RUGBY: Wanganui show spirit needed for Shield test

With Manawatu ahead 26-0 after 23 minutes in yesterday's rugby match in Palmerston North, Wanganui coach Guy Lennox joked he was considering sending a message to Ranfurly Shield holder Wellington going something like this:
"Please don't come."
But at the end of the game, with Wanganui still the loser but a very respectable one at 31-12 after that start, Lennox and captain David Gower are looking forward to the July 9 challenge match in Wanganui with a bit more enthusiasm.
Wanganui was outpaced in that first 23 minutes, but from that point actually outscored first division Manawatu 12-5 and made some of their pretenders look rather shabby in doing so.
But let's make this point - a couple of Manawatu officials afterwards suggested only four of the poor Manawatu second half XV would be starters in the Air New Zealand Cup.
Key playmakers were missing especially - but then so they were from Wanganui, with Denning Tyrell, Leon Mason and Mark Davis all absent with injury.
So on the playmaking front, both teams started the match on level pegging.
Manawatu hit that 26 through four tries in that first 23 minutes, three of them from turnovers well up the park.
 But as Wanganui came to grips with the sharper pace of the game, the experienced heads like David Gower and Peter Rowe started to close up the gaps in the inside defence - and Manawatu was left relatively clueless from that point.
Wanganui's first try just before the interval came from a nice break in midfield by Cameron Crowley off an inside pass from second-five Honi Peeti, with big Lasa Ulukuta finishing the job.
The second, after half an hour in the second half, was another good one from a blindside break by replacement Dion Hyland, who put another replacement in Darren Munro across untouched.
It was a bit sad then that Wanganui gave a away a cheap last minute try to spoil that 50 or so minutes of good endeavour - one marked by the ability to learn quickly and adjust to the pace of the game.
The scrum was good, the lineout okay until replacements came on later, and the loosies were outstanding. A little bit too much ball was needlessly kicked away, and that would be very fatal against Wellington - but that's another lesson to be learnt.
Crowley, Sam Scown and Peeti all showed good character in that backline, Ulukuta also looked at home on the wing - but the old heads in the forwards, and a not-so-old one in lock Mike Fitzgerald stood out in the forwards.
Fitzgerald, playing his club rugby in Manawatu, in fact did so well he probably cemented his spot in the Manawatu squad and therefore Wanganui will be without him this season. Lennox suggested jokingly that he had players trying to pull him down in the lineout and others grabbing his jersey to stop him making tackles - in an effort to keep him hidden from Manawatu eyes.
But Fitzgerald was too good for that.
And that's sad, because he would be very handy against Wellington. Nonetheless, a spirited effort against the holder looks right on the cards - even if the task is daunting.