Makeshift locks in rep line-up

Wairarapa-Bush will field two makeshift locks in their Jimmy Cotter Memorial Trophy rugby match with a Wellington XV at Memorial Park on Tuesday, but their problems in that department may soon be over.
Two new faces in Steve Wilkinson of Gladstone and Corey Reid of Marist have been selected in the middle row despite playing their club rugby in the loose forward positions.
And while selector-coach Peter Russell admits they don't have the bulk usually associated with the locking berth he is optimistic their agility and mobility will prove an adequate counter to that disadvantage.
"They are both good jumpers at lineout time and they can get around the paddock??.we've just got to make the best use of those attributes," Russell said.
The experimenting with Wilkinson and Reid is a graphic illustration of the paucity of quality locks in the Wairarapa-Bush area now that Stu Smith, Dan Griffin and Daniel Joblin , all of whom were regulars on the rep scene last year, are playing outside of the region.
However, with two highly-ranked Fijian locks and another who has played for New Zealand University expected to be joining up with Wairarapa-Bush clubs over the next two weeks that situation could be about to change.
Russell said he was "excited" by the potential of the trio and believes they could be just what the doctor ordered.
"From what we know they are all very good players and it'll be great to have them on board," he said. "Obviously they will have to prove themselves talented enough to play at rep level but with their backgrounds that shouldn't be a problem."
Wilkinson and Reid are by no means the only new faces in the Wairarapa-Bush line-up for the Wellington game.
With the number of injuries and unavailabilities running into double figures Russell's hand was pretty much forced in that regard and so the likes of forwards Jon Tanner, Nathan Rolls, Rob Dick, Shem Crafer and Damon Neal and backs Victor Thompson, John Dodd, Tommy Harmon, Fitti Foulouse and John Uys have a royal opportunity to press early claims for NPC selection.
The inclusion of Gladstone flanker Neal will raise a few eyebrows as he was thought to have suffered a broken cheek bone in a club game last Saturday but, fortunately, it was no more than a broken nose.
The full squad for Tuesday's game is.-
Backs: James Bruce, Victor Thompson Patrick Rimene, John Dodd, Nathan Couch, Simanu Simanu, Ben Couch, Tommy Harmon, Jaco Pieterse, Fitti Foulouse, John Uys.
Forwards: Jon Tanner, Logan Ili, Rob Foreman, Ritchie McDonald, Dylan Higginson, Brendan Walker, Steve Wilkinson, Corey Reid, Nathan Rolls, Rob Dick, Sylvanus Iro, Shem Crafer, Damon Neal, Mike Robinson.
The curtain-raiser match on Tuesday should be well worth watching It will feature the first XVs from Kuranui College and Wairarapa College and hopefully is a sign of things to come.
CLUB GAMES
Club rugby will continue in Wairarapa-Bush tomorrow with the Eketahuna v Marist match at Memorial Park and the Gladstone v Pioneer encounter at Gladstone the main talking points in the senior first division series. A brief preview of games there:-
MARIST V EKETAHUNA, Memorial Park at 2.30pm: Eketahuna are heading for their third successive first division title and you get the feeling that if they are going to be stopped then Marist is one of the more likely teams to do it. They are well equipped to match anything Eketahuna can throw at them in the backs but it might be a different story in the forwards. There, you'd have to fancy Eketahuna having the edge and that just might be enough to get them home. Worth noting though is that a Wellington referee will control the match and if past history counts for anything that could mean a pretty hefty penalty count. Which is turn would favour Marist who have the most reliable goal kicker in the competition in Patrick Rimene. If Marist pull off an upset expect him to shine.
GREYTOWN-TUHIRANGI V EAST COAST, Pirinoa at 2.30pm: Greytown-Tuhirangi would have enjoyed the romp against Puketoi last weekend and with their confidence rising they should have the wood on East Coast. The latter did, however, make Gladstone work overtime for their victory seven days ago and their bustling style of play can be difficult to cope with.If they can get a few points up early on they could make matters interesting.
CARTERTON V PUKETOI, Carterton at 2.30pm: The form book says Carterton by a country mile but they are very much the walking wounded at the present time and just getting 15 fit players on the paddock will be something for them to savour. Anything less than a comfortable win to them would still be a surprise though, especially since Puketoi have their share of injury concerns as well.
GLADSTONE V PIONEER, Gladstone at 2.30pm: Nothing can be guaranteed here. Gladstone are still being talked about as serious title contenders but they have lost a number of key players through injury (none of them too minor either) and even on their home track are probably ripe for the picking. Pioneer will be on a high after their spirited second half effort against Marist last weekend and you can wager they are eying this game as one they can take and, consequently, put their top four aspirations back on track.
MARTINBOROUGH V MASTERTON RED STAR, Martinborough at 2.30pm: A couple of weeks back you'd have plumped for Martinborough to win in a canter but Masterton Red Star have made vast improvement of late. If they can give hard-running midfielder Dan Hape the chance to take on the Martinborough defence on a regular basis they could get close, if not actually sneak a victory. Certainly it would surprise if there was more than 10 points in it either way.