Key Wairarapa-Bush players injured, in doubt for semis

Wairarapa-Bush will have a later start than usual to their Heartland rugby championship Meads Cup semi-final match with North Otago at Oamaru on Saturday.
Kick off time has been put back from 2.30pm to 4pm so as allow Sky Sport to provide a live telecast of the game.
The other semi, between Mid-Canterbury and Wanganui, will start at the earlier time of 1pm for the same reason.
Whether Wairarapa-Bush will be able to field a full strength line-up for Saturday's match was still not clear yesterday.
Two of their key players, lock Dan Griffin and first-five John Dodd, are battling injury problems, the extent of which won't be clear until tonight's training session.
Griffin was forced from the field in the very early stages of the match with Wanganui at Wanganui last weekend after taking a blow to the eye which is likely to see the perpetrator cited before the NZRFU on a charge of careless use of the boot, or something of that ilk.
Dodd also left the field in the Wanganui game with a hamstring strain.
The absence of both, or either, of Griffin and Dodd would be a huge blow to Wairarapa-Bush's chances of beating North Otago for a second time this season and having the chance to defend the Heartland title they won last year.
Griffin has been one of the huge success stories for Wairarapa-Bush on their current Heartland campaign with his reliability at lineout time and other facets of the tight forward game and the same can be said for Dodd, who has been Mr Consistency in the pivotal first-five role, as well as an accurate goal kicker.
The most likely replacement for Griffin at lock would be Jared Bambry but what will happen if Dodd is missing is not so obvious.
Maybe Hamish McKenzie would be moved from halfback to first-five with either one of three players-James Bruce, Mike Hollis or Zeb Aporo-stepping into the halfback role.
The greater experience of Bruce, who has been in wonderful form for the Wairarapa-Bush B's, might just give him the nod if that is the case, especially as he is a player who thrives on the big occasion
For coaches Graeme Cheetham and Lofty Stevenson the trick now is to entice the Wairarapa-Bush squad to show the same intensity in Oamaru as they did when they upset North Otago at Memorial Park two matches ago.
North Otago are the most entertaining of all the Heartland teams in that they like to spread the ball wide at every opportunity and if they are allowed the time and space necessary to work up a full head of steam they have the speed and flair to run riot.
In the Memorial Park clash though the Wairarapa-Bush game plan was all about getting in their faces and slowing the momentum of their attacks and it couldn't have worked better.
The ferocity of their tacking seemed to almost intimidate the North Otago ball carriers and, consequently, they seldom got out of first gear.
Last weekend against Wanganui, however, the Wairarapa-Bush effort was lack-lustre by comparison and they suffered accordingly, being on the end of a 40-17 hiding.
Hopefully though that will have the effect of strengthening their resolve for the semi, and producing a positive outcome as a result.