Wairarapa-Bush hope to reward supporters

Wairarapa-Bush rugby coach Kelvin Tantrum says his side want to reward their loyal supporters with a winning performance in their Heartland championship match with Horowhenua-Kapiti at Memorial Park, Masterton on Saturday.
The only success Wairarapa-Bush has had this season came at Timaru when they beat South Canterbury and Tantrum said breaking their "duck" at Memorial Park would "very definitely" be a motivating factor for his side this weekend.
"Don't worry it's something which has been spoken about," Tantrum said yesterday.
"The boys are pretty desperate to give their home crowd something to celebrate and hopefully they will do that this time round."
Making victory even more necessary for Wairarapa-Bush is that it will keep them in the running to qualify for the premier section, the Meads Cup, of the Heartland top six playoffs.
But if they lose they will very probably find themselves consigned to the bottom section, the Lochore Cup, something which will be an unwanted "first" for them.
Horowhenua-Kapiti currently trails the field in pool B of the Heartland qualifying series but as Tantrum is quick to point out they have had useful results against both the front runners, Buller and West Coast.
They conceded a 16-0 lead to draw 16-16 with Buller and lost by just 13-15 to West Coast.
Coached by former Red Star five-eighth Ross Bond, Horowhenua-Kapiti have the former Wellington B player Richard Aloe as their main playmaker and first string goal kicker at first-five and another talented Wellington "import" in James Oliver on the openside flank.
And they will also be boosted by the knowledge that they upset Wairarapa-Bush in Levin last year, their best result in what for them was a season full of disappointment.
"They won't be easy, we know that," Tantrum said. "They will be every bit as desperate for the win as we are, we're expecting it to be a real battle."
Whether there will be any changes to the Wairarapa-Bush starting line-up from that used against Buller is something which won't be clarified until tomorrow.
Hopes are that experienced midfield back Nathan Couch will be back on deck after missing last Saturday's game through injury and, if so, Mike Shaw would probably miss out.
There is also the possibility that Tantrum will "do a Robbie Deans" and have five forwards and just two backs in his reserves as part of a new tactical strategy but that too is likely to depend on Couch's availability.