There has been a mix of good and bad news for Wairarapa-Bush rugby head coach Mark Rutene as he prepares to name his first extended training squad for the 2013 season.
The good news is one of the big success stories from the past two Heartland championship campaigns, flankerJohan van Vliet, will be on deck again after starting this season playing his club rugby in Manawatu.
Rutene reported yesterday that Van Vliet was in the process of transferring back to the Eketahuna club and was keen to be part of the Heartland squad.
That a player of Van Vliet's calibre will be an automatic choice for Wairarapa-Bush is undeniable and, more than that, he would have to be a leading chance to take over the captaincy now that last season's skipper, prop Kurt Simmonds, has confirmed complications with a broken arm that will likely see him miss the whole of this season.
The loss of Simmonds, who was arguably the best of the Wairarapa-Bush players last season, heads the bad news list for Rutene and not far behind is the ankle injury suffered by ultra-reliable lock Andrew McLean. It is also thought that his 2013 season could already be at an end.
There is no surety either that prolific first-five Glen Walters will again be one of the "imports" in the Wairarapa-Bush line-up.
His goal-kicking made him something of a legend last season but it also attracted attention from scouts in Wellington where he plays his club rugby. It would therefore be no surprise should he be included in one of their provincial sides.
If Walters had a challenger as last season's Heartland backline star it would have been hard-running centre Jesse McGilvary but he is now in Australia and will almost certainly be out of the reckoning in 2013.
Hopes Wairarapa-Bush would have an early-season fixture against Horowhenua-Kapiti at Westpac Stadium, as they did last year, have been dashed but they will play the touring United States Universities team at Masterton on June 19 and have another warm-up game against perennial Heartland favourites - and last year's Meads Cup beaten finalists - Wanganui in Wanganui on July 21.
Rutene and assistant coach Paddy Gough are planning to name an extended training squad of 28 to 30 players by the end of this week.
