Injured Karaitiana determined to play

Byron Karaitiana is determined to shake off the effects of a sore shoulder and neck and turn out for Wairarapa-Bush in their vital Heartland championship rugby pool A match with Buller at Memorial Park on Saturday.
Karaitiana, 24, was forced to leave the field at halftime during the frustrating 13-12 loss to Horowhenua-Kapiti at Levin last weekend because of his injuries, which were suffered when a team-mate cannoned into him just as he was picking himself off the ground.
The incident happened about midway through the first spell and while Karaitiana battled on until the break the pain was too severe for him to continue through the second 40 minutes.
His absence at first-five was a huge blow to Wairarapa-Bush, not only for the accuracy of his goal kicking which had seen him land two penalties and advance his Heartland points tally to 49 in the process but for the heftiness of his punting in general play.
It was an effort which has been largely typical of Karaitiana all season, both at club and representative level, efforts which belie the fact the player himself actually prefers to play in midfield rather than in the No 10 jersey.
The attraction for Karaitiana in midfield is the greater opportunity to run with the ball but he says he is slowly but surely growing into the more structured requirements of the first-five role.
"You are the pivot there, the guy who more or less runs the show and it takes a bit of getting used to," he said. "But the more I play there the better I like it, I don't mind it at all now.".
Karaitiana is a firm adherent of the theory practice makes perfect in goal kicking with much of his groundwork being done in December, January and February but when it comes to punting it's pretty much a natural process with most of his training being based around accuracy rather than length.
"It's all about kicking to land rather than hand, you want to keep the opposition under pressure and the more often the ball is behind them the more pressure there is," he said.
His father Ivan Karaitiana - a former Wairarapa-Bush rep - has also had a big part to play in his son's development, especially as regards the thought process.
"He is always on to me about the importance of thinking on your feet, on making the right choices at the right time."
A win for Wairarapa-Bush over Buller on Saturday is a must if they are to have a chance of making the Meads Cup play-offs and Byron Karaitiana says he will doing everything in his power to be part of the action, even if it meant having a "jab" to ease the pain. And he is confident with so much at stake Wairarapa-Bush will come up with the desired result.
"We know what we have to do and it's just a matter of going out and doing it," is his typically candid view of what needs to be done for that to happen."