Make or break for Bush’s Cup hopes

Keeping their Meads Cup semi-final hopes alive will be the major priority for Wairarapa-Bush in their Heartland championship match with South Canterbury in Timaru tomorrow.
Anything less than a win will kiss their chances of a top four spot goodbye, and it would be a major assist were they able to pick up a bonus point for scoring four or more tries as well.
The form book says the prospects of Wairarapa-Bush achieving both targets is better than average .South Canterbury sit below them on the points table and are coming off the back of a 59-14 thumping by a Wanganui team Wairarapa-Bush actually beat earlier in the season.
Against that, however, is that South Canterbury will be intent on producing a much improved performance in what will be their last home game of the 2009 season.Wounded beasts are dangerous and they are certainly in that category.
Another worry for Wairarapa-Bush has been a trend of losing Heartland games by narrow margins.Three times this season they have been beaten by three points or less, including the last minute one-point loss to Poverty Bay in the first of their Meads Cup playoff games just last weekend. Any thoughts of that happening again would be too much to bear.
Wairarapa-Bush coach Kelvin Tantrum is confident their propensity for close defeats won't have any adeverse effect on the way Wairarapa-Bush approaches tomorrow's game but he also understands South Canterbury will be primed for something special.
" It's going to be one hell of a battle, they will be flat out to give their supporters something positive to remember," Tantrum said. "Past results will mean nothing, they'll want this one big time.".
Wisely Tantrum sees the Wairarapa-Bush game plan being little, if any, different to what they have utilised through their Heartland programme.They have been at their best when the focus is on controlling the forward battle and having big kicking first-five Byron Karaitiana ensuring territorial dominance as well.
The consistency of the forwards has been a particular strength for Wairarapa-Bush all season and while South Canterbury's pack do have some size about them and are very useful in the set pieces there is good reason to expect Wairarapa-Bush to outshine them in the ball-winning departments.
The most interesting selection in the Wairarapa-Bush pack is undoubtedly that of Richard Puddy at hooker ahead of in-form "origin player" Ben Pereira. The latter missed training this week because of a work commitment and coach Tantrum has decided to have him on the bench and start with the always hard working Puddy.
Bracketed in the No.8 position are Duncan Law and Nathan Rolls.Law missed the Poverty Bay match because of a recurrence of a hamstring strain but he ran well at training on Tuesday and will start providing he came through last night's training session without mishap.
The Wairarapa-Bush backline will be exactly the same as that it was in Gisborne with wing Junior Togia recovering well enough from a wrist injury to retain his place in the side.
The Wairarapa-Bush team is: Nick Olson; Junior Togia, Heemi Tupaea, Sam Mitchell, Tommy Harmon; Byron Karaitiana; Nick Risdon; Duncan Laws or Nathan Rolls; Chris Senior, Andrew McLean, Tomasi Kedrabuka, Joss Tua-Davidson; Jared Brock, Richard Puddy, Kurt Simmonds.Reserves: Api Matenga, Nathan Couch, Kieiran Te Whare, Ben Pereira, Brett Rudman, Corey Reid, Rolls or Law.