"Hands off our players" is the catch cry of those planning to have the newly-formed Ruamahanga colts rugby side contest this season's Manawatu Colts competition.
Formed after some sterling work behind the scenes by the about-to-depart Wairarapa-Bush rugby development officer Gareth Waldron, with the full support of the WBRFU boardof control, Ruamahanga had some 25 players aged 17-22 on their books just a few weeks ago.
But with their first game against Linton just three days away, that number has been cut almost in half as other clubs in the Wairarapa-Bush region have enticed players to join up with either their premier division or senior reserve sides.
And that situation irks their manager, long-time Pioneer stalwart Richard Dahlberg, whose son Joe is the team coach.
Dahlberg said the whole idea behind the formation of Ruamahanga was to give Wairarapa-Bush a second team in the Manawatu colts competition, Eketahuna already being there.
"When we kicked things off, practically all of the clubs seemed to think it was the best thing out for the district's young talent to play against their own age group but some of them have obviously had a change of heart, and that's very disappointing," Dahlberg said.
"They don't seem to worry that a lot of these guys are not yet physically ready to play in adult competition, they are putting their own interests ahead of that of the players, and Wairarapa-Bush rugby in general."
Dahlberg is hopeful that by making Ruamahanga's plight public, the clubs involved will have another change of heart and encourage them to return to the fold.
"Right now there are no guarantees we will have enough numbers to front up on Saturday, or further down the track either," he said.
For any prospective players, Ruamahanga trains at the Marist No 2 grounds at Memorial Park on Monday and Wednesday evenings.
On the local club front, the clash between two of the unbeaten sides, Carterton and Pioneer, promises to be the highlight of premier division action on Saturday.
Carterton will have home advantage in what could well be a battle of contrasting tactics - Carterton looking to keep the ball close to their forwards and Pioneer wanting to play a more expansive style.
