Win on the cards  if the right team turns up

The outcome of tomorrow's Heartland rugby championship Meads Cup semi-final match between Hansells Wairarapa-Bush and North Otago at Oamaru will depend very much on which Wairarapa-Bush team turns up.
If it is the side which failed to get out of second gear and was flayed 40-17 by Wanganui in the last round of top six playoff games last weekend they will be on another hiding to nothing.
But if is the side which shocked this very same North Otago squad two matches ago with an intensity-charged performance at Memorial Park qualification for the grand final and with it a chance to defend the title they won last year is very much on the cards.
It is heartening that both coach Graeme Cheetham and skipper Mike Spence have expressed confidence in the ability of their players to yet again rise to the occasion.
They point to the enthusiasm and determination shown at training this week as a positive sign that the Wanganui debacle has been put quickly behind them and they are back on track for another top notch performance.
Cheetham and Spence are only too well aware that while North Otago have lost their last two games they remain the most dangerous attacking unit in the Meads Cup series.
With a large number of classy Pacific Island players to call on they are an absolute menace when allowed the time and space to fully exploit their expertise at the running game.
There is another side to that coin though, and one which Wairarapa-Bush turned to their advantage in that memorable Memorial Park clash.
Confronted by an aggressive and feisty defence North Otago are prone to lose heart and that's why the emphasis for Wairarapa-Bush tomorrow will be on the same sort of "in your face" play which created such havoc in the North Otago ranks last time they met.
Well before the end of that particular game the highly-vaunted North Otago ball runners were down to a standstill with the final scoreline of 15-7 hardly doing justice to the gritty Wairarapa-Bush side.
They could have won by 20 points and no one would have quibbled at the fairness of the winning margin.
That North Otago will be anticipating more of the same from Wairarapa-Bush tomorrow basically goes without saying, and it will be interesting to see what tactics they have devised to cope with it.
A logical assumption is that rather than play the helter-skelter type of rugby which got them nowhere in Masterton they will look to be rather more patient in their attacking ploys with the emphasis more on teamwork than individual brilliance.
They might even try to blunt the effectiveness of the Wairarapa-Bush defence by putting boot to ball at times just to offer something completely different from their usual game plan.
That being the case it will be vital to the Wairarapa-Bush cause that they don't only trust in the secureness of their tackling to produce a victory.
They will need to ensure that other aspects of their defensive play are also up to scratch and that when they themselves get into positions to score points they take full advantage of that opportunity.
It will be advantageous too if Wairarapa-Bush start strongly as North Otago are sure to have a big, vocal crowd behind them and there is no better way to take them out of the game than grab an early lead.
Conversely, if they start badly it could be an extremely long day at the office!
Encouraging for the Wairarapa-Bush forwards will be the dominance they had over North Otago at scrum time at their latest clash.
They will give their chances a huge boost should they repeat that effort in what is a crucial ball-winning department.
In the lineouts too Wairarapa-Bush should more than hold their own although the eye injury suffered by the ever-reliable Dan Griffin in the Wanganui match is a worry.
His availability probably won't be confirmed until match morning and it will be a big blow to Wairarapa-Bush if he can't take the field, not only because of his lineout skills but because of his mobility and high workrate in other areas of the forward game as well.
The Wairarapa-Bush loosies can expect to be bruised and battered by the game's end as they will have the task of stopping their North Otago counterparts from launching attacks from set piece play.
Nathan Rolls, Jared Hawkins and Mike Spence muscled up magnificently in that regard two matches back and will need to show the same resilience here.
Fingers, and everything else for that matter, will be crossed that first-five John Dodd's hamstring strain does not keep him put of the fray tomorrow.
His tactical nous has been a huge plus for Wairarapa-Bush through their Heartland campaign and with no other specialist first-five in the squad he would leave a big hole to fill.
In fact, if he doesn't front it seems that halfback Hamish McKenzie will move out a place with either of two youngsters in Mike Hollis or Zeb Aporo replacing him behind the scrum. The latter two are promising talents but this would be a baptism of fire for them for sure.
Further out the Wairarapa-Bush backs will need to express their own attacking skills on proceedings and have faith in the ability of wingers Jordan Fox and Lance Stevenson and fullback Simanu Simanu to crack open the opposition defences. It will be important though that handling errors are kept to an absolute minimum as North Otago is the type of team which will capitalise on mistakes of that kind.
That Wairarapa-Bush can win this game is unquestioned but, as we said before, it will very much depend on which team turns up to play.
And, remember, for all of those supporters who can't make it to Oamaru the match is being televised live on Sky Sport, starting at 4.05pm.