Wanganui metal put to the test

Jared Smith Photo/File

We have reached the moment of the acid test - this afternoon it will be revealed at Timaru's Alpine Energy Stadium whether the 2014 edition of the Steelform Wanganui team can be polished up to gold, or could follow their 2013 predecessors as merely base metal.

After the departure of coach Karl Hoskin following last season's abysmal performance of finishing seventh with a losing 4-5 record, it has fallen to the champion coaches of the prior four years, although the batting order is reversed between Jason Caskey and Guy Lennox, to resurrect Wanganui's place at the top of the Pink Batts Heartland Championship ladder.

Immediately, the first order of business for the new/old regime was the acceptance that if depth in any position was lacking, the answer must come from outside these borders, so Auckland's Rhema Sagote and Manawatu's Tevita Taufu'i have returned for their second baptism of fire in the Butcher's Boys midfield.

More crucially, hopes will rest on the ability of Taranaki import first-five Josh Hamilton to harness the strengths both outside him and in the pack with the ball in hand and on the toe.

The expectations, and therefore the pressure, remain high.

Even the TAB, taking a bit of a punt themselves on what these 12 teams will accomplish over the next three months, looked at the composition of the Wanganui team and named them $4 third-favourites for the Meads Cup, behind defending champions Mid Canterbury ($3.25) and 2013 semifinalists Wairarapa-Bush ($3.75).

Despite that, the cagey Caskey has prepared the table with a disclaimer about the quality of the cuisine.

As early as his re-appointment last November, he was making it clear a 180 degree turnaround "may not be instant, it may be a bit of an ask".

"I can vouch for it, back to Guy and Milton Haig [eras], there's a whole lot of work involved in it."

That tune remained the same yesterday before the flight to Christchurch, as he again said this revamped backline "may not be overly fluent, as you would expect for the first game".

Only four players from the last time Wanganui played South Canterbury in September 2013 remain in today's 1st XV, although five others who are either starting or on the bench were also in that team for the Cooks Gardens clash.

For me the chief concern, other than will the imports fire out wide, is the partnership of locks Sonny Woodmass and Sam Madams in consort with returning hooker Cole Baldwin.

Just how much giant NZ Heartland representative lock Nick Cranston is missed may soon be obvious.

Madams, who has it in him to step up given he always plays so well against Cranston at club level, faded away early in the 2013 Heartland campaign in favour of Woodmass, who himself was not the first choice due to his army duties.

Likewise, wingers CJ Stowers and Jaye Flaws must also translate their club form to this bigger and faster stage. Both deserved their spots after standout performances for Pirates and Taihape, but then again so did Sailosi Naqiso and Aaron Vadiga last year after their efforts for Border, only to get badly exposed when left isolated out wide in representative games.

I look for big things from expectant-father Tremaine Gilbert.

The decision to move from centre to No8 reaped reward in the club campaign, with his Taihape manager Anthony Martin telling a great story that within two games of making the swap, the 28-year-old was running their forward pack and telling them their jobs.

We will also see how much today's pack with four players in their 30s including one autumn chicken in Shaun McDonough, who turned 37 this month, have left to give for another hard campaign in the boiler room. One thing is clear, it has been acknowledged Wanganui no longer has the depth across the board they once believed for Heartland rugby, and likewise with the return of the previous coaching regime, there are no other avenues left to turn too. If this group can't do it, then it can't be done.