Winner takes all in park ?shoot out

The spoils of victory are guaranteed to have both teams primed for a peak performance when Wairarapa-Bush and North Otago meet in a Heartland championship semi-final rugby match at Memorial Park, Masterton tomorrow.
With the winner going forward to play in the Meads Cup grand final the following Saturday, and the national divisional side to make a brief tour of Argentina to be named early next week, motivation certainly won't be a problem
Adding to the intrigue of what promises to be a spectacular contest is that only one point separated the two sides when they met in pool play, Wairarapa-Bush sneaking home 19-18.
And sneaking would be the operative word, as North Otago blew several prime scoring chances through the course of the game, including having one of their stars, winger Aaron James, spilling the ball in the tackle of Wairarapa-Bush flanker Sam Henderson in the very last minute of the game while attempting to make the touch down.
Henderson's effort, which to local followers at least ranks with that memorable try saving tackle made by Aussie halfback George Gregan on All Blacks winger Jeff Wilson many moons ago, typified the resolve and character of the Wairarapa-Bush side that day.
North Otago were clearly slicker in their movement of the ball through the backs, and more explosive in their running in the three-quarters and to have only two tries to show for their efforts was a mixture of poor finishing on their part, and desperate defence by the home team.
Interestingly enough, however, while it was North Otago who called the shots in the backs the forward exchanges favoured Wairarapa-Bush and this suggests the tactical approach of the two sides could be somewhat different tomorrow.
North Otago, for their part, are likely to place considerable emphasis on moving the ball wide and allowing backs like James, captain Karne Kaufana and player-coach Mike Mullins every opportunity to strut their stuff.
They showed in that pool game how clever they are at making subtle changes of direction in their attacking ploys, and how willing they are to attack from basically anywhere on the paddock and it's difficult to imagine Mullins having them play any other way on this occasion.
Fortunately for Wairarapa-Bush though that first meeting clearly spelt the dangers of the backs giving their North Otago counterparts the space and time to work up a full head of steam, and their defensive efforts since then have markedly improved.
Which, of course, is good news leading into a semi-final where the opposition is sure to test them out big time in that regard.
It must be encouraging for Wairarapa-Bush too to reflect back on the dominance ? not huge dominance but dominance all the same ? they had up front in that pool match.
The scrum did concede a tighthead late in the second half but generally had a slight edge over the opposition, the lineout play was as efficient as it has been all season and, what's more, they probably lasted the game better than a North Otago pack whose mobility is one of their greatest assets.
Wairarapa-Bush coach Peter Russell, who has done such a splendid job in his four years at the helm, has always been an advocate of his team winning games by scoring more than tries than their opponents.
But he is astute enough to know that if they are to go through to the Meads Cup final, it will very probably be the forwards who will lay the foundations for success and so the onus will be placed fairly and squarely on them to call the tune.
Expect then areas of the forward game like the ruck and maul to be the launching pad for some of the more potent Wairarapa-Bush attacks.
There, noted ball carriers amongst the big men like skipper Joe Harwood, Mike Robinson, Dylan Higgison Albertus Buckle and Tomasi Kedarabuka will be looking to use their expertise on the pick and go to full advantage
The fact all three of their loosies., Sylvanus Iro, Sam Henderson and Mike Spence, suffered knocks in the last of the top six play-off games against Wanganui last weekend, bad enough to make them doubtful starters for tomorrow, has to a slight worry, despite all of them being likely to take the field.
They have developed a grand combination on both attack and defence and, generally speaking, North Otago would struggle to combat their combined skills at the breakdown and their assertiveness around the paddock.
In the backs Wairarapa-Bush will obviously want to utilise the speed and elusiveness of outside backs Junior Togia, Francis Seumanutata, Simanu Simanu and Peato Lafaele in attacking situations, but if the forwards are to be kept at the forefront of the action then it will be the experienced trio of Hamish McKenzie, Patrick Rimene and Nathan Couch who will need to shine.
They will have the job of implementing the game plan, and coach Russell is sure to be stressing to them that a tendency to try too much in their own half needs to be curbed against a North Otago side which thrives on turnover ball.
In essence then the emphasis for Wairarapa-Bush will be on playing the game in opposition territory and maintaining a clearly defined structure in their tactical approach.
Do that and they can win??take undue risks and their season could be over.