We can win this!

Make no bones about it, Wairarapa-Bush can beat Poverty Bay in the grand final of the NPC third division rugby competition in Gisborne tomorrow.
To do so they will have to counter opposition buoyed by the fact they finished at the top of the points table after the preliminary round, and defeated Wairarapa-Bush by a comprehensive 30-5 in the process.
It's a big ask in anybody's language but those who have closely followed the fortunes of Wairarapa-Bush this season will know the challenge can be met.
The result of that earlier match between the two teams won't be playing on their minds in a negative manner.
Management and players have labelled it their worst performance of the season, yet at halftime they were very much a winning chance. A couple of "soft" tries to the Bay in the second and the floodgates opened.
Another matter on which team members are agreed is that despite losing only one of their preliminary round games and beating Mid-Canterbury in the semis, Wairarapa-Bush have considerably more to offer performance-wise.
In game after game they have dominated the opposing team to a point where a handsome victory has been in the offing only to take their foot of the pedal and cruise home.
You can safely wager there will be no cruising tomorrow.
Coach Peter Russell, his assistant Chris Luman and skipper Mike Robinson will be hammering home the importance of starting strongly and maintaining the momentum for the full 80 minutes.
And with the incentive of a national championship dangling in front of them it's hard to believe the players won't take that message to heart.
It is in the forwards that Wairarapa-Bush have the winning of the match.
The Poverty Bay pack is a useful one, but the feeling is that Wairarapa-Bush can gain an ascendancy in the set pieces of lineout and scrum and break at least even in the battle for the loose ball.
The lineout hasn't exactly been one of Wairarapa-Bush's greatest strengths this season, but their confidence would have been given a huge boost by the way in which they dominated that department against Mid-Canterbury last weekend.
There the throwing of outstanding young hooker Rob Foreman was generally spot on target and locks Dan Joblin and Stu Smith, and to a lesser extent flanker Sam Henderson, took full advantage of it
Joblin was a revelation..Seeing him preferred in the starting line-up to Dan Griffin had raised some eyebrows, but he had a huge influence, not only taking down his own lineout ball with regularity but often doing enough to either steal or spoil opposition ball as well.
On that subject wasn't it great to see Wairarapa-Bush competing strongly in practically every lineout, no matter whose throw it was.
It continually amazes-and irritates- me to see teams allow opposition to win lineout ball without offering any resistance.
Imagine what Colin Meads must think!
There were times in the Mid-Canterbury game when the Wairarapa-Bush scrum became somewhat unsettled, but coach Russell has put that down to a lack of concentration rather than a lack of technique And considering the stable platform Wairarapa-Bush has had there through most of the season his assessment is probably a fair one.
The rolling maul seems sure to be the launching pad for the bulk of Wairarapa-Bush's attacks tomorrow.
They can be very adept at this tactic with Robinson leading the way. He has the ability to get himself over the advantage line and then stay on his feet when closed down by the opposition defence.
Tomorrow's game may well be Robbo's last in a Wairarapa-Bush jersey and noone will be keener to finish the season on a high note than him.
The Wairarapa-Bush backs haven't made quite the same impression as their forwards through most of the NPC campaign and one suspects Poverty Bay will be targeting them as a weakness.
There is no doubt though that when the Wairarapa-Bush rearguard is operating with confidence they have the ability to create, and score, some spectacular tries.
They have powerful runners in midfield in the form of Nathan Couch and Simanu Simanu and there wouldn't be many better finishers in third division play than wing Esava Teko.
The key to the backline working with the required efficiency will be the inside combination, Hamish McKenzie and later James Bruce at halfback and Patrick Rimene at first-five.
There are all very competent players but their option taking hasn't always been as sound as it could be this season.
Their test is to keep the forwards on the front foot and to create enough space for the attacking skills of their outside backs to be fully utilised.
Do that and history will be in the making.
GO THE BUSH!