Wairarapa-Bush forwards the key

The onus will be on their forwards to lift the ante when Wairarapa-Bush confront a desperate Mid-Canterbury in a Heartland championship rugby match at Memorial Park, Masterton, tomorrow.

After a succession of pre-season and Heartland games where their bigger men had largely called the shots in the battle for possession, Wairarapa-Bush clearly came off second best on that score in their encounter against Meads Cup defending champions Wanganui last weekend.

Only in the scrums did the Wairarapa-Bush forwards come close to breaking even and nothing was more frustrating than their habit of regularly turning over ball in both the mauls and tackle situations.

Not surprisingly then, the emphasis at training sessions this week has been on rectifying that and if a remedy has not been found then a Mid-Canterbury side, who are in danger of missing out on the Meads Cup semifinals for the first time since the Heartland competition was inaugurated in 2006, will be quick to pounce.

The visitors seem certain to adopt a rugged approach up front - generally it is the norm for teams from that part of the country and their "must win" mentality should ensure nothing changes tomorrow.

Worth noting, too, when assessing the merits of the two sides is that while Wairarapa-Bush with 14 points sits well above Mid-Canterbury with six points on the competition table, it is fair to speculate Mid-Canterbury has had the more difficult draw.

Included among their opponents thus far have been Wanganui, North Otago and East Coast, all of whom joined them in the Meads Cup semis last year, and their results have been handy, to say the least. They beat North Otago and picked up a bonus point for finishing within seven points or less of both Wanganui and East Coast.

Another loss in Masterton, however, would almost certainly end their Meads Cup aspirations.

The Wairarapa-Bush starting line-up for tomorrow had still to be confirmed when these notes were penned but with James Goodger's injury hassles continuing to trouble him and Brandon Young and Jamie Hunt missing training this week, the likelihood is that Richard Puddy will be at hooker, Tom Fleming at lock and Johnnie McFadzean on the blindside flank.

It will be interesting, too, to see who starts at prop as Jonathon Fuimaono, Wilba Davies and Kurt Simmonds have been operating on a rotational system and it is understood captain Simmonds is due to wait out the first 40 minutes tomorrow. He was, however, such a sterling performer, especially on defence, last weekend that stalling any moves in that direction would make good sense. Automatic selections in the pack will be lock Andrew Mclean and openside flanker Johan Van Vliet.

As to the Wairarapa-Bush backs, the big question mark is at halfback and surrounds whether to have the exciting but unorthodox Inia Katia start or come off the reserve bench. Otherwise, Glen Walters seems sure to be at first-five, Titapu Pairama-Lewington and Jesse McGilvary in midfield, Nathan Hunt and Cameron Hayton on the wings and Nick Olson at fullback.

The consequences of a loss for Wairarapa-Bush tomorrow may not be as dire as they would be for Mid-Canterbury but it would almost certainly see them drop out of the top four in the Heartland competition for the first time this season.

Losing is a habit they will want to avoid as they face difficult assignments against King Country and North Otago during the following two weekends.