Local players to get first crack at squad

Wairarapa-Bush rugby coach Kelvin Tantrum is holding firm on a promise to give local players every opportunity to stake their claim for places in his 2008 Heartland championship squad.
Rules allow for Heartland teams to contain up to three players involved in club rugby outside their own region- "imports" as they are commonly called- but if Tantrum is go down that road it won't be until Wairarapa-Bush have completed their first three non-championship games.
Tantrum said yesterday he and assistant coaches Mike Robinson and Neil Foote had already discussed the "import" situation and were agreed local players only would be used for the matches against a Wellington XV on May 20 and Air New Zealand Cup sides Hawke's Bay on June 2 and Manawatu on June 10.
"That's a definite&&.we won't be looking any further afield for those three games," Tantrum said. "After that&.well, hopefully the locals will have done well enough to keep us thinking that way."
Tantrum, who was appointed to the coaching role a few weeks ago after Earl Vaa's shock resignation, admits he has little first hand knowledge of Wairarapa-Bush's current playing resources but he is doing his best to make up for lost time
Last Saturday, for instance, he was at the Carterton v Martinborough match at Martinborough and later conversed with Foote who watched the action between Gladstone and Marist at Gladstone.
And he has organised "my spies" to keep a close watch on the first division games he and Foote can't attend between now and April 28 when an extended squad of 30 players will be named to prepare for those opening three non-championship games.
"I wouldn't think we will miss anybody who deserves to be in our squad and even if we do we'll be retaining the right to add or subtract to the players we initially select," he said.
"We're pretty sure we will have all bases covered."
Tantrum describes the prospect of squaring up against provinces as powerful as Wellington, Hawke's Bay and Manawatu as a "challenging" introduction to his two-year contract with the Wairarapa-Bush union but while the usual hefty losses are in the offing he prefers to take a more positive stance.
"Obviously it's a big ask but it's going to tell us a lot about the players&.. who have the physical and mental strengths to handle that sort of pressure and who don't," he said."And they are going to come out of them battle hardened, that's for sure."
Tantrum anticipates that after the Manawatu match the initial representative squad will be disbanded and a smaller squad will be renamed after the club finals on July 26 to prepare for the non-championship match against Poverty Bay on August 9.
Following that will be the last of the "friendlies" against Wellington B on August 16 with Tantrum intending to have his Heartland championship side finalised by then
Their programme will start with a match against West Coast in Masterton on August 23 (start time 1pm) and a trip to Timaru to play South Canterbury on August 30.Next in line will be Buller at Masterton on September 6, Horowhenua-Kapiti at Masterton on September 13 and North Otago at Oamaru on September 20.
With his Heartland side still some way off being selected coach Tantrum is understandably loathe to commit himself to the style of rugby they will play but his general philosophy is that for teams to be successful the priority must be on doing the basics well.
"You have to play smart, you need good leaders in key positions.You can't just go out there and run the ball willy nilly and expect to win," he said.
"Patience is important, you attack when it's on and make solid, sensible decisions when it's not.".
On the subject of leadership Tantrum is, however, uncommitted as to who will skipper Wairarapa-Bush in 2008, saying that decision will be made after his management team has carefully scrutinised all potential candidates.
"The big thing is have someone who is on the same wave length as we are and I'm sure that won't be a problem," he said.