Rugby
There has been a mix of good and bad news for Wairarapa-Bush rugby head coach Mark Rutene as he prepares to name his first extended training squad for the 2013 season.
The good news is one of the big success stories from the past two Heartland championship campaigns, flanker Johan van Vliet, will be on deck again after starting this season playing his club rugby in Manawatu.
Rutene reported yesterday that Van Vliet was in the process of transferring back to the Eketahuna club and was keen to be part of the Heartland squad.
That a player of Van Vliet's calibre will be an automatic choice for Wairarapa-Bush is undeniable and, more than that, he would have to be a leading chance to take over the captaincy now that last season's skipper, prop Kurt Simmonds, has confirmed complications with a broken arm that will likely see him miss the whole of this season.