Top lineup for clash against Manawatu

Wairarapa-Bush rugby coach Peter Russell aims to name as close to a full strength squad as he can for his team's non-championship match with Manawatu, to be played under lights at the Rugby Institute in Palmerston North on June 21.
Two first stringers who will be missing are lock Langi Peters, who will be back in Fiji where his wife has just had a baby and front rower Joe Harwood, who has work commitments.
But apart from them, those chosen will be first in line for places in the side to challenge Canterbury for the Ranfurly Shield at Jade Stadium on July 11.
With that in mind it can therefore can be taken for granted that the starting XV for the Manawatu game will be somewhat different from that which initially took the field against a Hawke's Bay XV on Monday, a game in which Wairarapa-Bush surrendered a 19-0 halftime lead when beaten 40-26.
Just five of the starting XV in that game ? backs Hamish McKenzie and Patrick Rimene and forwards Sylvanus Iro, Sam Henderson and Tomasi Kedarabuka ? could be considered near certainties for the Shield game, and for the NPC first division campaign which follows.
Strengthening the backline will be the return of the two midfielders who played such a key part in Wairarapa-Bush winning the NPC third division title last season, Simanu Simanu and Nathan Couch.
Simanu has been battling a knee injury over the past few weeks, but has had game time at club level with Eketahuna and should be ready for representative play by the time of the Palmerston North match.
Couch has just arrived back in Masterton after a stint in the United States and is expected to turn out for his Marist club this coming weekend.
Hopes were high that former Buller wing Junior Tongia would make his first appearance for Wairarapa-Bush in the Hawke's Bay game, but after scoring three tries for Tawa in Wellington club play on the Saturday he strained a hamstring and will need at least a week to recover from that. The chances are then that the Manawatu match will now mark his debut game in the Wairarapa-Bush jersey.
Contending for the other wing berth will be Marika Kau, Joji Tamani and Tom Harmon and after Harmon's impressive form there on Monday he could have the inside running. He was all bristling aggression on both attack and defence and showed a good turn of speed as well.
Fullback is a huge question mark now that Dutch international Bart Vigurrs is no longer available. He injected considerable sting into the Wairarapa-Bush attacking play last season and his absence in 2006 is a big minus, no question of that. Perhaps Vigurr's understudy from last season, Carterton's Glen Bunny, will be the best bet with others in consideration probably being Duncan Rutherford, Kingi Kaiwai and Lawrence Matthews.
In the forwards it is more a matter of who to leave out rather than who to select. With Harwood sidelined for the Manawatu match, Ross Barry will almost certainly be at hooker. The ever-consistent Dylan Higgison should have one propping berth with newcomer Brent Rudman maybe having the edge for the other. He had a strong game in the first of the non-championship matches against Wellington, and while not quite as prominent against Hawke's Bay was solid, if nothing else.
Young South African Bert Buckle is also well in the reckoning for a front row position, but queries remain over his workrate and one suspects he will need to dispel them before commanding a regular spot.
Kedarabuka was grand value at lock against both Wellington and Hawke's Bay, but who will partner him there against Manawatu, especially now that Fijian international Peters, who is still to hit top form this season, is out of the equation. Rumours are rife that former long-time Wairarapa-Bush rep Stu Smith could be returning to the fold, and were that the case he would be welcomed with open arms, but currently Marist's Corey Reid is probably the best bet. He is a useful jumper near the front of the lineout and is mobile about the paddock.
First choice loosies for the Manawatu game will be Iro and Henderson with the reliable latter looking to have the blindside flanker's berth to himself.
Iro has been on the openside flank for both the Wellington and Hawke's Bay games, but there is a school of thought he could be better value for Wairarapa-Bush at No.8. His surging runs make him one of the team's most potent attacking weapons and he could possibly use that skill to better effect from the back row.
That being the case, who then for openside flanker. If club form was given absolute priority one of the leading contenders would have be Masterton Red Star's Chris Senior, who has made a huge impression in a team which is struggling near the bottom of the competition table.
He does though lack the height and weight of modern day loose forwards on the rep scene, and whether that counts against him in the selection process remains to be seen.
If it does then other loosies who have turned out for Wairarapa-Bush already this season like Mike Spence, Steve Olds and Andrew Compain will be at the head of possibilities, along with Pioneer's Nathan Rolls who despite being a star act on the club, season after season, continues to be overlooked for higher honours. The feeling there seems to be that Rolls might struggle in the more structured environment of representative play but, without trying him, who really knows?