Rugby
Greytown halfback Joseph Sio is the main beneficiary of a raft of injuries and unavailabilities which have depleted the Wairarapa-Bush backline for their Jeremy David Memorial Cup representative rugby match with Poverty Bay at Gisborne tomorrow.
Sio, whose 30m burst for a brilliant solo try 15 minutes into the first half was the individual highlight of Greytown's 47-15 hammering of Eketahuna in the Tui Cup premier division final last week, was not named in the original 23 but will start in the No 9 jersey with the two other halfbacks in the squad, Zeb Aporo (East Coast) and Inia Katia (Gladstone) being at first-five and wing respectively.
These late changes have been caused by Greytown first-five Glen Walters and Martinborough wing Nathan Hunt being sidelined by injury and midfielder Tapaga Isaac having work commitments but they should not greatly detract from the overall effort as Sio has been in fine form all season and Aporo and Katia have filled their intended roles numerous times in the past.
"Obviously it would have been nice to have everybody on deck but when you have the versatility that we have in our backline there's no excuse for not being able to cope," Wairarapa-Bush head coach Mark Rutene said yesterday.
Pairing in midfield in Gisborne will be Byron Karaitiana (East Coast) and Titapu Pairama-Lewington, an "import from the Old Boys University club who debuted in the Heartland championship last season, and the elusive Nick Olson will be at fullback.
The most interesting selection in the Wairarapa-Bush pack is that of Nathan Iro (Greytown) at No8. He was player of the game in the Tui Cup final when he started at lock but his aggressive running makes him even better suited in the back row where his main challenger for a starting spot was another in-form player in Carterton's Johnnie McFadzean.
Captain Johan Van Vliet (Eketahuna) and James Gooder (Marist) give Wairarapa-Bush mobility and skill on the flanks and there is a solid look about their front row of Campbell Lawrence (Eketahuna), Richard Puddy (Gladstone) and Finbarr Kerr-Newell (Old Boys University).
The one question mark in the Wairarapa-Bush forwards comes at lock where Lachie McFadzean (Carterton) and Clarke Butcher (Bush Sports) will start and Wiremu Grace (Eketahuna) will come off the bench.
All three have the height and athleticism to shine at lineout time but whether they have the "grunt" to make the necessary impact in general play is still open to debate.
Inevitably they will be compared with Andrew McLean, the Gladstone lock who has been such a wonderful servant for Wairarapa-Bush but who is sitting out the 2013 rep season through injury. His runs have made McLean something of a household name and of all players missing from last season's Heartland team he is the most difficult to replace.