Rutene to shine Heartland pride

MARK Rutene is just what the doctor ordered.
Young, personable,articulate and with a proven coaching record, he appeals as the ideal man to restore Wairarapa-Bush's image on the provincial rugby stage.
With Rutene as head coach and the evergreen Steve Thompson as his assistant, we just might have a chance of competing strongly for the major trophy, the Meads Cup, in the Heartland championship of 2011.
That would be a welcome relief from the last couple of years where we have found ourselves competing, along with the other five lowest ranked-sides in the country, for the Lochore Cup.
Yes, winning the grand final of that competition against Buller in Westport in October did provide at least a glimmer of satisfaction but when you consider that we only made the semis after West Coast was deprived of five points for a breach of the eligibility rules, it wasn't exactly all plain sailing, was it?
In fact, had that not happened Wairarapa-Bush would have finished this season with only East Coast ranked below them and the knives would have been out.
The fact Rutene and Thompson are locals from the boots up will, of course, be welcomed by the ever-dwindling number of ardent Wairarapa-Bush supporters.
The rumblings over the union overlooking their own for supposedly better-credentialled coaches from outside have grown enormously in recent times and one can easily imagine the uproar which would have occurred had they gone down that track again.
It is in their favour, too, that both Rutene and Thompson coached premier club sides as recently as last season. Rutene guided Carterton to the title and Thompson continued what has been a long and mainly rewarding stint with Gladstone.
They have first hand knowledge of the talent currently available to them and what needs to be done to get the best out of them on the field of play.
The immediate impression is they won't suffer fools, that any player not prepared to do the hard yards might as well hang up their boots right now. Which is, of course, exactly the way it should be.
Several times in an interview yours truly had with Rutene the morning after he was confirmed as coach the word "discipline"was often mentioned when he was asked what he saw as the main ingredient for success. Discipline not only in a playing sense but off the field as well. He wants his players to be good role models and you get the feeling that will happen ... or else!
It is pleasing, too, that Rutene understands the importance of encouraging his players to mix with their fan base. From all accounts the numbers of team members -both management and players - who bothered to regularly attend their own supporters' club's after-match functions this year was in the very low digits.
On the subject of supporters, however, it also behoves them to realise that the quality of rugby produced by present day Wairarapa-Bush teams is never going to match that of the days when the likes of Sir Brian Lochore and Lane Penn were in charge.
The plain facts are that in this age of professionalism the best of our young talent will move on to greener financial pastures well before their potential is realised.
Mark Rutene and Steve Thompson are not miracle workers with the magic wand to change that dynamic and all we should require from them is to make the most of what they have got to work with.
Do that and they will have done us proud.