Couch on the sofa

Experienced midfielder Nathan Couch may be missing when unbeaten Wairarapa-Bush takes on Mid-Canterbury in the last of their crucial Heartland championship pool A rugby matches at Ashburton this coming Saturday.
Couch was forced to leave the field with sore ribs at halftime during Wairarapa-Bush's nail-biting 19-18 win over North Otago three days ago and coach Peter Russell is unsure whether he will be fit enough to travel south.
Russell said Couch would be taking medical advice on the extent of his injury today and that if there were any concerns over his readiness for the Ashburton game he would very probably be rested.
Hardly a surprising decision considering that Wairarapa-Bush have already guaranteed themselves a place in the top six playoffs by winning all four of their pool A games to date.
"Obviously we would like to have Nathan in the side but it's even more important that he's fully recovered for the playoffs. We won't be risking him," Russell said.
If Couch is deemed unfit his place will be taken by Gladstone utility back Mike Shaw, who joined the action for the second half of the North Otago game and acquitted himself creditably.
Shaw doesn't have Couch's attacking flair but he impressed Russell with his soundness in his latest appearance.
"He (Shaw) tends to do the basics well and that's always a plus,' he said.
Russell revealed that a number of his squad were affected by a stomach bug leading into the North Otago match with front rowers Bert Buckle and Joe Harwood being two of the worst hit.
It was the illness which led to Buckle being replaced by Brett Rudman at prop 30 miniutes into the first half but captain Harwood managed to last the full distance.
"There were quite a few who picked up the virus but fortunately we managed to get by," Russell said.
The Wairarapa-Bush coach won't name his starting XV for the Ashburton game until later in the week but, Couch apart, he sees it as being very similar to that which initially took the field against North Otago.
An interesting feature of that game was the replacing early in the second half of in-form lock Tomasi Kedarabuka by Langi Peters and hard-working No.8 Mike Spence by Brodie Duffin but Russell said that was simply a reflection of the current depth of talent in the Wairarapa-Bush squad.
"No matter who we have in the reserves they are capable of adding something to the quality of play when they come on the paddock," he said. "We probably haven't had that luxury in the past?.it's one of the biggest assets we've got."
Having Peters replace Kedarabuka in the middle row rather than veteran Mike Robinson also speaks volumes for the latter who mightn't have the wide-ranging game of the Fijian but whose willingess to do the hard grind in the tighter phases of the forward game makes him a key member of the pack
The Ashburton match is crucial for both sides with an eye to the top six playoffs.
In Mid-Canterbury's case they will very probably need to win to actually get that far while Wairarapa-Bush need to be mindful of the fact that competition points from pool games are being carried over into the playoffs. Therefore the more points they can accumulate the brighter their hopes of reaching the semi-finals.
Russell is expecting Mid-Canterbury to come out all guns blazing and to take the game to Wairarapa-Bush, much in the same way as did North Otago on Saturday.
"It could be win or bust for them so obviously they are going to throw everything at us right from the word go," he said. "For us it's all about maintaining our structure and staying patient, of waiting for scoring chances to come and capitalising on them."