As the Steelform Wanganui team made their trip to Oamaru through the Timaru airport yesterday evening, a few of the leading lights may be thinking about coming back that way with the Silver Fern on their jacket.
The 2013 programme for the New Zealand Heartland XV was confirmed this week,with matches against the New Zealand Defence Force in Methven on November 5 and New Zealand Marist in Timaru on November 9.
Heartland XV met Marist in the warm-up game to their two-match tour of Samoa last November, beating the Gordon Tietjens-coached Marist 15-10 in Auckland.
The Heartland XV squad, which contained six Wanganui players along with manager Chris Back, went on to lose 23-21 to the Samoan NPC champions Apia, but rebounded to win the Test of the tour against Samoa A, 17-13 on November 10.
If given strong selection preferance again, it would be a different-looking Wanganui contingent this year.
Of the 2012 representatives, a knee injury kept Ruapehu flanker Fraser Hammond out of the Pink Batts Heartland Championship campaign, while No 8 Darren Munro returned from Petone very late in the club season for Kaierau, but also required surgery in August. Border first-five Mark Davis moved out of the region and back into South Taranaki.
Currently, veteran prop Shaun McDonough may be out of contention as he sits on the Wanganui reserves bench behind Ruapehu clubmate Kim McNaught.
This leaves flanker Peter Rowe, who was the 2012 Heartland XV captain and later named Heartland player of the year, and lock Nick Cranston.
Two others who may have worked their way into the selectors thinking are new Wanganui halfback Lindsay Horrocks and No 8 Lasa Ulukuta, a former Heartland representative.
However, that remains to be seen as the only good look the Wanganui players have gotten from NZ Heartland coach Kurt McQuilkin was on August 24, when he was guiding his King Country team to a 17-16 victory over them at Cooks Gardens.
"Traditionally, New Zealand Defence and New Zealand Marist have proved tough sides to beat and I'm sure this year's matches will be no different," said McQuilkin.
"This year's Heartland Championship has been as exciting and competitive as ever, with a large number of players across all teams showing some exceptional form.
"I'm confident the two games will be exciting encounters for the fans."
The squad will be named after the Heartland semifinals on October 19 and will assemble in Timaru on November 1.
