Bush loss forces change

Wairarapa-Bush head coach Mark Rutene was pulling no punches after his team's 53-26 defeat by Thames Valley in their Heartland rugby championship opener at Memorial Park, Masterton, on Saturday.
Rutene "couldn't believe" the lack of intensity shown by his side during a first half which ended with them 28-0 behind and staring a defeat of mammoth proportions in the face. It was exactly the opposite of what had occurred in the non-championship fixture with Poverty Bay in Gisborne seven days previously. There the aggressive intent was the feature of a Wairarapa-Bush effort which had produced a 14-13 victory. And Rutene freely admits he, as much as anyone, was caught by surprise at the sudden change in attitude.
"Mentally we just weren't there, we were standing back and allowing them to dictate.They [Thames Valley] were ripping ball off us and we kept missing tackles ... it was pretty ordinary stuff.'
Rutene was impressed though with the manner in which Thames Valley capitalised on Wairarapa-Bush's inadequacies. "They weren't flashy, they just did the simple things well. It was a good lesson on what can be achieved when the mind is on the job.".
The fact Wairarapa-Bush actually outscored Thames Valley by a solitary point in the second half did draw qualified praise from Rutene, who was pleased with the positive input from many of those coming off the reserves bench. '
At the same time, however, Rutene also appreciates that the Thames Valley effort did drop a notch or two, as often happens when a side has a big halftime advantage. "It was a good fightback but it doesn't hide the fact we never got ourselves into a winning position ... it was too late for that."
That there will be changes to the Wairarapa-Bush starting line-up for the next of their Heartland matches against Mid Canterbury in Methven this coming Saturday is practically guaranteed but Rutene was loath to predict just how many would be involved.
He and assistant coach Steve Thompson would take the next couple of days to mull things over before deciding which way they would go.
From what was seen in the Thames Valley match, though, you'd have to think that the significant contributions made by prop Wilbur Davies and flanker James Goodger when they entered the fray could have been enough to earn them a start up front. And it would be no surprise if Jake Tipene, who has missed the first two games because of club commitments with Bush Sports in the Manawatu, was brought in at hooker. There are a number of question marks hanging over the backs, such as whether Inia Katia or Matt O'Connor should start at halfback, whether Tommy Harmon and/or Heemi Tupaea should be tried in midfield, whether Greg Dennes should get a run on the wing and whether Trent Vatselias will best serve the side at fullback or first-five.