Town-versus-Country game much anticipated

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Town against Country is a rugby match-up older than the trees on the hills, and the players are raring to go.

The Civil Project Solutions game acts as a final chance to impress Poverty Bay selectors and earn a spot in the upcoming Heartland fixtures.

It's an uphill slog for the Gisborne Herald Town team; they are drawn from High School Old Boys, OBM and Pirates, who were fourth, fifth and sixth in the regular-season competition this year.

PGG Wrightson Country, on the other hand, are made up of the top three teams from the premier grade.

Notable exceptions are Andrew Tauatevalu and Adrian Wyrill, who have been included in the town side despite playing for country teams this year. Because they played for the town team last year, selectors decided they would not be eligible for the country team.

It's a quick turn-around for the players who were in the premier-grade final last week. They missed their team's first training session because of their finals preparation.

No one has had much time for familiarisation, with the first training session held last Thursday.

The announced squads are enormous, with over 30 players in each team.

Poverty Bay Heartland head coach and Town team coach Tom Cairns said it was too difficult to shorten the lists any further. They also expect some players to have injuries or become unavailable.

“So many players deserve the opportunity to play at a higher level after outstanding efforts for their clubs,” he said in a statement.

Because of the large numbers and the game being a trial for representative rugby, the game will be played as three 30-minute thirds with each player expected to play at least one third.

It's going to be a tough job for selectors to whittle down the teams into a Poverty Bay squad with so many players in form.

This weekend may end up being the make or break for some of the positions where it's unclear who will get the call-up to wear the red jersey.

An interesting match-up to watch will be at hooker, where the region has a wealth of experience.

Geoff Pari, Ihaia Kerr and Shayde Skudder all played well for their club and will be on the country team, while the town team also have a strong contingent in the No.2 jersey.

In the backs, the first five-eighth position will be hotly contested, with Ricardo Patricio, Kelvin Smith, Austin Brown, Baxter Mackay and Jacob Leaf all in the chase.

No fans will be allowed to watch the game live this week, but family members of the players have been permitted to attend.

The game will be livestreamed again by Turanga FM, who have provided broadcasts for games over the past three weeks.

With live commentary and multiple camera angles, fans don't have to miss any of the action.