“But to be able to come up against the ‘Rau boys, I think our guys are pretty excited at that prospect – something we haven’t encountered in last few finals we’ve been to.”
There is the chance of northerly winds and showers on Saturday, which Taihape can certainly handle, as seen by their muddy 20-6 win over Marist.
“Off the back of our defence, especially in the first half, we gave ourselves a good go at winning that game,” Bourke said.
“We took our chances when we could and there weren’t too many because Marist came to play.”
Bourke is therefore inspired to play Kaierau at Cooks, both teams having one win each this year, and allows Taihape to prepare for a team with different strengths than their old rivals Border.
“But they’ve got plenty of guys that can do a job for them, Whanganui [representative] guys too with the likes of Ethan [Robinson] and obviously Doug [Horrocks] coming back in the last couple of weeks.”
Kaierau coach Danny Tamehana feels much the same about having a very different style of match for a grand final, after last year’s extra-time loss.
“There’s a hardness about Taihape – don’t get me wrong, they’re no easybeats, but there’s a whole different look.
“We came through [the semifinal] all unscathed and everyone’s just fizzing – Tuesday training was real sharp, real clinical, everyone was up for it.
“You can just feel it – it’s a totally different feel. I can’t wait, to be honest.”
Key will be how each team’s “Big Three” playmakers dictate terms – for Kaierau, its backs Sheldon Pakinga, Ethan Robinson and Adam Boult.
For Taihape, it is the Whales – Chad and Dane – and ideally Tyler Rogers-Holden, although he did not play in the semifinal.
The first battle is up front – Kaierau’s props have an excellent blend of power, experience and grit in the form of Raymond Salu, Lasa Ulukuta and Tai Pulemagafa, backing young hooker Kohlt Coveny.
However, Taihape’s front-row quality runs five-plus deep with skipper Hoani Woodhead, Tru Ratana-Horton, Gabriel Hakaraia, Te Uhi Hakaraia and the legendary Roman Tutauha.
“We’re all very aware of how good their forward pack can be, but you know, I said to the boys on Tuesday, ‘as good as that forward pack is, they can’t do anything when they haven’t got the ball’,” Tamehana said.
“They got to defend, so if we can hold the ball for long periods of time, outcomes can be different.
“If we want it, we have to go and fight for it because I know Taihape ain’t gonna give it up.”
Kickoff is at 2.35pm.
