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Home / New Zealand

Big bunch of points there for the taking!

Wairarapa Times-Age
25 Aug, 2006 05:00 AM5 mins to read

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The maximum five points for a win and four or more tries is an absolute must for Wairarapa-Bush in their Heartland championship rugby match with West Coast at Memorial Park, Masterton tomorrow.
Do that, and after their 31-13 defeat of Buller last weekend, they are guaranteed to at least be sharing
the lead in their pool and well on their way to claiming a place amongst the six teams which will play off for the major trophy, the Meads Cup, later in the season.
Conversely, however, a loss would see them precariously placed as the form book suggests their last three pool games, against North Otago, East Coast and Mid-Canterbury, will be considerably tougher assignments than the first two.
Wairarapa-Bush coach Peter Russell has left no stone unturned to ensure complacency has no part to play in his team's effort tomorrow.
Only too well aware that West Coast claimed an upset victory over his team two seasons ago, and that their 67-3 thumping at the hands of North Otago last weekend will have them desperate to restore pride in their own camp, Russell worked his team hard at Tuesday's training session and was delighted with their response.
"It was pretty brutal stuff physically and they were looking for more at the end of it," he said. "You couldn't fault their enthusiasm, that's for sure."
Russell has also been accentuating to his players the disconcerting aspects of the Buller match rather than concentrating on the many pluses in their four try to one romp.
He wasn't happy with the lack of communication shown at scrum time in the first 20 minutes, nor the tendancy of some forwards to stand back and watch when the opposition pack drove away from the rucks and mauls.
And then there were the 50-50 passes by the backs which perhaps cost his side two more tries, and also their taking of wrong options late in the game, again with the tryline beckoning.
Russell isn't denigrating West Coast when he says that tomorrow's game provides Wairarapa-Bush with the opportunity to "get things right" before they strike the more favoured teams in their pool.
The key word for him then is "structure," with the aim in simple terms being to have Wairarapa-Bush utilise the pace and flair of their outside backs while still showing discipline and control.
Russell is anticipating West Coast taking a line through Buller's effort and having a decent crack at dominating the forward exchanges, especially the set pieces of scrum and lineout.
Captain and hooker Joe Harwood is the only one of the front row left from last weekend in tomorrow's starting line-up.
Russell says the selection of Brent Rudman and Brendan Walker as props isn't a form issue, but there is no question that their chances of becoming regular starters this season will be boosted if the platform at scrum time is more solid than it was seven days previously.
The Buller match was a test of Harwood's captaincy skills in that Wairarapa-Bush were on the receiving end of numerous dubious refereeing decisions and he came through with flying colours,maintaining his cool despite his obvious frustrations.
The Wairarapa-Bush lineout does revolve to a great extent around the considerable skills of Tomasi Kedarabuka, and it would be comforting to see other options being successfully used tomorrow, simply because the better sides will be already discussing tactics aimed at lessening his influence there.
They won't find that easy because Kedarabuka is such a fierce competitor, but all the same it would be wise for Wairarapa-Bush to have a plan B in that department.
Russell will be wanting too greater accuracy from his forwards, especially the loosies, in broken play.
The overall mobility of the pack is a huge asset but they still need to work as a unit to make the most of it. For instance there were occasions in the Buller match when possession was turned over because the ball carrier became isolated from his supports and that needs to be rectified.
It would be wrong though for the Wairarapa-Bush forwards to adopt a "safety first" approach because of the hammering they took from the referee last weekend for what he saw as misdemeanours in the rucks and mauls and in the tackled ball situation.
Those are areas of the game which in normal circumstances can be a prime launching pad for attacks, especially when you have forwards with the running skills of Kedarabuka, Harwood, Robinson, Henderson , Spence and Iro to make the initial thrust.And, in any case, it's difficult to imagine tomorrow's referee, Southlander Shane McDermott, being so harsh on them.
It will be important too that the Wairarapa-Bush backs have variation in their play, as simply relying on the pace of wingers Junior Togia and Francis Seumanutata, or the brute strength of midfielders Simanu Simanu and Nathan Couch to open up opposition defences might work against the Bullers and West Coasts, but very probably not against the North Otagos.
The onus will therefore be on inside backs James Bruce, and Hamish McKenzie (who are sure to share the halfback duties) and Patrick Rimene to switch the direction of play in a manner which keeps West Coast guessing.
Having such gifted attackers outside them means that any surprise element they can create has the potential to be points on the board.
Four other Wairarapa-Bush representative sides will also be in action at memorial Park tomorrow.
The senior B's will play Wellington Maori under-23s at 1pm, the under-18s play Manawatu, also at 1pm, while at 11.30am the Wairarapa-Bush under-15s will look to prove age is no barrier to success when they take on the Wairarapa-Bush under 16's.
A veritable feast of rugby for local fans then, capped off by what should be a comprehensive victory for the union's premier side.

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