“It'll be tough. Hopefully the boys keep rolling on with the positives of last week's game.”
Playing on the blindside flank for Ngatapa will be another fine lineout forward, Jacob Samuel, while the game-day captain is classy fullback Matt Raleigh. Ngatapa are in the enviable position of having pack leaders with the Lee Bros Shield-raising experience of their former skipper, loosehead prop Campbell Chrisp.
The YMP effort will be engineered by third-year captain and rake Shayde Skudder, with the help of props Nehe Papuni and the rugged Hayze Nepia.
There are many good props about, but Nepia could be awesome. He has the physique, power and aggressiveness to put the fear of God into his front-row opposites before exerting real pressure.
YMP head coach Kahu Tamatea and his assistant Mahe Lauti have every reason to be optimistic.
Tamatea said: “I want our team to play to their potential — people have seen only the tip of the iceberg, these players still have plenty to come.”
Skudder wants quick ball. Ngatapa head coach Heith Hawea, too, believes that his forwards are performing at a quality level. In first-year coach Hawea's opinion, ball security will be critical to Ngatapa's success.
Kevin Hollis Glass Pirates lost 41-19 to GT Shearing Waikohu at Te Karaka Domain on April 30. Tomorrow on Oval 1 will be set another test of the Buccaneers' spirit.
The Bernard Nepe-led crew have shown plenty of ticker to date this season. While the losses to Ngatapa and High School Old Boys — 14-5 and 27-19 respectively — were, yes, losses, Pirates competed in every facet of play.
In terms of patriotic Pirates, lock-cum-hooker Nepe and the Taste One MVP (most valuable player) Award leader, second-five Solomon Rasari (11 points), are consistently as good as any on the field.
A full complement is the least deserved by them and a club that worked for 58 years to make the grand final and won its first title in 2011.
Unbeaten Waikohu's regular captain, halfback Mario Counsell, will yield the armband to scrum-anchor Toru Noanoa, but — reserve or not — the energetic No.9 has definite ideas about what the competition leaders' attitude should be to the 1 v 6 clash.
“We want an 80-minute performance, from start to finish,” he said.
Pirates will be happy that they won't have the biggest man in NZ rugby coming at them. Tighthead prop Jarryd Broughton hurt his right shoulder in Poverty Bay's 46-12 victory over Enterprise Cars Ngati Porou East Coast at Whakarua Park in Ruatoria on Queen's Birthday Weekend.
Broughton's absence will be felt, but extreme danger is posed by such as player-coach Kelvin Smith on the left wing and Tione Hubbard at centre. Hubbard's try for Waikohu against YMP in the first round was a beauty, and one the opposition would be as chuffed to have seen as they would be disappointed to have conceded.
High School Old Boys have 100 good reasons to leave Oval 2 tomorrow utterly spent in pursuit of victory.
Former Gisborne Boys' High School first 15 player Hayden Walters-Stuart will play his 100th game for the blue-and-whites tomorrow. In the absence of Korey Love, due to injury, the man of the hour could start anywhere from first-five to centre as the Danny Boyle/Wayne Ensor-coached HSOB look to take their second win of the season.
But Enterprise Cars OBM, who honoured fullback Scott McKinley for the same reason on April 30 before his return to Nelson, yield no inch unfought on the field. For HSOB it is a home game, and when they met on Oval 1, OBM's McKinley scored the last try against them. OBM won 29-8.
OBM head coach Clint Pirihi said: “Consistency is what I'm after tomorrow from our boys. We need to control what we can, and that means scrums, lineouts and rucks.”
Pirihi's level-headedness and the forwards' experience must serve the away team best in Week 7. They know that, although HSOB have only one competition win under their belts to date (they did swamp Te Teko 50-5 in the exchange with Eastern Bay of Plenty on May 14), to win tomorrow's match would give that worthy club a boost.
But such a thing would never mean as much, if OBM didn't do everything within law and good taste to prevent it.
Controlling Ngatapa v YMP at Paddy's Park will be referee Damien Macpherson, with assistant referees Troy Para Snr (AR1) and Bruce Amai. Assisting Ben Holt to run HSOB v OBM on Gisborne Oval 2 will be the legendary Colin Shanks, with Barry Shirley as AR2. Aaron Brown will referee Waikohu v Pirates on Oval 1, with Neville Barwick as his assistant referee.
• All premier-grade games kick off at 2.45pm.
