A chance to repeat history

Memories of 1981 will come flooding back when Wairarapa-Bush fronts up to Mid-Canterbury in an NPC third division rugby match at Memorial Park, Masterton tomorrow.
It was 24 years ago when in the space of one week Wairarapa-Bush produced a performance of fairytale proportions.
In that brief period the Brian Lochore-coached side won the North Island second division title, the national second division title and promotion to the national first division competition for the following season.
Many members of that now famous Wairarapa-Bush squad are likely to be at Memorial Park tomorrow to watch the current side attempt a similar three-game winning streak which, if successfully completed, will see them crowned as third division champions for 2005.
A loss to Mid Canterbury would, of course, not be the end of Wairarapa-Bush's championship aspirations but it could make attaining that objective a lot more difficult.
Depending on other results defeat might see Wairarapa-Bush plummet from first on the competition table going into this weekend's last round of preliminary games to third behind Horowhenua-Kapiti and Buller.
Which would mean the forfeiture of the important home advantage for the semi-finals the following weekend and, if safely through that,they would very probably be on foreign territory for the October 15 grand final as well.
Considering all that it is obvious to see why coach Peter Russell says Wairarapa-Bush are treating tomorrow's game as their most important of the season thus far with victory being the only acceptable result.
"The buzz words amongst the players are three home games and that's where the focus lies," he said. "It all starts this weekend. We don't want to drop this one."
Russell is right when he warns that Mid-Canterbury have the potential to provide much sterner opposition than their fifth placing on the points table would suggest.
When the current third division season kicked off they were widely touted as one of the favourites amd while their results have been largely disappointing they did enough against two of the guaranteed semi-finalists, King Country and Horowhenua-Kapiti, to suggest that if Wairarapa-Bush have an off day they could be in trouble.
It will be interesting to see what tactics Mid-Canterbury employ. Will they do what West Coast did last weekend and attempt to batter the Wairarapa-Bush pack into submission or will they take an "everything to gain and nothing to lose" approach by spreading the ball at every opportunity.
Taking a line through Mid-Canterbury teams of the recent past the latter attitude would seem more likely to be the case and, with that in mind, the tightness of the Wairarapa-Bush defence could be a key component in the end result.
In their last home game, against Thames Valley, the tackling wasn't always as sure it might have been and you can wager Russell will be stressing the importance of making the first tackles count on this occasion.
Loose forwards Daimon Neal, Sam Henderson and Sylvanus Iro will have a vital role to play in that part of the game. All three are assertive defenders who have become expert at turning over ball in the tackle situation and you get the feeling that if Wairarapa-Bush are to dominate tomorrow, both on the scoreboard and on the field of play, their combination will have a big say in it.
Henderson is, in fact, one of the unsung heroes in the Wairarapa-Bush pack.He doesn't have the acceleration of Neal or the robustness or Iro but he is a player who is invariably in the right place at the right time and who goes about his work in a totally constructive but unobtrusive manner.
In the same mould as Henderson is prop Dylan Higgison who game after game turns in the same honest performance, grafting away in the rucks and mauls and being the cornerstone of what has been a pretty efficient scrummaging unit.
Partnering Higgison in the front row tomorrow will be the highly promising Rob Foreman at hooker but just who will start in the other propping berth won't be decided until match morning with the strong running Joe Harwood the number one contender, but only if some injury niggles have been overcome by then. If he is rested then either Ashley Wells or Logan Ili will make the starting XV.
The Wairarapa-Bush backs have been so impressive this season that their reputation is now preceding them to the point where every time you have a pre-match interview with an opposition coach they emphasise the importance of shutting them down., especially dangerous midfielders Nathan Couch and Simanu Simanu.
Mid-Canterbury are sure to be no different in that respect but such is the range of their attacking skills it's hard to imagine Couch and Simanu not cutting loose on a regular basis again.
And even if they are kept in check to a large degree then Wairarapa-Bush can look to the pace of wingers Marika Kau and Esava Teko and the counter attacking brilliance of fullback Bart Viguurs to provide that much needed spark in their attacking play.
For Viguurs tomorrow's game will be a chance to consolidate his position in the Wairarapa-Bush side for the semis, and hopefully the final as well.He missed last weekend's West Coast match through injury and replacement Glen Bunny did so well from all accounts that, well as he has played himself, Viguurs is now facing a serious challenge for a starting berth in the side.