Togia set to return to Heartland fold

A regular member of the Meads Cup-winning Wairarapa-Bush rugby team of two seasons ago, Junior Togia, seems certain to return to the fold for the union's 2008 Heartland championship campaign.
Coach Kelvin Tantrum confirmed yesterday that Togia, who is part of the Tawa club side which currently leads Wellington's Hardham Cup competition, had attended training sessions over the past couple of weeks and was enthusiastic about rejoining the Wairarapa-Bush squad.
"We haven't got absolute confirmation yet but, yes, you can say the chances of Junior being part of our Heartland team are good," Tantrum said. "He knows the set up, he's trained well and he's keen so everything is looking positive."
The "importing" of Togia from the capital for the 2006 season proved to be an inspired choice by the then Wairarapa-Bush Peter Russell. He often used his pace and flair to telling effect on the wing and was a sound defender as well.
There is a possibility though that Tantrum may not confine Togia's appearances for Wairarapa-Bush to the wing berth. He believes he has the versatility to also do a decent job at centre or fullback and with depth not exactly being a strength in those areas he could possibly be tried there too.
A second "import" from the Wellington region for this year's Heartland programme could be young Upper Hutt lock James Measor although his availability will depend on how he recovers from a neck injury occurred in a club match just last weekend.
Measor's abilities are, of course, well-known to Tantrum's assistant in the coaching ranks this season, former Wairarapa-Bush skipper Mike Robinson, who now coaches the Upper Hutt side which sits fifth in Wellington's premier senior competition, the Jubilee Cup.
"He is a rangy sort of player with the height to be very useful in the lineouts and the mobility to get around the paddock," Tantrum said of Measor, who can also slot in at blindside flanker.
With one of the regular middle rowers from last season in Dan Griffin on the injured list and unlikely to play for the rest of the season, Wairarapa-Bush's locking stocks are seriously thin with Tomasi Kedrabuka being the only contender left with an already proven record at representative level.
Of the others playing their club rugby here the leading prospects to join Kedrabuka are probably Puketoi's Jared Bambry and Pioneer's Nathan Rolls although the latter is clearly better suited at flanker or No.8.
Tantrum and Robinson have just the two "warm up" games left to decide the final composition of their Heartland squad, the first of them against Poverty Bay at Masterton on August 9 and the second, a week later, also at Memorial Park, against Wellington B.
The Poverty Bay match, especially, should provide a realistic gauge on Wairarapa-Bush's prospects of again being among the front runners for the Meads Cup title-they were beaten semi-finalists last year-as they also play at Heartland level.
And, what's more, they should be flushed with confidence after a bold showing against Auckland in their Ranfurly Shield challenge on Tuesday. Auckland won that game 54-3, a winning margin well below what was expected. In fact, it has been the norm in recent times for Heartland teams to concede almost twice that many points in Shield games.
Tantrum was a keen observer of the Poverty Bay performance courtesy of television and was impressed by the competitiveness of their forwards and the solidness of their defence. "They looked very well organised and they are going to be a real handful for us too," he said.