Atkins and Wyrill make Heartland XV

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RUGBY

TWO standout players from Poverty Bay club rugby this season have been selected for the New Zealand Heartland XV to take on Samoa.

Mark Atkins and Adrian Wyrill, both from the champion OBM club, will suit up for the game at Eden Park on Aug. 31.

Atkins, who played at second five-eighth for OBM and for Poverty Bay in a pre-season game last weekend, has been listed among the forwards.

He has previously played at No.8 for the Hawke’s Bay Magpies.

Wyrill, an openside flanker, is a shoo-in to wear the No.7 jersey for Poverty Bay during the Heartland Championship.

Both players will miss Poverty Bay’s first home game in the championship, against South Canterbury.

The Heartland XV’s game against Samoa is part of a Pasifika series, which also features Tonga and Fiji.