CRUNCH TIME: James Goodger clashes heads with West Coast No 8 Rowan O'Gorman.PHOTOS/CHRIS KILFORD
CRUNCH TIME: James Goodger clashes heads with West Coast No 8 Rowan O'Gorman.PHOTOS/CHRIS KILFORD
It was just the type of good news Wairarapa-Bush needed to boost their confidence leading into their Heartland rugby championship Meads Cup semifinal match with North Otago at Oamaru on Saturday.
Gun flanker James Goodger has been given the green light to return to the action after being sidelined sincethe game with West Coast at Memorial Park on August 31.
In a sickening clash of heads with opposition No 8 Rowan O'Gorman as the two of them competed for ball after a kickoff, Goodger was left with, among other less serious facial injuries, a broken cheekbone which seemed likely to rule him out of all rugby for the remainder of the 2014 season. However, his recovery has been quicker than expected and he has been given the required medical clearance to resume this weekend.
Aiding Goodger's chances of being included in the starting line-up for the Oamaru match is that while he has kept away from physical contact since his injury he has continued to train and therefore his fitness levels have not been adversely affected.
Head coach Mark Rutene and his assistant Paddy Gough had not confirmed their side at the time these notes were penned but Rutene made no secret of his delight at having a player of Goodger's calibre to call on. "It's great to have him back in the mix, he was clearly one of our outstanding players before the injury and it does give us extra options."
If, as expected, Goodger is chosen to start in his usual role of blindside flanker, the probability is that the loose forward trio will also include skipper Johan Van Vliet on the openside flank and Nathan Iro at No 8.
Van Vliet will also be returning after missing the Thames Valley match with an ankle sprain while Iro has held his place throughout the Heartland campaign. He has probably not made the expected impression as a rampaging ball runner in his last couple of appearances and consequently could be under pressure from the consistent Johnie McFadzean. The odds are, however, that Rutene and Gough will stay with Iro in the hope he regularly asks questions of the North Otago defence around the fringes of the scrums and mauls.
Further good news for Wairarapa-Bush came at Tuesday's training session when prop Campbell Lawrence appeared to have recovered sufficiently enough from his calf strain to be available for the North Otago match as well. If that is the case Rutene and Gough could be tempted to start with Lawrence and have Jonathan Fuimaono enter the fray early in the second half. That plan has worked well in the past with Fuimaono making a decent impact with his powerful running, especially in broken play situations.
