No walk in the park for Wairarapa-Bush

Remarkable as it may seem, Hansells Wairarapa-Bush's chances of making a strong showing in this season's Heartland rugby championship could very well depend on their performance in the opening match of their 2007 campaign against West Coast at Memorial Park, Masterton tomorrow.
On paper this should be the mis-match of the Heartland competition for while Wairarapa-Bush are the defending champions West Coast are ranked at the very bottom of the 12-team series.
But this is a very different Wairarapa-Bush squad from that which swept all before them last year after winning the NPC third division title the season before.
Just a handful of that team are back on deck again and, as has been well documented, that situation has been compounded further by the number of "fringe" players making themselves unavailable as well.
It's been a baptism of fire then for new coaches Graeme Cheetham and Lofty Stevenson and after four serious lead-up games and a couple of "friendlies" they are still waiting to chalk up their first win.
To be fair to Cheetham and Stevenson their schedule has not been an easy one.
No way could anyone in their right mind expect Wairarapa-Bush to keep in sight of their professional neighbours Wellington and Manawatu, or Hawke's Bay for that matter.
So in reality the only one of the serious games where they went into the match on an even keel was against Poverty Bay in Gisborne just last Saturday, and while Wairarapa-Bush lost 25-15 it was only in the dying stages that Poverty Bay kicked a penalty and scored a try to seal the victory.
It must worry Cheetham and Stevenson, of course, that Poverty Bay had just come off the back of a 32-0 hiding from King Country, a team drawn in the same Heartland pool as Wairarapa-Bush this season.
But for them it has to be a case of first things first and right now their focus will be wholly and solely on Wairarapa-Bush ridding themselves off the losing habit by beating West Coast.
Even if they scrape in by just a point or two the monkey of not winning will be off their backs, and the confidence of their mainly inexperienced squad and might I say their supporters as well will be boosted as a result.
Cheetham and Stevenson won't need reminding though that West Coast have been something of a bogey team for Wairarapa-Bush in recent seasons.
From the last four times the teams have met the score stands at two wins apiece and even though last year's win to Wairarapa-Bush was by a double figure margin the Coasters gave them one hell of a battle for most of that match as well.
What those games have indicated is that while West Coast teams tend to lack the attacking finesse of some of the higher-rated Heartland sides the rugged way in which they approach their work, particularly up front, can have an intimidatory effect.
How the Wairarapa-Bush pack cope with the intensity of the West Coast forward effort could, in fact, decide the outcome of tomorrow's match.
Coach Cheetham believes some valuable tips from former All Black prop Greg Feek during their camp in Nelson a couple of weekends ago has had a positive effect on their scrummaging and they were very impressive in that department against Poverty Bay. Even so West Coast will look to test them there and the home team will do themselves a big favour if they meet that challenge in a positive vein.
In the lineouts too West Coast is sure to fancy their chances of creating mayhem in the Wairarapa-Bush ranks. However, the likely return of Tomasi Kedarabuka, who has been battling a shoulder injury, will give Wairarapa-Bush additional strength in an area where Dan Griffin was a dominant figure in Gisborne.
The mobility of the Wairarapa-Bush forwards in broken play will be placed under the microscope too. Coach Cheetham conceded they struggled to get sufficient numbers to the breakdowns against Poverty Bay and he intimated that would be the subject of detailed discussion at training this week.
The West Coast loosies are usually a lean and hungry lot and tomorrow will probably be no different in that respect.
A paucity of tries in the lead-up games has raised debate over the attacking potential of the Wairarapa-Bush backs and while coach Cheetham has expressed confidence in their ability to rectify that situation they still have a way to go to prove such confidence is well founded.
Obviously there was always going to be teething problems, both communication and combination-wise, with so many of the old hands unavailable for selection but the time has come when they need to make their scoring opportunities count on a regular basis.
Certainly in youngster Jordan Fox and the NPC third division Player of the Year from two seasons ago, Simanu Simanu, they do have backs with the speed and vision to make a huge impact on the Heartland competition but for their talents to be properly exploited they need the support of the players around them.
What makes the performance of the backs so vital tomorrow is the feeling they could profit hugely if they "click" in an attacking sense.
The West Coast rearguard will be solid but probably no more than that and consequently Wairarapa-Bush will probably have no better chance to make try scoring a regular pastime.
Defensively too there are questions for the Wairarapa-Bush backs to answer.
From all accounts they were a bit lax there on occasions against Poverty Bay and they will want to enhance their effort in that department with an eye to the more difficult assignments to come.
This then is going to be no walk in the park for Wairarapa-Bush. Yes, they deserve to start favourites and, yes, they should win but, at the same time, it must be conceded West Coast are a genuine upset chance.
Curtain-raiser
Wairarapa-Bush B coaches Steve Thompson and Sid Tatana aren't expecting miracles from their side when they play Manawatu under-23s in the curtain-raiser match at Memorial Park,
The Bs were scheduled to have their first hit-out of the season against the Wairarapa-Bush Colts last weekend but that game was postponed and, in racing parlance, they could be caught a run short tomorrow.
The experience of players like James Bruce, Nathan Couch and maybe even Patrick Rimene will, however, be a plus for Wairarapa-Bush in the backs while Joe Nuku, Nathan Rolls, Lee Paku, Kyle Karaitiana and Terry Norman are likely to be standouts in the pack.
Colts Final
Masterton Red Star are intent on adopting an attacking approach when they meet Northern United in the grand final of the A section of the Wellington under-19 rugby competition in Wellington tomorrow.
In wings Charlie Brown and Phil Brown and centre Jordan Waitere Masterton Red Star have three players who have repped for Wellington in touch rugby and coach John Cummings believes they could be the secret to success.
"They can score tries from anywhere and we'll just be telling them to go out and there and enjoy themselves," Cummings said.
"The more we can get their hands on the ball the better for us."
With Norths having beaten Masterton Red Star twice already this season they will start as firm favourites but Cummings considers his side will relish their underdog status.
"We've got close enough both times to know we can pull it off, it's just a matter of getting stuck in right from the word go," he said. "The quicker we can put doubt in their minds the more chance we've got."
Wairarapa-Bush will also be represented in the grand final of the B section of the Wellington under-19 competition with Greytown-Tuhirangi expected to make a bold showing there as well.