Wai-Bush coach still cautious

Wairarapa-Bush rugby head coach Mark Rutene has his feet firmly on the ground.

While delighted his side's 31-6 win over Mid-Canterbury on Saturday saw them leapfrog from third to first on the Heartland championship points table, he is quick to point out there are still three preliminary round matches to play before the Meads Cup semifinalists are found ... and a lot can happen between now and then.

"We have to keep taking it a game at a time, there's too many teams still in with a show of making the semis to think further ahead than that," Rutene said yesterday. "If we keep winning we will be there, that's what we have to focus on."

Rutene's cautious approach is understandable when the points table is scrutinised. Wairarapa-Bush are up front with 18 points but right in the fight for the top four playoffs are at least five other teams, Wanganui with 17, South Canterbury, East Coast and Buller who all have 16, and North Otago on 15. And you couldn't completely discount Poverty Bay (11) or Thames Valley (10) either.

Reflecting on his team's latest success over Mid-Canterbury, Rutene was pleased with the end result but, at the same time, readily concedes the opposition were not as strong as anticipated.

"To be honest they [Mid-Canterbury] didn't offer a lot, so we can't get too carried away about the score. There is still room for improvement, no doubt about that."

The form book says Wairarapa-Bush will start warm favourites to beat King Country at Taupo on Saturday but, while King Country have only seven points to show for their efforts, they have been performing better than their results might suggest. Being at home, and playing against the competition leaders, is sure to bring out the best in them.

"It's one of those games where if you go in expecting to win you could find yourself in trouble ... they'll be ready for us."

The good news for Wairarapa-Bush is that with flanker James Goodger now fully recovered from his injury hassles they will have everybody on deck, and Rutene admits that will cause some headaches for himself and assistant coach Paddy Gough when it comes to finalising the starting line-up.

"It's a nice problem to have."