Last year, West Coast were the victors, 39-34, at Rugby Park in Greymouth on October 23, Week 6 of the Bunnings Warehouse Heartland Championship.
The last meeting at Ruatoria was another thriller — 21-19 to the Coasters — on September 28, 2019.
Sam Parkes is a forceful captain who knows who does what.
“Our forwards have been outstanding this season — so the backs have to step up and cash in this week,” said halfback Parkes, who in reference to the Sky Blues' preparation said, “We're good.”
Ian Robinson and West Coast reserve hooker Troy Tauwhare are stepping up to share the duties of second-year head coach Dave Perrin, who is not making the trip for personal reasons.
Tauwhare, with 86 West Coast caps and four for the Heartland 15, is the most experienced player in either side and led the team on their last trip to Ruatoria in 2019.
On what is expected to be a wet day with a southerly breeze in 13 degrees, toughness and nous will be important.
West Coast skipper and second five-eighth Elliot Smith said his team were excited about defending the Arthur Wickes Memorial Trophy and having the opportunity to take the Bill Osborne Taonga.
“We had a tough loss to Buller, but it's always a great game when the two coasts do battle,” he said.
The Coasters gave their Southern neighbours a hard push in Round 4 and a fortnight before that were only 10 points away from Thames Valley. They, like NPEC, are a small union who fight hard.
Conditions tomorrow are expected to be closer to those in which the Sky Blues beat Poverty Bay 12-10 than the sunny Greymouth of a week ago.
NPEC bounced back from a 32-14 loss to Horowhenua-Kapiti at Ruatoria in the season opener to beat Mid-Canterbury 36-34 at Ashburton.
Whanganui led the Heartland Championship for seven days on their 34-18 win against Gear's Sky Blues at Whakarua Park a fortnight ago.
After last week's gritty 12-10 triumph over Civil Project Solutions Poverty Bay Weka at Gisborne that netted them the Bill Osborne Taonga and Anaru “Skip” Paenga Memorial Shield, East Coast retained their eighth placing and have nine competition points.
West Coast's match-effort against Whanganui in the season opener, a 43-19 loss at Greymouth, was gallant and gutsy. The Coasters lost 36-26 to Thames Valley at Te Aroha in Round 2, copped the backlash from the Sky Blues' win at Ashburton in a 48-15 shellacking from Mid-Canterbury and are coming off a 36-32 loss at home to Buller for the Rundle Cup.
Valour has its reward: as a result of the bout with Buller, West Coast moved up a spot to 11th, and have three points.
NPEC head coach Hosea Gear has worked wonders with the Kaupoi in the past three years. For him, remembering how far they've come helps to provide perspective on where they are now.
“We've never been in a position to defend anything, so for that to be the case now is a huge challenge for us,” he said.
“More importantly we want to back up what we did in Gisborne last Saturday and prove that performance wasn't just a one-off.”
Player availability and injuries are such that last Saturday's team is, at the time of print, the truest guide.
The referee, in his second appointment at Ruatoria this year (the first being a 32-14 win to Horowhenua-Kapiti in the 2022 competition opener) is Hastings police constable Stu Catley (30, Hawke's Bay), for his 14th first-class game. Catley and such as Bay of Plenty's Andrew Morton have done a grand job for rugby at Whakarua Park this season with their calmness and consistency. The towering Catley has Mark Greene (Poverty Bay) and Grant Moore (Bay of Plenty) as his assistant referees 1 and 2.
