Tantrum accepts underdog tag in Heartland opener

Wairarapa-Bush rugby coach Kelvin Tantrum accepts his side will have the underdog tag going into their opening match of the 2009 Heartland rugby championship against West Coast in Greymouth this coming Saturday.
That despite what he called a "much improved" effort in their 26-21 win over Horowhenua-Kapiti in the last of their lead-up games just three days ago.
And it's a fair assessment too when you consider West Coast made it through to the semi-finals of the premier section, the Meads Cup, last year where they were beaten by eventual title winners Wanganui, who incidentally will be Wairarapa Bush's second opponent in pool play this time round.
More than that, West Coast will also have taken confidence from their recent 32-30 win over near neighbours Marlborough, a team to whom they have often lost by big margins in the past.
"Anybody who thinks it's just a matter of us going down there and kicking butt is way off beam," Tantrum said. "It's a big ask ... very big."
At the same time, however, Tantrum was encouraged at several aspects of his team's victory over Horowhenua-Kapiti, not the least of which was the aggressive running and penetration of a backline which had shown all too little of those commodities in previous lead-up games.
"We wanted the backs to step up and make a positive statement and I think they did that," he said.
"They looked a lot sharper and more decisive, it was pretty good stuff."
The acquisition of Norths utility back Siaosi Anamani from Wellington was a huge plus for Wairarapa-Bush.
He played at centre and impressed, both with his forceful running and his hard-nosed defence.
Also making a decent impact on attack was a second of the "imports" in Junior Togia whose nifty footwork and ability to change direction at pace meant he was seldom grounded by the first tackle. Wing is very obviously the position which suits his talents best.
The major beneficiary of a strong display from the Wairarapa-Bush forwards against Horowhenua-Kapiti was lock Corey Reid, who was again promoted to the A squad because of the unavailability of other middle rowers (Tomasi Kedrabuka and Brandon Young) and played well enough to win a permanent spot in the Heartland squad.
"He was physical in the clean out, useful in the lineouts and mobile about the paddock, "Tantrum said of Reid.
"Quite honestly we couldn't leave him out, could we?"
The Wairarapa-Bush starting line-up against West Coast will probably be very similar to that against Horowhenua-Kapiti although Kedrabuka will probably come into the reckoning for one of the locking berths and "origin player" Ben Pereira likewise at hooker.
There could also be a toss up on the right wing between Tommy Harmon, Heemi Taupaea and Jordan Watene.