Titanic Bush clash tipped

The ruggedness of the forward exchanges promises to be the feature of the Heartland rugby championship opener between Wairarapa-Bush and Thames Valley at Memorial Park, Masterton, tomorrow.
After limited preparation, the odds are both sides will place the emphasis on a no-frills style of rugby in which the backs deliberately take a secondary role. Much as happened in Wairarapa-Bush's first and only warm-up last weekend, when they secured a last-gasp 14-13 win over Poverty Bay in Gisborne.
Most of the play on that occasion centred around the two packs, with Wairarapa-Bush struggling to get their hands on the ball for the first 15 minutes or so but then upping the ante and dominating the forward battle.
Pleasing as that result was, however, there is no question that the Swampfoxes from Thames Valley will provide Wairarapa-Bush with a different challenge.
Firstly, if you judge the two provinces on last season's Heartland results then Thames Valley should start favourites. They made it through to the premier section, the Meads Cup, while Wairarapa-Bush were in the Lochore Cup, eventually winning that trophy.
Secondly, with no Heartland championship points at stake in the Gisborne match, Poverty Bay and Wairarapa-Bush gave their full squads plenty of game time and therefore we won't know until they meet again whether the end result was a fair indication of the two sides' merits.
Thames Valley will give the locals no such luxury tomorrow. They will arrive in Masterton intent on giving their championship campaign a flying start and won't be doing anything which could detract from that objective. Therefore, they won't be going to the reserve bench until the time is considered right to do so.
Nobody understands better the dangers of under-rating Thames Valley than Wairarapa-Bush head coach Mark Rutene, who is expecting a titanic struggle between two sides desperate to bank early championship points.
"We don't know a lot about them and they don't know a lot about us ... it's pretty much unknown territory," Rutene said this week. "Nothing can be taken for granted."
That Rutene and assistant Steve Thompson have stayed with the same pack who initially took the field in Gisborne, apart from Andrew McLean replacing Brandan Young at lock, is no surprise. They were full of intensity and controlled aggression and there was a lot to like, too, about their mobility in broken play.
Even the bulkier types such as front rowers Kurt Simmonds and Campbell Lawrence showed good speed to the breakdowns and relished any chance to run the ball at their opposition.
It is fair to say, however, that the "friendly" nature of the Gisborne match meant question marks still remain over the expertise of the Wairarapa-Bush pack in the vital set-piece areas of scrum and lineout, areas in which Thames Valley traditionally do well.
It will surprise, though, if Wairarapa-Bush don't measure up there, especially in the lineouts, where they have proven specialists in Dan Griffin, McLean and Young and handy second-stringers in the likes of skipper Joss Tua-Davidson and James Goodger, the highly promising Marist loosie.
Goodger, like Young, will probably come off the reserves bench in the second half.
The Wairarapa-Bush backs played like a unit having their first serious run together in Gisborne and their many mistakes could be attributed to lack of combination more than anything.
Of the rearguard who were in the starting line-up on that occasion, only wing Dan Porter has retained the same position for tomorrow's game, and with five of the seven from the one club, East Coast, you would think the combination hassles won't be there to the same degree.
Interestingly, though, it is the two "outsiders" in Tipene Haira, from the Pioneer club, and Trent Vatselias, from Marist St Pats in Wellington, whose individual efforts will perhaps attract the most attention.
Haira had a pleasing 15 minutes or so on the park at Gisborne but has to prove he has the tactical nous to run the ship from first-five from the start, while Vatselias is something of an unknown quantity who will want to make his first run for the Heartland squad a memorable one. He will start at fullback but there is the prospect he will also be tried elsewhere during the match.
The Wairarapa-Bush team is: Trent Vatselias; Dan Porter, Jesse McGilvary, Sam Mitchell, Nick Olson; Tipene Haira; Zeb Aporo; Joss Tua-Davidson; Johan Van Vliet, Andrew McLean, Dan Griffin, Rupeni Tamani, Kurt Simmonds, Campbell Lawrence, Brendon Walker. Reserves: Matt O'Connor, Heemi Tupaea, Tommy Harmon, Wilbur Davies, James Goodger, Brandan Young, Tereina McLean.