Reserves? in for Coast game

Changes made to the starting line-up in the Wairarapa-Bush rugby side to play West Coast in a Heartland championship match at Memorial Park, Masterton on Saturday from that which beat Buller 31-13 last weekend do not reflect badly on the players stood down.
That's the message from coach Peter Russell who said it was simply of matter of wanting to give some of the reserve players in the Buller match the opportunity to have extra game time.
Russell isn't under-rating a West Coast team thumped 67-3 by North Otago in their first round fixture, but with a match against North Otago on the horizon for his own team he wants to ensure the strongest possible line-up is crystal clear before then.
"There is keen competition within our side for some spots, and it's only fair to give the players involved every chance to stake their claim for what should be the tougher games," Russell said.
Two of the three changes for Saturday's match come in the front row with the starting props against Buller in Dylan Higgison and Albertus Buckle replaced by Brendon Walker and Brent Rudman.
Wairarapa-Bush were troubled at scrum time in the early stages of the Buller game, but Russell says that was more a lack of communication than any problems with technique or physical strength.
"We weren't getting the hit right and that's because there wasn't enough talk," he said."The players themselves worked that out, and we got a lot better as the game progressed. We're confident it won't happen again."
The other change is at halfback where James Bruce will start ahead of Hamish McKenzie. Both were excellent value against Buller, especially in the manner in which they placed sustained pressure on their opposition number at scrum time, and, quite frankly, Wairarapa-Bush are generally well served whichever one of them is in the halfback role.
Russell is anticipating West Coast being fuelled by a determination to show their final scoreline against North Otago did not do them justice, and says Wairarapa-Bush will need to demonstrate discipline and control if they are to again secure the maximum five points for scoring a win and four or more tries
"They (West Coast) are always rugged up front and I'm picking they will be no different this time," he said. "They will come out all fire and brimstone and if we don't weather the early storm it could be a long day at the office."
Russell said Wairarapa-Bush's game plan wouldn't alter much from that against Buller where the emphasis was on utilising the mobility of the pack and the flair and pace of the outside backs.
But he is looking for greater attention to detail when it comes to protecting possession, particularly in attacking situations.
"Against Buller we turned over ball 12 times in the opposition 22 and that simply isn't good enough," he said. "We have to be much more efficient in that respect."
Russell is also aware that while the Wairarapa-Bush backs were generally impressive against Buller, there was a tendancy later in the game to be too flashy with 50-50 passes being thrown and wrong options taken.
"Again it comes down to discipline ? when you have the chance to put points on the board you have to take them," he said. "And maintaining a structure is generally the best way of doing that."
Southland referee Shane McDermott will have control of the Wairarapa-Bush v West Coast match and also part of the refereeing team will be Andrew Stringer, Tom Roseingrave, Mark Brown and Chris Jefferies. Kick off time is 2.30pm.
The draw for other matches: Wairarapa-Bush B v Wellington Maori under-23, Memorial Park 1 at 1pm (Nick Briant, Poverty Bay; Gary Hall and Chris Jefferies) Wairarapa-Bush under-18s v Manawatu, Memorial Park 2 at 1pm (D.Goodin); Wairarapa-Bush under-15s v Wairarapa-Bush under-16s, Memorial Park 1 at 11.30am (A.Stringer).