Wairarapa bulk-up for Kapiti clash

Changes made to the Wairarapa-Bush rugby side to play Horowhenua-Kapiti in an NPC third division rugby match at Memorial Park, Masterton on Saturday have been prompted by a desire to have more bulk and ruggedness in their pack.
Selector-coach Peter Russell considers Horowhenua-Kapiti will offer a greater physical test up front than did Buller last weekend and is keen to ensure that Wairarapa-Bush is up to the challenge.
To that end he has replaced Logan Ili at prop with South African 20-year-old Ashley Wells, moved skipper Mike Robinson from flank to lock in place of Corey Reid and chosen Sam Henderson to fill the vacancy left by Robinson in the side row.
Russell said he was impressed by the impact made by both Wells and Henderson when they came off the reserve bench against Buller in a match which saw Wairarapa-Bush surprisingly beaten 29-24.
"They definitely added some spark to the forward effort there and they deserve the chance to be part of the starting line-up," he said.
For Wells it will be his first start for Wairarapa-Bush since joining up with the Carterton club only a matter of weeks ago and the youngster, who is keen to make rugby his profession, will come under the spotlight in the set pieces.
Against a Horowhenua-Kapiti pack which contains no fewer than seven players who have been part of the side for the last five years, it is sure to be a baptism of fire in the scrums and lineouts and how he copes will probably decide whether he commands a regular spot in the NPC line-up through the rest of the season.
Henderson, of course, is no stranger to rugby at NPC level and his combination with two of the province's most in-form players, Daimon Neal and Sylvanus Iro, in the looser aspects of the forward game promises to be one of Wairarapa-Bush's main attributes.
Iro, especially, has the potential to be one of the home's team's main attacking weapons with his punishing running but he will need his "tighties" to give him better quality ball and better protection than they did against Buller to be truly effective.
The make?up of the Wairarapa-Bush backline for Saturday's match is exactly the same as it was in Westport with Russell resisting the temptation to make any changes there.
However, the backs will know their heads could be on the block if their finishing work is not of a higher standard than in the Buller game where several prime scoring chances were "bombed".
Russell said video coverage of that match clearly showed that whereas Wairarapa-Bush had little difficulty breaking the first line of defence in attacking situations things tended to go awry after that.
"We were rushing passes and taking wrong options???..the composure just wasn't good enough," he said. "We blew a number of tries because we lost our structure and hopefully we won't go through that again."
The Wairarapa-Bush team for Saturday is: Bart Viguurs; Jorgi Tamani, Simanu Simanu, Nathan Couch, Esava Teko; Patrick Rimene; James Bruce; Sylvanus Iro; Sam Henderson, Mike Robinson, Tomasi Kedarabuka, Daimon Neal; Ashley Wells, Rob Foreman, Dylan Higgison. Reserves: Charlie Bargh, Tommy Harmon, Richard Carroll, Marika Kau, Logan Ili, Ritchie McDonald, Corey Reid.
Meanwhile, a member of the Wairarapa-Bush squad, Nathan Couch, has been busy over the past three weeks visiting various schools in the region and organising goal-kicking competitions. The nine winners will meet in a grand final to be held during the halftime break in Saturday's NPC match with the prize-giving ceremony following that game.