BRING ON THE BUTCHER BOYS

HALF A CENTURY: Versatile back Kelvin Smith notches his 50th game for Poverty Bay in tomorrow's Ranfurly Shield curtain-raiser in Napier. Picture by Liam Clayton

One of the weirdest seasons of rugby in living memory comes to an end tomorrow for Poverty Bay.

The Civil Project Solutions Poverty Bay side take on Wanganui's “Butcher Boys” at Napier's McLean Park in a curtain-raiser for Hawke's Bay's defence of the Ranfurly Shield against Manawatu.

Poverty Bay's game will be live on Sky Sport 3, coverage starting from 2pm, with a 2.15 kick-off.

The Bay will be looking to finish their Covid-19 disrupted season on the front foot after their 46-26 loss to Wairarapa Bush three weeks ago.

The team had a week off following that game to recuperate, with several players having had no break between playing club and representative rugby.

There was no Heartland competition this year, with only four representative games in a “Heartland series”.

Poverty Bay head coach Tom Cairns has focused on player development, giving every available player game time in their first three games.

“We challenged ourselves to look at developing our players. It's about getting as many players as we can experience at Heartland level.

“We've had 33 guys play in three games at the cost of cohesion at times. But I think in the long term, it's better for Poverty Bay rugby.

“They're all local players who will hopefully bring a bit of an edge to the club games, too.”

Cairns said they named their strongest side for tomorrow's final game of their season.

Andrew Tuatevalu will return at fullback and will be looking to inject his pace and play-making into the backline. He had been serving a mandatory suspension after suffering concussion in Poverty Bay's win against Ngati Porou-East Coast in Ruatoria.

The big gap between games had left the team with a couple of injuries and unavailabilities to “key guys” such as Tane McGuire, who would be at a wedding, said Cairns.

“Louis Devery was outstanding in the last game (at centre), and he's out.

“He did his Achilles and was stretchered off at the end of the last game.

“It's just niggly stuff, at this time of year . . . aside from that we're really happy we're turning out a strong team this weekend.”

Wanganui had a “massive” forward pack and big players in the midfield who they would want to exploit, he said.

“We need to get enough possession to play and move the ball around to move the big boys around.”

Extra incentive for the Bay tomorrow is Kelvin Smith earning his 50th cap.

He debuted in 2011 in a pre-season fixture against Wairarapa Bush and took a four-year hiatus from the scarlet jersey when he moved out of town before returning in 2017.

Smith said he had had to adapt as a player since he started playing Heartland level rugby, having seen the size and speed of his opponents increase drastically.

He has shuffled around positions in the backs as a “Mr Fix-It,” filling in where the team needs him.

“I think I've got a few years left in me. I'm happy with what I've achieved.

“All that's left is a Meads Cup (Heartland Championship winners) . . . hopefully next year.”