Wairarapa Bush must battle expectations

Expectation could be the major hurdle for Wairarapa-Bush to overcome leading into their opening Heartland championship rugby match against Buller at Westport tomorrow.
Even allowing for their somewhat inept performance in their 34-12 loss to Wellington Samoans last weekend, this is a game Wairarapa-Bush should win.
After all, Buller are listed six places behind them on the national rankings and are generally regarded as one of the "easy beats" of the Heartland series. And having to default a Seddon Shield challenge match against Nelson Bays because of a shortage of fit players hasn't exactly helped their cause either.
In short then, a loss here would mean Wairarapa-Bush's chances of playing off for the Meads Cup a little further down the track would take a horrible nose dive, a thought sure to have them a tad nervous as they head south.
On the brighter side, it's difficult to imagine Wairarapa-Bush falling into the same trap as they did against Wellington Samoans.
As coach Kelvin Tantrum has pointed out, they only stuck to the game plan for about the first 10 minutes of the entire match and consequently turned an early 12-0 lead into a rather hefty defeat.
It wasn't that the game plan was anything special. All it required was for the ball to be kept close to the forwards until the stage was reached where the big, strong and mobile Samoan loosies were forced to spend at least some time helping out their mates in the tighter phases of forward play. Then Wairarapa-Bush was to start spreading the ball wide, safe in the knowledge the necessary time and space needed for their backs to cut loose would have been created.
In reality, of course, it was only in those impressive opening stanzas where Wairarapa-Bush did exactly as they were told and they paid the penalty later.
The looser the style of play became, the more the Samoans were able to impose their considerable attacking skills. It didn't take long for the scoreboard to start moving in the one direction.
Poorly as Wairarapa-Bush executed their game plan on that occasion, it will surprise if the tactics are anything different tomorrow, as Buller usually play that spoiling style of rugby which can prove very disruptive if the opposition is "airy fairy" in their approach.
That being the case, it will be imperative the Wairarapa-Bush forwards achieve a fair measure of superiority from the word go and the backs, or more particularly the inside combination of James Bruce and Jeremy Te Huia, choose their options in a fashion which ensures their pack are kept on the front foot.
That Wairarapa-Bush have the physical presence to dominate Buller up front is a safe bet. If there is one thing about this season's forward unit which stands out above everything else, it is the number of players who relish one-on-one confrontation, an attribute which should not only come in handy in the set pieces of scrum and lineout, but also in the mauls and broken play.
The more the likes of Duncan Law, Joss Tua-Davidson, Brandan Young, Andrew McLean, Dylan Higgison and Joe Harwood are able to get their hands on the ball in close-quarter action the better.
It will also be vital for Wairarapa-Bush for their forwards to apply themselves diligently in defensive situations. Against the Samoans, there was a tendency to fall off tackles when the opposition mounted short-passing rushes and huge distance was often conceded as a result.
Important too will be the speed and constructiveness of the Wairarapa-Bush eight in the looser aspects of the forward game and here the onus will be on Heartland newcomer Rupeni Temani to lead the way.
He was one of the more impressive performers last weekend when he was returning from a rather lengthy injury break and now has the opportunity to further advance his claims for the No7 jersey on a regular basis in 2011.
For the Wairarapa-Bush backs, tomorrow's game will be all about doing the simple things well. Playing smart will be the call and, as mentioned previously, it will be the initial inside pairing of Bruce and Te Huia who will have to set the example through astute option taking.
Bruce, of course, has been there, done that at Heartland level but Te Huia, a loan player from Wellington, had a mixed game on debut against the Samoans and will need to show greater clarity of thought on this occasion. The battle between him and Byron Karaitiana for the first-five role promises to be an intriguing one as the season develops.
From a strictly attacking viewpoint, the return of Junior Togia on the wing will be a huge plus for Wairarapa-Bush as backs with his proven ability to open up opposition defences through nifty footwork are in short supply. It means they now have at least two with that skill, fullback Nick Olson being the other, and they could be match winners given reasonable opportunity to utilise it.
In summary, this will be no walk in the park for Wairarapa-Bush but, all things being equal, they should be good enough to win by a comfortable margin.