Rugby: Heartland Wanganui must win with a bonus point against Horowhenua Kapiti in Levin

Auckland loan player and Wanganui No8 Ezra Meleisea (ball carrier) and flanker Jamie Hughes, in action against King Country last week, will again be pivotol in tomorrow's must win Heartland clash with Horowhenua Kapiti in Levin. Photo / Lewis Gardner

The final day of Heartland rugby pool play on Saturday is a mathematical nightmare as teams jostle for top and bottom four spots in both the Meads and Lochore Cup contests.

Rather than cloud their heads with logistics, all Steelform Wanganui need to know is their last pool game is a must-win tussle with Horowhenua Kapiti in Levin. Whanganui is tied with South Canterbury for fourth in the Top Four Meads Cup contest but has the higher differential.

HK is the only team in the Bottom Four who have a mathematical chance of still making the Lochore Cup playoffs, so their season is also on the line. They were the 2018 Lochore champions, and 2017 Meads runners-up.

Top Three teams are playing the Bottom Three teams, while South Canterbury has a home game with West Coast, who got pumped by Buller. So Wanganui must win with a bonus point and preferably with a good score if they are to qualify for Meads Cup semifinals.

There is even a chance Wanganui could finish first or second on the table depending on the outcome of other matches which would mean a home semifinal. That scenario, however, is highly unlikely.

The Wanganui team named is probably the most settled lineup named compared to the wholesale changes made from week to week so far season. It is the identical starting XV to the one that faced and beat King Country last week.

On the bench, the only changes are hooker Dylan Gallien (Joe Edwards covered last week) and Tyler Rogers-Holden (for Karl Pascoe) coming back in from injury. Wiremu Cotrell is also back from injury and has been bracketed with Raymond Salu at reserve prop, while Rogers-Holden has been bracketed with Cameron Davies.

Decisions on which form the bench would take were to be made after the final training session last night.

Coach Jason Caskey said the team was mindful of the job it needed to do on Saturday.

"We were under pressure after those first three losses early in the season, so we said we needed to take control, and we did," he said.

"We have won our last games well and the guys are in a good mindset. We have a few returning from injury and we will decide which way we go on the day after putting some of those guys recovering from injury to the test at training tonight. We know we need a good win with a bonus point and that's what we are focusing on.

"The weather is looking good and it's easier to score bonus points on a dry track than it is in the wet."

Ironically, HK could almost be called "Wanganui B".

Their imports included Ngamatapouri's Timoci "Jim" Seruwalu, who fortunately for Wanganui is out with a broken hand, and from Manawatu comes Kameli Kuruyabaki.

Kane Tamou is now a HK local after he went there two seasons ago to get out from under Lindsay Horrocks shadow, while lock Sonny Woodmass was with HK at the start of the season. But he, too, is thankfully on the injured list. Cody Hemi - Dane Whale's old rival - has joined them for a few games from Manawatu.

Seruwalu, Kuruyabaki, Tamou and Hemi have all been in Meads Cup-winning Wanganui squads at different stages of the 2015-17 three peat seasons, while Woodmass won the 2014 Lochore Cup with Wanganui.

The Wanganui squad is: Kamipeli Latu, Roman Tutauha, Gabriel Hakaraia, Sam Madams, Josh Lane, Campbell Hart (c), Jamie Hughes, Ezra Meleisea, Lindsay Horrocks, Dane Whale, Shai Wipera, Penijamini Nabainivalu, Amos Pogia, Vereniki, Tikoisolomone, Nick Harding. Reserves: Dylan Gallien, Raymond Salu/Wiremu Cottrell, Samu Kubunavanua, Angus Middleton, Ethan Robinson, Troy Brown, Tyler Rogers-Holden/Cameron Davies.