Tomorrow will be a key day for Wairarapa when the top 24 under-13 boys hockey provinces in the country start doing battle at the Hatch Cup national tournament in Clareville.
The leading teams in each of the four six-team pools will go forward to the quarter-finals on Thursday and, asit happens, Wairarapa's fate in that regard will very probably depend on the results of their opening two games.
First up tomorrow they will take on defending champions South Canterbury and later in the day they will front up to Auckland, always one of the tournament favourites.
Their lead-up form does suggest, however, Wairarapa are capable of footing it in the best of company. Under the astute coaching of former Wairarapa senior reps Grant Brewster and Kerry Hare they have been nigh unbeatable, so confidence should be running high.
Brewster and Hare are rightly aware of the dangers of discarding the chances of any of their pool opponents as team personnel can change dramatically from season to season, meaning, in turn, that results can be quite different as well.
The Wairarapa squad is captained by Gus Wakeling and also includes Morgan Taylor, Michael Brewster, Adam Moloney, Matthew Furkert, Guy Percy, Henry Phelps, Wills Taylor, Mitch Hooper, Nathan Whiteman, Rory Thomson, George Robinson, Will McMaster, Alex Hare and Josh Tatham.
