Rugby hopefuls' last chance

The sub-union rugby match between Bush and Wairarapa at Memorial Park in Masterton on the Monday of Queen's Birthday Weekend has been given added importance.
Not only will it be a feature of the WBRFU's 125th birthday celebrations, but it will be the last chance for players aiming to make this year's Wairarapa-Bush Heartland championship line-up to impress new head coach Mark Rutene and his assistant, Steve Thompson, who intend to announce their squad the following day.
Rutene said the decision to name the Heartland team some weeks earlier than has usually been the case was prompted by the championship programme kicking off on August 6 and finishing on October 8, as against August 28 and October 30 last year, a time frame organised by the NZRFU to avoid clashes with the World Cup.
Unfortunately for Rutene and Thompson, the situation means they will need to have at least a handful of training sessions during the club season, something they would normally look to avoid.
"The ideal would be to not interfere with club rugby at all but that's not really an option this year," Rutene said. "We have to get going quicker and I guess everybody is in the same boat."
To ease the burden on clubs, however, Rutene and Thompson intend to limit the amount of physical work done at the early sessions and focus more on developing game plans.
Also, players involved in the semifinals and finals of the club competitions won't have to attend rep training during those weeks.
Wairarapa-Bush will play "friendlies" against Horowhenua-Kapiti and Poverty Bay before they kick off their 2011 Heartland campaign with a match against Thames Valley at Memorial Park on August 6.
Other qualifying round games will be against Mid-Canterbury at Methven on August 13, Buller at Masterton on August 20, North Otago at Oamaru on August 27, East Coast at Ruatoria on September 3, Poverty Bay at Carterton on September 10, Horowhenua-Kapiti at Carterton on September 17 and Wanganui at Wanganui on September 24.
Under the new competition format for the Heartland championship the top four teams at the end of the qualifying series will make up the semifinalists for the premier section, the Meads Cup, and the next four likewise for the Lochore Cup.
Those semifinals will be played on October 1 with the two finals on October 8.