Bush backline intrigues

The make-up of the backline will be the main talking point when the Wairarapa-Bush side to play Thames Valley at Memorial Park, Masterton, in the first of their 2011 Heartland championship rugby games on Saturday is named this week.
While it seems likely there will be few, if any, changes to the pack who initially took the field in the deserved 14-13 win over Poverty Bay in a non-championship fixture in Gisborne last weekend, coaches Mark Rutene and Steve Thompson are virtually certain to field a somewhat different-looking rearguard.
Not available for the Gisborne trip were utility back Trent Vatselias and experienced midfielders Sam Mitchell and Heemi Tupaea, but all will be in the reckoning for the Heartland opener.
The odds would seem to favour Mitchell and Tupaea being chosen at second-five and centre respectively, especially now that Michael Vuicikau has an injury hassle which has him doubtful anyway.
The Fijian flier was partnered with Tommy Harmon in the midfield against Poverty Bay and while their endeavour could never be questioned, there were some glitches, probably due more to a lack of combination than anything else.
Vatselias, an "import" from Wellington's Marist St Pat's club, can play at first-five, centre or fullback but the prospects are that in his Wairarapa-Bush debut at this level, he will start on the reserves bench.
It will be interesting, too, to see whether the East Coast duo of Matt O'Connor and Zeb Aporo retain the inside-back berths in the face of spirited challenges from Inia Katia and Tipene Haira.
On what was seen at Gisborne, you could toss a coin between O'Connor and Katia for the halfback role and know that whoever was given the No9 jersey would do a decent job.
It wasn't only the accuracy of their service which impressed there but their willingness to run the ball back at their opposition.
Katia has always shown a penchant for the unorthodox but for O'Connor, this was a part of his game seldom seen before. A couple of lightning first-half dabs could well have ended in tries had he not caught even his own teammates by surprise.
Aporo was typically sound at first-five against Poverty Bay and when he left the field to give Tipene Haira a run late in the game, the latter grabbed his chance to impress, slotting a penalty and then the crucial dropped goal which gave his side the lead for the first time in the match, and only a minute before the final whistle sounded.
A couple of the newcomers in Dan Porter and Greg Dennes started on the wings in Gisborne, with Nick Olson at fullback.
As it happened, however, Jesse McGilvary probably made the biggest impact in an attacking sense when he came off the reserves bench to replace Dennes on the wing. McGilvary chased hard, made two or three strong runs, and looks set to get a start on Saturday.
Don't discount the possibility of Dennes being part of the starting line-up, though. He looked comfortable when he moved to fullback in the second half, positioning himself well, was safe under the high ball and quick to seize any counter-attacking chance.
It may even be to Wairarapa-Bush's advantage to have him at fullback and nippy Olson on the wing.
The Wairarapa-Bush forwards made a huge impression in Gisborne with the intensity of their play in every department and the only possible change to the starting line-up there would be at lock where the reliable Andrew McLean is battling it out with Dan Griffin and Brandan Young.
The question for Rutene and Thompson to ponder is whether having a player of McLean's calibre in the reserves is too much of a waste to comprehend on a regular basis and, if the answer is yes, whether it should be Griffin or Young who is held back.
Whatever is decided, it's a nice problem to have.
Otherwise, you can anticipate Kurt Simmonds (player of the match against Poverty Bay), Campbell Lawrence and Brendon Walker again making up the front row and Johan Vliet, Rupeni Tamani and Joss Tua-Davidson the loose forwards.
Tua-Davidson was in his debut game as captain of Wairarapa-Bush in Gisborne and didn't take long to show the value of his "roll up the sleeves and lead by example" philosophy.
He was often at the head of the short passing rushes which became his team's most profitable form of attack.