Van Vliet gets nod as skipper

Eketahuna flanker Johan van Vliet will captain Wairarapa-Bush in their Heartland championship rugby match with West Coast in Greymouth tomorrow.

He replaces usual skipper Kurt Simmonds who has been consigned to the reserve bench as part of a roster system which sees Jon Fuimaono and Wilba Davies starting in the propping berths.

In other changes up front from the pack which initially took the field in the 48-21 win over Poverty Bay in Gisborne last weekend, Richard Puddy comes in for Jamie Hunt at hooker, Brandon Young replaces Lachie McFadzean at lock and Tom Fleming joins the loose forward trio. He will be at No 8 with Jim Tikoisuva moving from there to the blindside flank to replace the injured James Goodger.

For Young, tomorrow's match will be his first for some weeks because of injury hassles with head coach Mark Rutene saying he would be kept on the field for as long as his fitness allowed.

The main talking point in the backs will be the decision to start with Inia Katia at halfback and Byron Karaitiana at first-five. This means first string goal kicker Glen Walters will be at fullback and speedster Nathan Hunt has lost out on a wing spot to Nick Olson and Cameron Hayton.

Wairarapa-Bush goes into the game as joint competition leaders but Rutene is expecting a stern tussle against a West Coast side, which has also started well with a narrow loss to East Coast followed by a good win over King Country. "Teams target their home games as must wins and West Coast will be no exception in that respect, they will come as us with everything they've got," Rutene said.

The Wairarapa-Bush team is: Glen Walters, Nick Olson, Jessie McGilvary, Titapu Pairama-Lewington, Cameron Hayton, Byron Karaitiana, Inia Katia, Tom Fleming, Johan van Vliet, Andrew McLean, Brandon Young, Jim Tikoisuva, Wilba Davies, Richard Puddy, Jon Fuimaono. Reserves: Matt O'Connor, Nathan Hunt, Michael Te Whare, Jamie Hunt, Lachie McFadzean, Kurt Simmonds, Johnnie McFadzean.