Capital imports join rep campaign

Two players who were involved in the grand final of Wellington's
premier inter-cub rugby competition, the Jubilee Cup, were
yesterday  drafted into the Wairarapa-Bush squad for the
team's forthcoming Heartland championship campaign.
Poneke first-five Jeremy Te Huia and Norths loose forward
Mana Fairamo join Tawa winger Junior Togia as the three ``loan
players'' in the 26-strong Wairarapa-Bush line-up.
Te Huia has already tasted success in the Meads Cup section
of the Heartland championship with North Otago, and according
to Wairarapa-Bush coach Kelvin Tantrum, can fill either the first-
five or second-five roles.
Fairamo too is a versatile player. A powerful ball carrier
who weighs in at around 110kg, he usually plays for Norths at No8
but is also experienced at both openside and blindside flank.
Togia, of course, has been a regular in the Wairarapa-Bush
squad for the past couple of seasons and was initially selected
to take the field against Poverty Bay on Saturday but a slight
hamstring strain saw him given the water-carrying duties instead.
Tantrum said this year's Heartland squad was ``very
difficult'' to select with the management team having lengthy
discussions after the Poverty Bay game as to who would make the
final cut.
``There are some players who can consider themselves very
unlucky to have missed out but that's how strong the competition
was for places this year,'' he said.
Perhaps the unluckiest of all was Puketoi loose forward Hamish
Walker who performed outstandingly on the flank against
Poverty Bay after making a huge impression at No8 during the club
season. He has lost out to Eketahuna's Rupeni Temani, who
has been sidelined in recent weeks through injury but who was
regarded by Tantrum as perhaps one of the best of the openside
flankers on the club scene.
Captaining Wairarapa-Bush in 2010 will be Carterton hooker Joe
Harwood who missed last season's Heartland programme through
being in Australia.
The full Heartland squad is:
Backs: Nick Olson (East Coast), Jeseva Naivalu
(Gladstone), Junior Togia (Tawa), Jesse McGilvary (East
Coast), Tommy Harmon (Carterton), Heemi Tupaea
(Masterton Red Star), Sam Mitchell (East Coast),
Jeremy Te Huia (Poneke), Byron Karaitiana (Masterton
Red Star), James Bruce (Martinborough), Api Matenga
(Marist).
Forwards: Kurt Simmonds (Gladstone), Jared Brock
(Puketoi), Dylan Higgison (Carterton), Joe Harwood
(Carterton) captain, Richard Puddy (Gladstone), Andrew
McLean (Gladstone), Daniel Griffin (Eketahuna), Tomasi
Kedrabuka (Carterton), Brandan Young (Eketahuna),
John McFadzean (Carterton), Joss Tua-Davidson
(Eketahuna), Tommy Sargent (Greytown), Rupeni
Temani (Eketahuna), Duncan Law (Puketoi), Mana
Fairamo (Norths).