Tantrum interested in 'player of origin' scheme

Wairarapa-Bush rugby coach Kelvin Tantrum is "very interested" in using the new player of origin scheme to strengthen his squad for the 2009 Heartland championship.
What this new NZRFU innovation does is allow Heartland teams to select one player from outside their region who developed their rugby skills at secondary school and age group levels from within their own boundaries.
Which means in essence that a former Wairarapa College pupil now involved in university studies in, say, Otago would be eligible to wear the Wairarapa-Bush colours.
Tantrum said he would be asking Wairarapa-Bush chief executive Phil Taylor to compile a list of players who fell within the player of origin criteria, and would possibly be available to represent Wairarapa-Bush in the Heartland championship.
"Obviously it could be quite a long list and we need time to sift through them and decide which of them could best fit our requirements," Tantrum said. "Right now I can't say whether we will definitely come up with someone but, yes, we are very interested, that's for sure."
The player of origin proposal, which is being introduced on a one-season trial basis, means Heartland teams now have the possibility of including four players currently resident outside their unions in their championship squads, the other three slotting into the usual "loan player" category.
Tantrum is yet to decide too how many of the latter he will select although he admits to having preliminary talks with likely candidates from both the Wellington and Manawatu provinces with the idea of making a more formal approach if they were needed.
"We have said all along that we want to give local players every chance to put their hands up for Heartland selection and we're still very much thinking along those lines," Tantrum said. "But at the same time we need to keep all options open, if there are areas where we don't have sufficient depth than we will probably look elsewhere to fill the gaps."
Tantrum and his assistant coach Neil Foote are currently in the process of selecting a Wairarapa XV to play a Bush XV at Memorial Park, Masterton on Queen's Birthday Monday. The Bush XV will be selected and coached by former Wairarapa-Bush mentor Graeme Cheetham and will contain players from two clubs in the Wairarapa-Bush union, Eketahuna and Puketoi, and also from the Bush Sports Club which plays in Manawatu.
The Wairarapa XV will consist of players from all the premier division clubs in Wairarapa-Bush apart, of course, from Eketahuna and Puketoi.
Tantrum says the main value of this match will be to try out different combinations in a competitive atmosphere. "We are not looking at it as an official trial match but it stands to reason those players who make a good impression will be doing themselves a favour when their futures are being considered," he said. "It's like any game, play well and people will notice you."
Reflecting on the current Wairarapa-Bush premier division competition, Tantrum said he was "pretty happy" at the standard of play, something he considers to be better than what it was at the same stage last season.
"There's been a lot of good rugby played and there's an evenness across the board which we probably didn't have last year," he said.
Tantrum did agree though that with most of the premier division sides containing several youngsters the question was how many of them were capable of making an impact on the representative scene.
"There will be some, I can guarantee you that, but how many & no, I wouldn't like to predict that," he said.