The Steelform Wanganui selectors have come up with a mixed bag for the annual Town v Country representative trial match at the Kaierau Country Club on June 5th (Queen's Birthday weekend Monday).
Wanganui is shooting for a sixth Heartland title when the 2016 Mitre 10 national championship starts on August 27,
having previously won the Meads Cup in 2008-09-11-15 and the Lochore Cup in 2014.
Last season Wanganui lost just one match - 30-28 to 2013-14 Meads Cup winners Mid Canterbury, at Cooks Gardens - going on to beat top qualifiers South Canterbury 28-11 in the final at Timaru.
Wanganui used 29 players during the successful campaign but 10 of that squad - five backs and five forwards - are gone this season and there are question marks around the availability of several other players.
Gone are backs Zyon Hekenui (Manawatu), Stephen Perofeta and Trinity Spooner-Nera (Taranaki), Poasa Waqanibau (Canterbury) and William Short (Wanaka), and forwards Dan FitzGerald (Waikato), Tawhio Gupwell (Auckland), Kamipeli Latu (England), Brett Turner (Wanaka) and Ranato Tikoilosomone (overseas).
The selectors - Jason Caskey, Jason Hamlin, Shane Ratima and Marty McGrath - have named nine of the champion 2015 squad, eight former Wanganui reps and nine of the 2015 winning Wanganui development squad in the 60 players for the trial fixture at Kaierau.
Eight of last year's Heartland squad have been rested from the trial - backs Areta Lama and Ace Malo (both injured) and Lindsay Horrocks and forwards Cole Baldwin, Roman Tutauha, Fraser Hammond, Peter Rowe and Kieran Hussey. Hammond and Rowe are rumoured to be re-joining the Ruapehu playing ranks in the coming weeks as is Hussey for Border.
The Town squad for the trial includes current or former rep wingers Cameron Crowley (36 games in 2008-10) and Clive Stowers (four games in 2014), utility back Steelie Koro (52 games 2003-15), loose forwards Lasa Ulukuta (29 games 2009-14) and Bryn Hudson (14 games 2014-15) and prop Viki Tofa (17 games 2014-15).
Included in the Country squad are fullbacks Michael Nabuliwaqe (eight games 2015) and Nick Harding (seven games 2012), wingers Samu Kubunavanua (17 games 2014-15) and Jaye Flaws (nine game 2014), inside backs Troy Brown (six games 2015) and Dane Whale (seven games 2014), halfback Kane Tamou (three games 2015), loose forwards Malakai Volou (eight games 2015) and Tremaine Gilbert (21 games 2011-14 as a mid field back or loosie), lock Sam Madams (23 games 2009-15) and prop Karl Parker (eight games 2013).
The Country squad also contains 2015 Wanganui Development Squad members Te Tua Kemp (five eighths), Brett Nicholls (halfback), Jake Alabaster (loose forward) and Johnson Hiroa (lock) with Tom Symes (winger), Kameli Kuruyabaki (midfield), Lake Ah Chong and Jack Hodges (locks) and Hamish Mellow (prop) in the Town squad.
Other trialists named are:-
Town - Backs: Simeli Koniferedi (ex-King Country and North Otago), Rory Gudsell and Tevita Tui (Marist); Anaru Saurara (Kaierau), James Forsythe and Fijian age group rep Kaveni Dabenaise (Border), Meki Magele and Tupu Tavae (Pirates), and Te Rangatira Waitokia (Metro Colts). Forwards: Tietie Tuimauga and Dylan Pearce (Border), Tolili Moala and Meni Taufaasau (Pirates), Jack Yarrall, Joe Edwards, Josh Lane and Fiatau Faalili (Kaierau), Aiden FitzGerald and Ryan Gill (Marist).
Country - Backs: Cyrus Paringatai, Brett Illston, Sefo Bourke and Taylor Transom (Taihape) and Rewi Hudson (Utiku OB). Forwards: Rickie Iorns, Hadlee Hay-Horton and Rimu Wipaki (Taihape), Jason White, Gabriel Hakaraia, Jamie Hughes and Campbell Hart (Ruapehu), Jake Anderson and Archie Toseland (Utiku OB) and Hawea Meihana (Ratana).
Top of the table Taihape provides 12 triallists, second-placed Border 10, Marist nine, Kaierau, Pirates and Ruapehu six each, Ngamatapouri four, Ratana and Utiku OB three each and and fullback Te Rangatira Waitokia is in the Metropolitan Colts team.
Coaches for the teams are Jerome McCrea (Town) and Andrew Evans (Country).
The selectors have stressed that the named players, unless injured, must play in the trial to be considered for the coming representative season.
