Loosies out for vital Heartland clash

It would be bad enough Wairarapa-Bush losing one of their ace loose forward trio for their Heartland championship rugby pool match against Meads Cup defending champions Wanganui at Memorial Park this coming Saturday, losing all three is a blow of massive proportions.
Flankers Jared Hawkins and Joss Tua-Davidson and No.8 Duncan Law were a formidable combination in their lead-up games to the Heartland campaign but none of them will be on deck for what promises to be their side's toughest assignment in the championship proper.
Tua-Davidson was the first to fall by the wayside after the NZRFU somewhat controversially decided he did not fulfil the "local player" residential qualifications for Heartland games.
That meant him being left out of the Wairarapa-Bush squad for their opener against West Coast in Greymouth last Saturday, a game which Wairarapa-Bush lost 13-10 but picked up one bonus point for losing by seven or less points.
Both Hawkins and Law saw only limited action in the Greymouth match before being forced from the field through injury, Hawkins with a damaged knee and Law with a hamstring strain.
The early prognosis is that Hawkins may well be sidelined for the rest of the season and Law will need to be rested for at least two weeks.
Wairarapa-Bush coach Kelvin Tantrum is the first to concede the loss of his three first choice loosies does nothing to help his team's cause going into a game against a team of Wanganui's calibre but he is "very optimistic" their replacements will step up to the mark.
Just who those replacements will be won't be confirmed until after training tonight but the odds favour Chris Senior and Corey Reid starting on the flanks with Nathan Rolls at No.8.
Senior made his debut for Wairarapa-Bush when he came on for Hawkins in Greymouth and impressed with his speed to the breakdowns and his solidness on the tackle.Reid had a similarly busy game to follow on an impressive showing-albeit at lock- in the non-championship fixture against Horowhenua-Kapiti the week before.
Rolls has been out of action himself for some time because of rib injuries but is ready for a return to the fray and that now looks certain to occur this coming weekend.
Coach Tantrum is under no illusions over the magnitude of the task confronting his side against a Wanganui team which kicked off their 2009 Heartland campaign with a 46-6 thumping of East Coast.
" They (Wanganui) are the benchmark for all Heartland teams and it's going to be a huge challenge for the boys," he said "But we know what to expect and we will be ready for it "
Meanwhile, the Wairarapa-Bush B rugby side opened their RDO Cup programme on a high note on Saturday, beating King Country B at Taupo by 40-24 and scoring six tries in the process.
Coach Stacey Grant said Wairarapa-Bush started tentatively and actually conceded the first try but once they settled into their rhythm King Country's defence was tested on numerous occasions.
The scoring highlight of the game for Wairarapa-Bush came in the first half when they had the put in at a scrum five metres from their own line, worked the short side and gave wing Chris Osborne a long sprint to the goalline for the try.
Second-five Jason Kjestrup impressed for Wairarapa-Bush until he retired injured and others to shine were wing Rupeni Tomani, halfback Warren Ireland, No.8 John Stevenson, lock Jesse Williams and prop Brett Rudman.
Baden Stevenson scored two of the Wairarapa-Bush tries with others going to Kjestrup, Kieran Te Whare, Tomani and Osborne. Kjestrup landed one penalty and two conversions and Osborne one penalty.
Wairarapa-Bush B play Wanganui B in a curtain-raiser match this coming Saturday and and another curtain-raiser game there will feature the Wairarapa-Bush under-20s up against a New Zealand Marist Colts side including promising Masterton Marist midfield back Daniel Blong.