Coaches Danny Lee (left) and Craig Philpott's Magpies will relish dry fields. Photo / File
It's quite easy for the Hawke's Bay Magpies to slip on that proverbial banana skin in the next few days.
Everything suggests the Craig Philpott and Danny Lee-coached Magpies should make short work of North Harbour at Albany on Saturday night - despite Harbour's upset over Canterbury last night - with an eye on defending the Ranfurly Shield against Wellington in Napier four nights later.
For all intents and purposes, it is the business end of ITM Cup rugby but if the McLean Park faithful feel there's an air of frivolity hanging over the two games who can blame them.
North Harbour were last on the Championship table and are in a dead heat on seven points with the Bay of Plenty Steamers to stave off the dreaded wooden spoon. If the Steamers' backline continues to hum out of tune then North Harbour should fend off that indignity.
Ditto the Wellington Lions, who seem to be purring and meowing more like pussycats as they languish on the last rung of the Premiership standings.
The Log o' Wood challengers have only two bonus points from narrow losses after six win-less rounds.
Wellington coach Chris Boyd and his assistant, Richard Watt, must feel like they are in for a Labour Party witchhunt but they would only be human to visualise lifting the shield on Wednesday night to appease a fair whack of the fans and snap them out of what has been a winter of despondency.
Either way Lee seems unperturbed and simply content to live by that old adage of "preparing for one game at a time".
That is not to say the spectre of defending the shield isn't far off any thought processes.
"The shield just complicates things a little bit," Lee says.
For the Magpies the first priority is more a case of who not to put on the field.
"I'm not a big a fan of resting players," says the coach who has drawn nationwide attention with a Super Rugby calibre-crested backline that is second to none in the national provincial championship (NPC).
Any lack of continuity can impinge on the fluidity of a backline that halfback Chris Eaton and first five-eighth Ihaia West conduct so well.
On the flip side, the whole squad is itching to get on the park.
Lee and Philpott find a great sense of gratification from that despite knowing they will have to break the bad news to some, especially the few who are carrying niggly injuries.
The ones that probably stand out most are speed merchants Shannan Chase, the rookie, and fellow Havelock North winger Mikey Vuicakau who returns after a chest injury, although the Fijian was making all the right noises when Lee spoke to him yesterday.
"Mikey will undergo a contact test session tomorrow," Lee says.
Chase made a dream debut against the Otago Razorbacks but didn't find as much space and time against BOP winger Maretino Nemani in last Saturday's shield defence here.
The former Hastings Rugby and Sports player, who received a red card in the dying minutes for a tip tackle, tried to rub it in as he lunged to pat Chase's head after scoring a consolation try.
Fundamentally the Hawke's Bay coaching stable is comfortable in the knowledge that the backline boys have established a yardstick and police it to the letter of the law.
For Lee, the refreshing cocktail of youth and exuberance mingled with a twist of vitality from older heads such as Jason Shoemark is working wonders.
League convert Ryan Tongia brings another dimension but is a work in progress as he comes to terms with the nuances of a more structured rugby union.
"I'm proud of what they're achieving but there's a lot of game to play to get to the Premiership again," Lee says of the Magpies who were losing finalists in last year's Championship to the Tasman Makos, who are enjoying a sensational debut in the top-tier of the NPC.
But as dysfunctional as backs and forwards can be in carrying out their roles, Lee senses the unmistakable traction that must exist in any unholy union for it to prosper on the paddock.
"We're getting pretty good ball [from the forwards] for some go-forward from phase play so that opens up more room for the backs than normal."
It's no disrespect to the Steve Jackson-coached North Harbour but the 29-24 aberration against a predominantly second-string Canterbury last night will not have made Philpott and Lee's work any easier.
And yes, it's hard to imagine anyone other than Canterbury winning the Premiership.