Wanganui will play the Manawatu Evergreens at Cooks Gardens at 6.30 pm on June 22, and the Taranaki Development XV, likely at Hawera, on July 30, before the Ranfurly Shield challenge against Waikato at Cambridge on August 6.
Then Wanganui plays Hawke's Bay Saracens at Cooks Gardens on August 13, and Wairarapa-Bush at Cooks Gardens on August 20 as build-ups or the Heartland campaign.
The first Heartland qualifying match is against West Coast at Cooks Gardens on August 27.
Second round return matches in the 2016 Tasman Tanning Wanganui premier club qualifying competition start on Saturday with the main focus on two key fixtures in Northern Wanganui.
First round champions PGG Wrightson/Balance Taihape defend the Grand Hotel Challenge Shield against Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau on home soil at Memorial Park and will start favourites to maintain an unbeaten record this season.
Kaierau has shrugged off a dismal 2015 record of finishing last in the championship for one of the few times in its history with some fine efforts this year, winning five of seven first round games. The only setbacks were 40-28 at home against Taihape on opening day and 39-25 against Waverley Harvesting Border, again at home, in the final first round fixture.
Bonus points helped Kaierau finish third in the first round Paul Mitchell Cup series, the highest placing by the club in four years. The city-siders played some sound rugby, highlighted by shading McCarthy's Transport Ruapehu 36-33 in Ohakune.
Taihape, however, has been the in-form team this season and will start top contenders to win again on Saturday which would by a seventh win over the maroon and golds in nine clashes since 2012. Kaierau's last win over Taihape at Memorial Park was 39-17 in 2011 which was part of a 26-match unbeaten run in games between the two clubs.
The other match of note in Northern Wanganui on Saturday will be between Border and Ruapehu at Rochfort Park in Ohakune. Border was untroubled to win 47-17 at home on April 2 but Ruapehu has improved since then with three wins including 34-20 over defending champions Black Bull Liquor Pirates.
With four wins from the last five games against the Mountain Men, Border looks the side to beat. Ruapehu has not beaten Border at home since winning 21-6 in 2013.
Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist scored an emphatic 34-0 demolition of Pirates on opening day, the first success over the opposition in eight games since 2011, but the return match on Spriggens Park this weekend should be much closer.
It has been a frustrating season for Pirates, a side chasing a third successive championship crown, with just the scalps of struggling Ratana and Utiku OB in the seven-games during the first round.
Unless there is a dramatic reversal of form the defending titleholders could be struggling to even make the play-offs.
The two bottom teams - Harvey Round Motors Ratana and Utiku OB - meet at Ratana Pa with the hosts still looking for a first scalp for the season and avenge a 43-12 away loss on opening day.
Utiku has only won twice at Ratana since the turn of the century - 13-10 in 2009 and 19-12 in 2013.
Unbeaten Settlers Honey Ngamatapouri meet 10th positioned Utiku OB at Taihape in the eighth round of the senior championship on Saturday.
Second-placed Kaierau takes on defending champions Ruapehu (8th) in Ohakune while third-slotted Marist Celtic sits out the bye.
Fourth-placed Taihape host Marton (5th), Border (7th) is home to Kelso Hunterville (6th), the two bottom sides Pirates (11th) and Buffalo's (12th) play at Spriggens Park with Counties winning by default from Ratana.
Latest senior grade player statistics:
Individual points - 81 Bronson Tumai (Celtic), 71 Sooonalote Tauailoto (Marton), 65 Michael Nabuliwaqe (Ngamatapouri), 55 Samu Kubunavanua (Ngamatapouri), 53 Isie Baletavuku (Ngamatapouri), 48 Tyrone Albert (Border) and Scott Parkes (Hunterville), 46 Zane Robinson (Celtic), 35 Dayton Rikihana (Ruapehu), 31 Jessie Kemp (Ngamatapuri), 30 Barry Muir (Kaierau).
Goal-kicking - 43 pts Parks, 41 Robinson and Tauailoto, 38 Baletavuku, 33 Albert.
Individual tries - 13 Nabuliwaqe, 11 Tumai and Kubunavanua, 7 Rikihana, 6 Tauailoto, 5 Zavier Halpins (Kaierau) and Josaia Dawai (Ngamatapouri), 4 GordonStayt (Hunterville), Carlos Riddles (Kaierau), Steven Kerehana and Ngatu Bates (Marton), Malakai Volou, Jim Seruwalu, Jessi Kemp and Chris Belton (all Ngamatapouri).
Team tries - 55 Ngamatapouri, 37 Celtic, 28 Kaierau, 27 Marton, 26 Ruapehu, 23 Taihape, 20 Hunterville, 17 Counties, 14 Border, 13 Buffaloes, 10 Utiku OB.
Note: No Pirates stats because three team sheets were not provided to the WRFU.
