Weighty public support may help Wairarapa-Bush

Public expectation could work in Wairarapa-Bush's favour in their Heartland rugby championship Meads Cup playoff match with Buller at Westport tomorrow.
With four wins from their five pool B games Buller have been one of the big improvers on the provincial scene this season and, not surprisingly, their support base has grown hugely as a result.
With greater support, however, comes greater pressure on the players to maintain their momentum, a situation further exacerbated by the fact that a win tomorrow could well be enough to claim Buller a semi-final spot three weeks hence, something which would be history making for the small South Island union.
Wairarapa-Bush, of course, have already gone through a similar scenario this season. After all the hype about so many of last year's squad not being available in 2007, they answered the sceptics in the best possible way by winning their first three pool A games.
Suddenly from being a likely 'also ran' in the Heartland championship they were being talked about as serious Meads Cup contenders, and you have to wonder just how much the burden of public expectation played in their losses to Horowhenua-Kapiti and Mid-Canterbury over the following fortnight.
Physically they were probably more than capable of doing the business against those sides but mentally they were not up to scratch, nerves obviously having a big part to play in their high error rate and lack of decisiveness. In essence they were simply trying too hard.
With that in mind it is easy to understand the comment from Wairarapa-Bush coach Graham Cheetham earlier this week that management would be encouraging their players to enjoy themselves tomorrow.
Yes, they were aware that a loss would severely dent Wairarapa-Bush's own semi-final prospects but the feeling was that by releasing the shackles and applying tactics which allowed the players to fully express their individual skills their chances of victory would very probably be enhanced anyway.
It's a call with good sense when you consider Buller are likely to be best suited if much of the play revolves around the forwards. Led by evergreen front rower Gavin Briggs they have an experienced pack which won't mind if the game goes from scrum to scrum, lineout to lineout. The more set piece play the better for them.
The free-flowing style of rugby to be favoured by Wairarapa-Bush on this occasion is, of course, hugely dependant on retention of possession, and this is an area where they have struggled through most of their Heartland campaign.
Without a regular supply of good ball the attacking qualities of backs like Hamish McKenzie, Heemi Tupaea, Lance Stevenson and Simanu Simanu will count for very little in the final analysis and so the onus is fairly and squarely on the forwards to do the business in that regard.
The return to full fitness of lock Tomasi Kedrabuka is a definite plus, not only because of his considerable lineout skills but because of his ability to make something out of nothing in broken play situations. The more the likes of him, Mike Spence and Joe Harwood can get their hands on the ball there the greater the chances of Wairarapa-Bush opening up the opposition defence.
Perhaps the most important element of tomorrow's game for Wairarapa-Bush though is a good start. Creating doubts in Buller minds by taking an early lead of double figure proportions might just be enough to give them the winning edge.
The likely Wairarapa-Bush line-up is: Simanu Simanu; Tapaga Isaac, Heemi Tupaea, Jon Guillard, Lance Stevenson; John Dodd; Hamish McKenzie; Mike Spence; Jared Bambry, Tomasi Kedrabuka, Dan Griffin, Jared Hawkins; Brett Rudman, Joe Harwood, Shane TeMana. Reserves: Mike Hollis, Jordan Fox, Lima Lauvi, Mosese Gutuvakaca, Brendan Walker, Josh Mackey, Sully Alsop.
Memorial Park games
The Wairarapa-Bush B rugby team could hardly have been more impressive than they were when running up 70-plus points against Horowhenua-Kapiti a fortnight back and they will be looking to continue in the same vein when they meet Poverty Bay B at Memorial Park, Masterton tomorrow.
For coach Steve Thompson the most pleasing feature of the victory over Horowhenua-Kapiti was that even after opening up a big lead by halftime Wairarapa-Bush kept their foot on the pedal throughout the second half
"We wanted them to go flat out for the full 80 minutes and they did that," he said. "That's the sort of habit we need to develop & keeping the focus is a big thing," he said.
The Wairarapa-Bush B team for tomorrow is: Thomas Te Kani; Angus Crisp, Ryan Hardman, Kingi Kaiwai, Tavita Isaac; George Williams; James Bruce; Nathan Rolls; Patrick Cassidy, Tim Fleming, Wills Clinton-Baker, Joe Nuku; Scott Madden, Richard Puddy, Lee Paku. Reserves: Zeb Aporo, Russell Tamihana, Kyle Karaitina, Willie Leota, Blair Gardner, Marcus Totman.
Some exciting talent will take the field for the Wairarapa-Bush colts in the curtain-raiser match at Memorial Park tomorrow.
They will be up against Horowhenua-Kapiti in a game which will count towards the Hurricane colts competition and anything other than a comfortable Wairarapa-Bush win would be a surprise, especially after their impressive victory over a strong Wanganui unit last weekend.
There were several outstanding individual efforts in that game, none more so than from fullback Nick Olson, whose speed and flair on the counter attack invariably saw him leave at least three or four would-be defenders in his wake.
Loose forwards Mike Wilson and Lee Ewe did nothing to damage their growing reputations and there was a lot to admire about the diligence of front rowers Kurt Simmonds, Chris Maxwell and Andre Irwin. Maxwell, especially, appeals as a bright prospect at hooker. The South African actually played at centre for the Gladstone senior thirds through most of the club season so versatility is obviously an attribute of his as well.
Under-18s
Wairarapa-Bush can guarantee themselves the division two title if they pick up maximum points against Wanganui when the final series of round robin games in the Hurricanes under-18 tournament is played at the Colombo road grounds in Masterton tomorrow.
Having beaten a Poverty Bay side containing a number of the champion national secondary schoolboys side, Gisborne High School, by 14-12 and drawing with Horowhenua-Kapiti 8-8, Wairarapa-Bush have six competition points, one more than both Wanganui and Poverty Bay.
So it follows that if they can manage the four points for a win and an extra bonus point for four or more tries tomorrow then the division two title will be theirs.
Coach Vaea Peterson said Wairarapa-Bush's main strength in their opening two matches was their defence. "We have been put under a lot of pressure in those games and coped well & we haven't missed too many tackles," he said.
Loose forwards Nathan Iro and Brock Price have been standouts in the Wairarapa-Bush pack and backs to star have been halfback Adam Maby and fullback Matt Dalley.
The draw for tomorrow is:-
Division one: Wellington v Taranaki, Colombo road No.2 at 1pm; Manawatu v Hawke's Bay, Colombo road No.1 at 2pm.
Division two: Wairarapa-Bush v Wanganui, Colombo road No.1 at 12.30pm; Poverty Bay v Horowhenua-Kapiti, Colombo road No.2 at 2.30pm.
Current competition points are:-
Division one: Hawke's Bay 9, Wellington 6, Taranaki 4, Manawatu 1.
Division two: Wairarapa-Bush 6, Wanganui 5, Poverty Bay 5, Horowhenua-Kapiti 3.