Strong start could be recipe for Wairarapa-Bush success

A STRONG start could be the recipe for success for Hansells Wairarapa-Bush in their Heartland championship rugby match against Horowhenua-Kapiti at Levin tomorrow.
Creating early doubt in the minds of their opposition is likely to have a huge effect as with Horowhenua-Kapiti already having lost three from three in their pool A programme their confidence will be a low ebb.
It isn't that Horowhenua-Kapiti have been unlucky either.
They kicked off with a 34-13 loss to King Country and were then on the end of a 31-17 beating by West Coast.
Throw in last weekend's 42-18 humbling at the hands of Mid-Canterbury and you have a side which hasn't even managed to spare a bonus point to date.
How then, you might ask, could Horowhenua-Kapiti possibly worry a Wairarapa-Bush team which is at the opposite end of the competition spectrum, having won all three of their games and sitting on 14pts?
A scenario which has them five points clear of their nearest rivals who just happen to be two teams they have already beaten (and who have beaten Horowhenua-Kapiti), King Country and West Coast.
Well, it's the old story of one team in this case Horowhenua-Kapiti being able to throw caution to the wind on the basis they have everything to gain and nothing to lose
And the other Wairarapa-Bush having to play more conservatively because preserving their winning record would ensure them of two home games in the more important Meads Cup playoffs a little further down the track. Taking undue risks wouldn't make sense in that respect.
Hence the importance of Wairarapa-Bush starting well as giving Horowhenua-Kapiti even a sniff of victory could be enough to suddenly ignite the fire which has obviously been missing from their performances in previous Heartland games.
Wairarapa-Bush will also be aware that, while they have been winning, their efforts, especially those at home against West Coast and King Country, were far from perfect in terms of execution.
In both instances tries were "bombed" by poor handling and passing skills and there were stages where they fell into the trap of dropping to the level of their opposition.
With that in mind one suspects the word "accuracy" will be foremost in their thinking tomorrow.
Up front , they will be intent on enhancing the stability of the scrum, an area where they have struggled for parity through most of the season The inclusion of strongman Brendon Walker at prop in the starting line-up is obviously designed to help matters there and it will be interesting to see whether it has the desired effect. The King Country match also exposed deficiencies in Wairarapa-Bush's defensive strategy at scrum time with loosies Steve Olds, Mike Spence and Josh Mackey consistently having trouble stopping the impressive opposition No.8 Ronnie Patea from surging well over the advantage line.
Mackey has been stood down at openside flanker from tomorrow's game with Solly Alsop replacing him there and here too it will be interesting to see if the change makes a noticeable difference to the team effort.
What it will certainly do though is place greater emphasis on the skills of locks Dan Griffin and Tomasi Kedarabuka at lineout time as Mackey's height made him a very useful third option in that department.
That shouldn't be a huge problem, however, as Griffin and Kedarabuka have been two of the stars of the 2007 season, not only for their lineout play but for their competitiveness in all other aspects of the forward game as well. Already they appeal as the two main contenders for the player of the year award.
For the Wairarapa-Bush backs tomorrow will be all about curing the ills which blighted their efforts in the King Country match.
The inside combination of Hamish McKenzie and John Dodd weren't helped by the instability of the scrum in that particular game but there was still a hesitancy about their play which was a direct contrast to the calmness and surety they had shown in earlier matches.
With a scrappy, messy type of game likely to suit Horowhenua-Kapiti much more than Wairarapa-Bush the onus will be on McKenzie and Dodd to provide the solidity so crucial in their positions.
Midfielders Tapaga Isaac and Heemi Tupaea have both made steady progress in their roles with Isaac, in particular, shaping up well in what is his debut season at this level. There were occasions though in the King Country game where both Isaac and Tupaea were guilty of going a stride or two too far in attacking situations with the result they were tackled before releasing the ball and that's something they will be keen to rectify in Levin.
It will be important to the Wairarapa-Bush cause too that the skills of fullback Simanu Simanu are utilised more in an attacking sense. He is clearly their most dangerous operator when it comes to creating space for both himself and his supports and the more the ball is in his hands the better for his side.
Most of all though tomorrow's game for the Wairarapa-Bush backs will be about sustaining accuracy in their passing and catching, two basic elements which let them down on several occasions last weekend.
Do that and they should play a key part in what should be a comprehensive victory & especially if we start well!!!!!
The Wairarapa-Bush starting line-up is: Simanu Simanu; Lance Stevenson, Heemi Tupaea, Tapaga Isaac, Lima Lauvi; John Dodd; Hamish McKenzie; Steve Olds; Solly Alsop, Tomasi Kedarbuka, Dan Griffin, Mike Spence' Brett Rudman, Joe Harwood, Brendon Walker.