Flanker Kaleb Whakataka was one of the smallest on the field but had a huge work rate.
Ignore the 41-19 score in favour of the opposition ... there were more positives than negatives.
That was the message from Hawke's Bay Saracens rugby team manager Mike Smith after Saturday's loss to the Wanganui Heartland Championship team at Cooks Gardens.
His team, who had two training sessions last week
and were missing several key players who played for the Magpies on Thursday, took on a team which had lost 32-12 to Waikato in a Cambridge-hosted Ranfurly Shield challenge the previous week.
Wanganui led 19-0 after 14 minutes and the Saracens, who were playing the first of three warm-up games before the start of their Hurricanes Development comp, did well to battle back and tie the score at 19-all at halftime.
Flankers Kaleb Whakataka and George McPherson, the smallest players on the paddock, had huge work rates for Saracens.
