Win or lose

KEY PLAYER: YMP loose forward Jesse Kapene takes the ball to the defensive line against OBM in Round 1. YMP won the game 29-19. Picture by Paul Rickard

Speed and strength — OBM coach Trevor Crosby has no doubt about what YMP will bring to their showdown at MoreFM Rugby Park tomorrow.

“They play fast and physical and they’ve got some awesome backs,” he said.

“Both teams want to go straight through to the final.”

Top qualifiers Enterprise Cars OBM will play against a YMP side who are second on the Poverty Bay premier club rugby points table and who could be dangerous in broken play or if combinations gel.

The two sides have an extra life in the playoffs — lose tomorrow and they have another chance next week to make the final.

Earthwork Solutions High School Old Boys and GT Shearing Waikohu have a knockout semifinal tomorrow — lose and their season is done.

OBM are strong across the park and have been a model of consistency.

YMP coach Steve Smith said OBM players supported each other well.

“They look fit,” he said.

“Their strength is their forward pack.

“Our forward pack will have to operate really well.”

Both coaches are keeping an eye on the weather — rain has softened the ground and showers are forecast for tomorrow — but Smith is wary of asking his players to adopt a conservative mindset.

“I don’t make them play robotic rugby.”

Combative YMP loose forward Jesse Kapene, who came off the bench last week after returning from a serious injury, is expected to start tomorrow.

Smith said he was approaching the match as if it were a final.

He expected OBM to rush up on defence.

YMP went through the first round of the regular season unbeaten and then they struck an OBM side on top of their game. OBM have looked the team to beat ever since.

“We learned from that; we didn’t play well,” Smith said.

“They shut us down with great defence.”

YMP have also had their season disrupted by an off-the-field incident that resulted in five players copping suspensions.

However, that’s behind them and the semifinals are ahead.

“We want to play the way we started out this season,” Smith said.

Both OBM and YMP have depth in their squads.

Beaten finalists last year, YMP had also learned from that experience, Smith said, and he expected the tempo to go up a cog in the playoffs.

“It’s exciting — 1 v 2.

“This is what we have trained for all year.”

Crosby said, given their results this year, his side deserved their safety net — a slip-up now would not end their season.

But they’re keen on the direct route to the final.

“If we have opportunities, we need to nail them.”

YMP are the team most likely to score a long-range try and Crosby is mindful of their threats out wide.

“We will have to play smarter and harder and be positive,” he said.

Prop Joe Mason will be away tomorrow but OBM are otherwise near full strength.

HSOB coach Scott Leighton said it would not be hard to motivate his players for their do-or-die clash with Waikohu.

“If we get our preparation right, and our mindset right on the day, we have a good chance of progressing,” he said.

HSOB were too good for Waikohu in Round 1 but Waikohu turned the tables in a close game when the two teams met again.

Waikohu, the 2018 champions, took a while to find their groove this year, but have looked the part in some of their recent matches.

Both coaches said their teams had trained well this week and were excited about the occasion.

Waikohu coach Jason Tuapawa said his forwards would need to perform and the players had to be in sync as a team.

“I believe we can do it,” he said.

“It’s going to come down to who wants it the most.”

Waikohu play HSOB at 1pm and YMP play OBM at 3pm. Both games are at Rugby Park.

The playoffs in the Senior 1 grade start next week.