Set for an ‘epic of muscle and mass’

READY TO RUMBLE: Waikohu prop Toru Noanoa is tackled by YMP hooker Shayde Skudder in a Poverty Bay premier club rugby match last year. Both men are in action tomorrow when these two sides meet in a top-of-the-table clash at Barry Park. Both teams have won their opening three matches. Among the YMP team will be players from last year's title-winning Waikohu side. Picture by Paul Rickard

Barry Park will be not be an oasis of calm tomorrow. Silent sidelines will never take in Poverty Bay.

And so fans can expect the top-of-the-table Civic Project Solutions premier club rugby clash between Waikohu and YMP to be colourful and well-attended in a season during which player and crowd behaviour has been very good.

“We're keen and up for what we expect to be a physical battle,” Waikohu captain and halfback Mario Counsell said.

GT Shearing Waikohu and East Coast Farm Vets YMP have won all three of their games heading into this epic of muscle and mass.

“We're always excited to play the reigning champs,” said YMP head coach Kahu Tamatea. “It'll be a good measuring stick to see how we are at this stage of the season.

“In saying that, we're still trying new combinations and have a couple of players away, so we're still building.”

High School Old Boys are looking to prise the Bruce Harvey Memorial Cup from Larsawn Ngatapa's grasp at the Oval.

HSOB coaches Danny Boyle and Wayne Ensor had much to be pleased with in the blue and whites' 50-5 triumph against Te Teko in the exchange with Eastern Bay of Plenty teams here last weekend, and Boyle knows that an upbeat outlook is essential.

“Our focus throughout the week has been to stay positive — have a positive attitude.

“Recently, the impact of injures to our front-row has made life difficult but we have some new (and not so new) talent raring to go.”

The Heith Hawea-Matt Evans-coached Ngatapa go into the game on the back of their first premier win of the season — 14-5 over Pirates a fortnight ago.

Controlling the game will be Heartland official Damien Macpherson in his first match since April 19 when he injured his right knee early in an interschool game between Gisborne Boys' High School abd St Paul's Collegiate.

On Oval 1, the Clint Pirihi-coached Enterprise Cars OBM take on a Kevin Hollis Glass Pirates side who, like HSOB, have yet to win a game.

Ruatoki beat Pirates 38-19 in the EBOP exchange last weekend but the Buccaneers showed some tremendous skill, such as fullback Epa Levecevevakalagi's magic try

“I expect Pirates to bring it as every other club does when they play us,” said Pirihi. “We'll need to maintain our structure. “We have a debutant tomorrow in ex-Gisborne Boys' High first 15 man Jacob Teneti, who will start for us at openside flanker.”

Pirates captain Bernard Nepe may play tomorrow at hooker — two or three jersey numbers lower than normal — but whether he be their rake or not, regardless of who is alongside of or behind him, he and whomever they are will come as hard as they can.