Wanganui prop Hamish Mellow's back injury may prevent him from playing today in Timaru.
Wanganui prop Hamish Mellow's back injury may prevent him from playing today in Timaru.
Steelform Wanganui's injury problems have continued leading into this afternoon's tough Meads Cup semifinal with South Canterbury in Timaru.
Reserve lock Sekonaia Kalou's ankle did not come right in time, with Cade Robinson being included for his second Mitre 10 Heartland game.
In addition, prop Hamish Mellow was doubtful afterwaking up with a sore back yesterday, with Gabriel Hakaraia on standby to start and Wiremu Cottrell from the Wanganui Development XV and Whanganui Maori squads coming onto the bench.
The front row stocks are now very depleted with Viki Tofa unavailable.
In other changes in the backline, Collegiate schoolboy Cody Hemi goes back to the bench with Dane Whale moving into first-five and Ethan Robinson getting his first Heartland start after debuting last Saturday against North Otago.
Having younger players in such key positions makes Wanganui's task even more of a challenge, given South Canterbury have named their strongest and most experienced outfit.
Hawke's Bay loan fullback Liam Edwards, centre Shayne Anderson and wing Setefano Sauqaqa are confirmed in the starting lineup after injury.
Brad Hemopo was the No8 who caught Wanganui napping and snuck down the blindside from a 5m scrum to score the winning try in South Canterbury's 21-17 win between the team's in September.
