Wanganui are expecting an arm wrestle with Wairarapa-Bush in their Heartland Championship Meads Cup semifinal match at Cooks Garden, Wanganui, on Saturday.
That's the word from Wanganui coach Jason Caskey, who says the defending champions have "huge respect" for a Wairarapa-Bush side they beat 26-19 when they met in Masterton in the qualifying round.
"It was a good hard battle last time and we're not expecting anything different on Saturday," Caskey told the Times-Age yesterday. "They [Wairarapa-Bush] are one of the best teams we have played all season, we have huge respect for them."
Caskey sees the two sides as having similar strengths; forwards who don't mind rolling their sleeves up and getting stuck in and backs with enough flair and pace to impose themselves on attack.
"I don't think either of us have what you would call star players, we both rely on teamwork and I guess it will come down to which of us does best in that regard."
Caskey does concede, however, that there is one department in which Wairarapa-Bush could have the edge; goal-kicking.
He is well aware of the excellent form shown by Wairarapa-Bush's Glen Walters in that area and says he will be stressing the need for discipline to his players as a consequence.
The 11 points scored by Walters in Wairarapa-Bush's 31-5 win over Horowhenua-Kapiti last Saturday took his Heartland total to a massive 124 points and he is now just seven points shy of Craig Pepperell's Wairarapa-Bush record for most points scored in any one season. Pepperell managed 131 points in 1988, not 133 as previously reported.
Whether Wanganui will be at full strength for Saturday's semi was still a matter of conjecture yesterday with Caskey "pretty optimistic" that two of his key backs who were missing when they beat King Country 22-19 last weekend; playmaker Mark Davis and midfielder Saul Chase, will be fit to take the field.
The only loss suffered by Wanganui in their eight qualifying round matches was a 25-17 defeat at the hands of East Coast while Wairarapa-Bush won six from eight, losing to Wanganui 26-19 and North Otago 28-21.
Meanwhile, top-ranked Wairarapa-Bush referee Chris Jefferies will run the line in the Meads Cup semifinal match between East Coast and North Otago at Ruatoria on Saturday.
Also on Saturday the Wairarapa-Bush under-14s will play their Horowhenua-Kapiti counterparts at Memorial Park, starting at 1pm. Wayne Jeffries will have the whistle there.
The full record of the two teams is:
Wanganui: beat Mid-Canterbury 24-23, beat Horowhenua-Kapiti 28-10, beat Poverty Bay 42-3, beat Wairarapa-Bush 26-19, lost to East Coast 17-25, beat North Otago 39-22, beat Buller 39-12, beat King Country 22-19.
Wairarapa-Bush: beat South Canterbury 32-21, beat Poverty Bay 48-21, beat West Coast 12-8, lost to Wanganui 19-26, beat Mid-Canterbury 31-6, beat King Country 25-15, lost to North Otago 21-28, beat Horowhenua-Kapiti 31-5.