Clubs to decide Fijian player numbers

The response from clubs will dictate how many Fijian "imports" play their club rugby in the local region this coming season.
New Wairarapa-Bush coaches Graeme Cheetham and Lofty Stevenson have returned from watching the top six provincial sides in Fiji contesting their Colonial Cup competition and they were encouraged by the number of high-profile Fijian players interested in joining up with Wairarapa-Bush clubs for 2007.
Cheetham said he and Stevenson had spoken with club coaches before their trip to ascertain what type of players could be most useful to them and they had based their discussions in Fiji along those lines.
The most popular "wants" had been locks and outside backs with props and first-fives not far behind them.
"We basically asked clubs what they wanted and did our best to help them out," Cheetham said.
"We talked to a lot of players and now we'll be passing on the information we've got to clubs and it's over to them to do the follow-ups."
Cheetham said New Zealand's reputation as the major force in world rugby, plus the successes had by Wairarapa-Bush at NPC level over the past couple of seasons, were obviously key factors in the interest shown by the leading Fijian players in furthering their rugby experiences here.
"It's a plus situation for them and a plus situation for us, it's positive for everyone," he said.
Cheetham emphasised, however, that any overseas player, Fijian or not, playing their club rugby in Wairarapa-Bush this season would not necessarily be part of the representative squad as well.
"We've made it clear that to play for Wairarapa-Bush they need to prove they have the capabilities to do that, nothing has been guaranteed in that respect," he said.
Meanwhile, Cheetham and Stevenson were "very disappointed" at the turnout at a fitness training session they organised earlier this month.
Club coaches had been informed of the session with the idea of them sending players along but only 13 players had attended, and just two of them subsequently passed the fitness test.
"We did have a few apologies but overall the attendance was very disappointing", Cheetham said.
"We certainly expected a lot more."
Cheetham and Stevenson are now turning their attention to watching pre-season club games over the next few weeks with an eye to naming about 40 players for an official Wairarapa-Bush trial match to be played early in May.
It is the first time a trial game for the senior squad has been held for some seasons and Cheetham warned that players who did not participate without having a good excuse could find themselves on the outer for representative selection.
"We've got a tough season ahead of us and it's important the players recognise that and do everything they can to ensure they are ready for it , physically and mentally," he said.
Cheetham said the winning of the NPC third division title in 2005 and the NPC first division series last year only added to the magnitude of the task facing Wairarapa-Bush in 2007 as they would now be a "marked" team by opposing sides.
"The days when we could sneak up on teams and surprise them have gone, we are the top dogs and everybody will want to knock us off our perch,' he said.