Russell: Clubs? call on pre-Shield rest

OLDFIELDS Wairarapa-Bush rugby coach Peter Russell won't be making any formal approach to clubs over the resting of key players with an eye to having them fresh for the Ranfurly Shield challenge match against Canterbury at Jade Stadium, Christchurch on Tuesday, July 11.
Club games will continue as usual in Wairarapa-Bush this coming Saturday and with all six premier division sides still in with a chance of making the top four play offs clubs will obviously be loathe to give any of their rep players the day off.
Russell is acutely aware of the possibility of his side for the Shield match being weakened by injuries suffered in club games but he is just as aware of the importance of clubs being able to field full strength sides themselves as they strive to keep their own championship hopes alive.
"It's a tricky one and quite honestly I think it's something club coaches and their players need to make decisions on," he said. "We don't want to dictate to them, that's for sure."
The fact that most, if not all, of his Shield squad are likely to play for their clubs on the Saturday means Russell will very probably not confirm his 22 players for the trip to Christchurch until next Sunday .
Currently there are 26 in his squad so four will miss out and Russell isn't looking forward to deciding who the unlucky ones will be.
"Having the opportunity to challenge for the Shield doesn't come along very often so everyone is dead keen to be there," he said.
"For us it's a question of getting the right mix and that's what we will be working towards at the three training sessions we will have over the next week."
Russell is adamant that Wairarapa-Bush won't go into the Jade Stadium match in a defensive state of mind.
He has seen what can happen to sides when they try to slow the game down against teams as ruthlessly efficient as Canterbury and doesn't intend to fall into the same trap.
"Give them time to get the machine rolling and they just eat you up," he said. "You have to be positive and prepared to take a few risks otherwise you're fighting a losing battle right from the word go."
Russell said Wairarapa-Bush's game plan would almost certainly include the likes of short lineouts to try and keep Canterbury guessing in that crucial ball-winning area and they wouldn't be wasting any time in getting the ball into scrums either.
"We have to do everything we can to unsettle their forwards in the set pieces, we can't afford to let them get into a rhythm there,' he said.
Russell also wants his backs to place the emphasis on attack, believing they have enough experience and skill there to test the defensive capabilities of even a team like Canterbury.
" Again it's a case of trying to take the game to them rather than the other way around," he said. "If you stand back and let them run at you then you're just asking for trouble."
New Canterbury head coach Rob Penney says his New Zealand Junior players will be available to play against Wairarapa-Bush and he sees the game as the first chance for his side to work on the game plan they will be utilising over the remainder of the season.
Penney believes there is still a mystique about the Ranfurly Shield despite ongoing changes to the format of the competitions it is part of, such as the NPC.
"I don't think it's at all compromised by the changing nature of the competitions and I think it still retains a special place in New Zealand rugby," he said.
The July 11 match is scheduled to kick off at 3.15pm.