Whanganui rugby: Four Whanganui players plus coach selected for Heartland XV

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Four Steelform Whanganui players will get the honour of wearing the coveted black jersey this weekend as the New Zealand Heartland XV has been named.

The squad that represents the best local players in the Bunnings Warehouse Heartland Championship will face New Zealand Police on November 6 at Owen Delany Park in Taupō.

Coached by South Canterbury's Nigel Walsh and assisted by Whanganui's Jason Hamlin, the opposing coaches in the Meads Cup final, this initial 23-man squad is heavily weighted towards the back-to-back champions.

South Canterbury have eight players, while Whanganui and Meads Cup semifinalists Thames Valley each have four.

The other Meads Cup semifinalists, King Country, provide three, Lochore Cup semifinalist North Otago two, with one player each from Lochore Cup winners Ngāti Porou East Coast and runners-up Mid Canterbury.

There are no representatives from the bottom five teams, as the selection panel looked at players who helped their teams reach the top spots, as well as having had the most recent game time.

"We think it's a fair reflection of the teams that played at the end of the year," said Hamlin.

As most of the squad played on finals weekend, the selections were revealed privately to the various teams that week, so the players knew to keep up their fitness work ahead of going into camp in Taupō this Tuesday.

Hamlin said the naming of players in certain combinations from their provincial teams should help with establishing cohesion quickly.

"It's about trying to blend that all in so that it becomes natural for them.

"We'll build our team culture, what they want to represent for the Heartland."

Right in among them will be Whanganui captain and first five Dane Whale, halfback Lindsay Horrocks, midfielder Timoci Seruwalu and, for his national debut, veteran hooker Roman Tutauha.

In addition, three more Whanganui players – lock Josh Lane, utility forward Ben Whale and fullback Ethan Robinson - are in a 10-player non-travelling reserve group, which includes several Mid Canterbury and East Coast players.

Any one of them could be called into the squad if there is an injury or unavailability issue during the week.

Dane Whale made his NZ Heartland debut through that process last year - joining the bench alongside Horrocks against the NZ Barbarians in December at Owen Delany Park.

Seruwalu, who played for NZ Heartland against Manu Samoa in 2019, was also an initial selection in 2021 but withdrew with an injury.

Tutauha's elevation to the black jersey is special – so often his former teammate Cole Baldwin got the hooker role with the national side before his 2017 retirement.

This year, playing alongside such an inexperienced group of Whanganui props, the veteran Tutauha elevated his game considerably.

"Pretty reserved, actually, [when I told him] on the Thursday. It was about making sure there was a job to do around the Meads [Cup]," Hamlin said of the 36-year-old's reaction.

"It's good recognition for a local player, with 90 games for his province.

"I pointed out a few facts to some other people – he can stack his [workrate] numbers up.

"It's not about his service. Of the eligible local hookers in the competition, I'd put him in the top two."

Hamlin said there will be some tough competition for the starting XV – Horrocks and his old South Canterbury nemesis Willie Wright, Whale and Thames Valley's Todd Doolan.

However, it is most likely that South Canterbury's Nick Strachan will retain the captaincy in his last hurrah, having announced his representative retirement after retaining the Meads Cup.

"He's a good rugby man – that's evident when you spend a bit of time with him."

The game with NZ Police will be live on Sky Sport at 2.05pm on November 6.

The New Zealand Heartland XV is:
Forwards: Adam Williamson (Mid Canterbury), Cam Russell (South Canterbury), Connor McVerry (Thames Valley), Cruise Dunster (King Country), Henry Bryce (South Canterbury), Hakarangi Tichborne (Ngati Porou East Coast), Junior Fakatoufifita (North Otago), Kaleb Foote (King Country), Liam Rowlands (King Country), Nick Strachan (South Canterbury), Roman Tutauha (Whanganui), Tokomaata Fakatava (South Canterbury), Vaka Taelega (South Canterbury).
Backs: Dane Whale (Whanganui), Harry Lafituanai (Thames Valley), Hayden Todd (North Otago), Lindsay Horrocks (Whanganui), Paula Fifita (South Canterbury), Saimone Samate (North Otago), Timoci Seruwalu (Whanganui), Todd Doolan (Thames Valley), Willie Wright (South Canterbury), Zac Saunders (South Canterbury).

Around the grounds

LOCHORE CUP: Ngāti Porou East Coast completed their return to respectability by winning the Lochore Cup at a packed Whakarua Park in Ruatoria on October 23. Already the Bill Osborne Taonga owners, East Coast held off Mid Canterbury 25-20 to win their first Lochore Cup and first NPC title since the 2012 Meads Cup. Tries came from hooker Joe Royal, prop Hakarangi Tichborne and flanker Jordan Tangaere, while first five Carlos Kemp slotted two penalties and two conversions. Mid Canterbury's tries came from flanker Manasa Samo and fullback Nathan McCloy, who also slotted two penalties and two conversions.

DEFENCE FORCE: Silks Audit Whanganui Women's player Michelle Brough Mish Sara and her NZ Defence Force team finished just short of the title in the 2022 Women's International Defence Rugby Competition on October 25. The Defence Ferns made the final at Auckland's College Rifles Rugby Club but lost to France 9-8 following a late penalty kick.

STEPHEN PEROFETA: Expat Steelform Whanganui player Stephen Perofeta was back in black as the starting fullback for the All Blacks' narrow 38-31 test win against Japan at National Stadium in Tokyo on Saturday. Playing the full 80 minutes allowed Perofeta to remove his record of having the shortest All Black test career, after he debuted off the bench to play the last 50 seconds of the loss to Argentina in Christchurch on August 27.

SUPER RUGBY: As well as Perofeta, the other top Whanganui ex-pats who will play Super Rugby 2023 have all been confirmed with the final squads named. Perofeta continues with the Blues, Brett Cameron joins the Hurricanes, while Vilimoni Koroi and Jona Nareki retain their spots with the Highlanders.