Mid Canterbury will be up for it

Mid-Canterbury won't lack incentive when they confront Wairarapa-Bush in a Heartland championship rugby match at Memorial Park, Masterton, on Saturday.

The southerners have recorded just the one win in their four Heartland games to date this season and are in grave danger of failing to make the Meads Cup play-offs for the first time since the championship was inaugurated in 2006.

Not surprisingly then, they have placed their clash with Wairarapa-Bush in the "must win" category as they have with their three qualifying round games after that: West Coast, Horowhenua-Kapiti and South Canterbury.

In Mid-Canterbury's favour is that if last year's results mean anything, their toughest assignments are behind them. They have already played three of the 2011 Meads Cup semifinalists, Wanganui, North Otago and East Coast, and they have picked up competition points in all of them.

Their best result to date was the 7-3 win over North Otago, which also won them the Hanan Shield; the time-honoured trophy played between those two unions and South Canterbury.

And they picked up bonus points in their slender 24-23 loss to the team which topped Wairarapa-Bush's winning streak last weekend, Wanganui, and their 20-13 defeat by East Coast. So, in reality, the only disappointing Heartland result they have had thus far was their 31-17 loss to Thames Valley who happened to produce their best form of the season then.

Mid-Canterbury have three "loan" players in their squad, forward Matt Groom and backs Matt Sykes and Masi Salave, while goal kicker Andrew Letham has joined them under the "player of origin" criteria.

The Wairarapa-Bush starting line-up had not been confirmed at the time these notes were penned with head coach Mark Rutene and assistant Paddy Gough having all players on deck now that flanker James Goodger has recovered from his injuries.

While he will be a little short of match fitness, Goodger's speed around the paddock and lineout skills are likely to see him named as part of a loose forward trio also sure to include Johan van Vliet in the No 7 jersey. And that would mean a possible three-way contest for the back row berth between Jim Temo, Tom Fleming and Johnnie McFadzean with perhaps Temo having the inside running.

It will be interesting too to see who Rutene and Gough choose as their inside back combination with form against Wanganui last Saturday suggesting the smart money would be on Matt O'Connor at halfback and Glen Walters at first-five.

Which in turn would almost certainly lead to the versatile Nick Olson starting at fullback and Nathan Hunt and Cameron Hayton filling the wing berths.

This weekend's Heartland fixture will be preceded by two curtain-raisers with the Wairarapa-Bush and Poverty Bay under-20s starting their game at Memorial Park No 1 at 12.40pm and Wairarapa-Bush and Horowhenua-Kapiti under-18s playing at Memorial Park No 2, kick-off at 1pm.

Interestingly the Wairarapa-Bush B v Wellington Maoris match will start at Memorial Park No 2 at the same time as the Heartland game, 2.30pm, a decision sure to prove a talking point with supporters keen to follow first hand the fortunes of the union's premier and B teams.