Mixed news on locking front

Andrew McLean on the burst for Wairarapa-Bush in 2012.

There has been a dose of bad and good news for Wairarapa-Bush on the locking front leading into the 2014 rugby season.

The bad is the loss of Carterton's Lachie McFadzean, who has headed overseas, while the good is the return from injury of Gladstone's Andrew McLean.

McFadzean was one of the big success stories for Wairarapa-Bush during last season's Heartland championship which saw them make the semifinals of the premier section, the Meads Cup.

His consistently good form, both as a regular winner of lineout ball, determined runner in broken play and tenacious defender, saw him named in the national Heartland squad for matches against New Zealand Defence Forces and New Zealand Marist.

He also won further laurels when the Carterton club awarded him the Jimmy Cotter Memorial Trophy for "highest club achiever".

McLean sat out virtually all last season as he recovered from a broken leg. His assertive, no-nonsense style of play had made him a regular first choice for a locking berth over the previous couple of seasons and Wairarapa-Bush head coach Mark Rutene makes no secret of his delight at having a player of his calibre back on deck, especially in light of McFadzean's absence.

"You always know what you will get from him (McLean) ... he gives it everything no matter what the level he is playing."

Rutene is delighted too that Kurt Simmonds, the Greytown prop who captained Wairarapa-Bush in 2012 but, like McLean, missed basically all last season through injury - in his case a broken arm - is also returning to the fold this season.

He will add considerable strength to the front row stocks where a couple of Wellington-based "imports" Finnbarr Kerr-Newell and Jon Fuimaono made such a big impression last year.

Indications are they will both be available for selection again and the same goes for Johan Van Vliet, the Eketahuna flanker who captained Wairarapa-Bush through most of last season. He is in the Netherlands where his club side will be aiming to win their first title for 12 years when they contest the final this coming weekend but Rutene expects him to return home any time soon.

Also overseas is Paddy Gough, who will again be assisting Rutene in the Heartland coaching role. He is involved with a club in Chicago but will end his association with them at the end of May.