the ability to beat most of the teams we played but we kept letting ourselves down by doing silly things." Harwood is optimistic, however, that come next season the disappointments of this season will become a distant memory. "We have enough talented players to do a whole lot better and I am sure we will," he said.
