Wairarapa-Bush ready for tense encounter

Hansells Wairarapa-Bush will be adopting the same "take no prisoners" approach in their Heartland championship Meads Cup playoff match against Wanganui at Wanganui on Saturday to what they did in their shock win over North Otago last weekend.
With Wairarapa-Bush needing a victory to have any chance of earning themselves a home semi-final and Wanganui requiring a win to even be part of semi-final action a close, tense encounter is on the cards.
It's a situation taylor-made for Wairarapa-Bush to simply repeat their tactics of seven days previously, tactics highlighted by a ferocious defence which often created panic stations in the North Otago ranks.
"We need the same commitment as we got in the North Otago game. We have to get in their faces right from the word go and sustain that sort of pressure all the way through," Wairarapa-Bush coach Graeme Cheetham said.
Cheetham said the fact Wairarapa-Bush were already in the semis but Wanganui weren't meant the home team had no alternative but to throw caution to the wind.
"They have to make things happen and hopefully that will bring mistakes which we can capitalise on," he said.
"For us it's more about doing the basics well, that's where the focus has to be."
Not surprisingly, Cheetham and co-coach Lofty Stevenson have named the same starting line-up for the Wanganui match as that which initially took the field against North Otago.
The only change is in the back reserves where Zeb Aporo comes in as the halfback understudy in place of James Bruce, a selection which will raise some eyebrows as Bruce's greater experience could have been very useful in a game of this nature.
The Wairarapa-Bush team is:
Simanu Simanu; Jordan Fox, Heemi Tupaea, Jon Guillard, Lance Stevenson; John Dodd; Hamish McKenzie; Mike Spence; Jared Hawkins, Dan Griffin, Tomasi Kedrabuka, Nathan Rolls; Shane TeMana, Joe Harwood, Brett Rudman.
Reserves: Zeb Aporo, Tepaga Isaac, Mosese Gutuvakaca, Brendan Walker, Jared Bambry, Josh Mackey, Sully Alsop.