A breakthrough season has just got bigger for Hayden Wisnewski.
The 24-year-old Thames Valley hooker not only won a McClinchy Cup club championship with Waihou, but he assumed the captaincy of the Swamp Foxes, led their tryscorers with four during the Heartland Championship, took the team's player of the year gong, and to cap it all is in the New Zealand Heartland XV for their three-match tour over the next week.
Tomorrow Wisnewski starts in the No 2 jersey in their opener against New Zealand Marist at Papakura's Bruce Pulman Park, the home of the Ardmore-Marist club, before the Heartland XV head to Fiji for two matches.
"I'm definitely satisfied. It's been a testing season, as such, but I thought we (Thames Valley) took some good steps as a team. I had a good Heartland campaign and to make this team is good reward. It's an opportunity to get away and have a crack with some better players," says Wisnewski, who is grateful to his employers at Hamilton's Work and Income New Zealand office for giving him nearly two weeks off to travel with this team.
"It's good to get out of the office and get some sun," he jokes.
Thames Valley missed out on the Lochore Cup playoffs, so Wisnewski's last game was the October 15 fixture against Poverty Bay.