Porter and Haira share berth

East Coast's Dan Porter and Pioneer's Tipi Haira will share the troublesome first-five berth for Wairarapa in their sub-unions rugby match against Bush at Memorial Park, Masterton, on Monday.
With Byron Karaitiana injured and unlikely for any of Wairarapa-Bush's 2011 Heartland championship campaign, coach Mark Rutene and his assistant Steve Thompson lack proven play-makers in the No 10 jersey.
And with just a few days to go before they name their first official training squad, they will be hoping that Porter and Haira show the necessary skills to be tried at a higher level.
Porter, an Englishman in his first season with East Coast, has performed consistently well on the club scene but because of the Coasters' wealth of backline talent, he has been pretty much a jack-of-all trades, playing in practically every position other than halfback.
Porter has a booming punt and a handy turn of pace and is a competent goal-kicker. Whether he has the tactical nous so crucial for an inside back is still open to debate.
Question marks exist over Haira, too. His main attributes have been his nifty footwork when running the ball back at the opposition and his ability to run his supports into space.
But there have been occasions when his option-taking hasn't been as sure as it might be.
Monday's match is the last feature of the WBRFU's 125th anniversary celebrations, which kick off today.
While the Wairarapa side consists of players from nine of the 10 premier division clubs in the combined unions, they can expect a torrid time from a Bush side comprising players from Eketahuna and the Bush Sports team who play their club rugby in Manawatu.
Last year, Bush called the tune in wintery conditions which suited the uncompromising nature of their forward play.
You can bet that coach Graeme Cheetham will again be looking to his pack to lay the foundations for a second successive win on Monday.
That he has the players to respond positively to that challenge is undoubted; but such is the excellence of the drainage at Memorial Park, they are very unlikely to be slogging through the mud again.
One of the more interesting names in the Bush line-up is that of Simanu Simanu, who was such a quality backline performer for Wairarapa-Bush a few seasons back.
They are also understood to have ex-Manawatu rep Lance Bryant in their backline as well.
Lock Brandan Young will captain them.