Mobil Carterton Wairarapa-Bush will be relying on a simple game plan to make them competitive against Vodafone Wellington in their Ranfurly Shield match at Memorial Park, Masterton, tomorrow.
Coach Kelvin Tantrum wasn't about to detail the specifics of the tactical approach yesterday but said it would revolve around Wairarapa-Bush doing what
they do best rather than worrying about the possible strengths or weaknesses of their opposition.
"We know how powerful any Wellington team is going to be, especially with the Shield at stake, so we've deliberately kept away from talking about them," Tantrum said.
"For us it's all about us concentrating on our own performance and trusting it to make us as competitive as we can possibly be."
Tantrum scoffed at suggestions Wairarapa-Bush's cause had been helped to a marked degree by Wellington including just the one Hurricane Super 14 player, wing David Smith, in their starting line-up.
"We all know they have talent to burn down there and anybody who they put on the paddock in a game like this deserves his place," he said.
"And think of the incentive for those who are pushing for positions in their top side, tomorrow is a big day for them, isn't it?"
Tantrum sees Wellington looking to play an attacking brand of rugby aimed at giving their young backs every chance to impose themselves on a regular basis and he knows the best way to stall them would be for Wairarapa-Bush to deny them quality ball.
"We desperately need to contest every aspect of forward play as hard as we can and when we get our hands on the ball we have to keep it for long periods," he said. "Patience is important, we don't want to be rushing things and giving ball away. Retention of possession is vital for us."
Tantrum knows too the pace of tomorrow's game will test the fitness of the Wairarapa-Bush side. But he is encouraged by the hard yards most of his players have done in that respect and believes they are in much better physical shape than what they were at this time last year.
Also encouraging for Tantrum is the determination expressed by squad members to do the Wairarapa-Bush jersey proud, not only tomorrow but through their Heartland championship campaign as well.
"Quite honestly the pride factor was something which disappointed me last year, and was probably a big reason why we didn't achieve the results we should have," Tantrum said. "There's been a real push to rectify that situation and we're already seeing the benefits of it."
