Taihape halfback James Barrett fires a pass in their Spriggens Park game against Pirates. Today, Taihape have to travel twice as far to play Ngamatapouri.
It is now the longest journey in Tasman Tanning Premier rugby - over 187km along two State Highways and then up the longest 'No Exit' road in New Zealand.
But with the opportunity to go back up to second spot on the points table, PGG Wrightson/Balance Taihape are getting their minds steeled for their first trip up into South Taranaki beehive country against Settlers Honey Ngamatapouri today.
"It's going to take us three hours, I think," said Taihape coach Kerry Whale.
"We're expecting nothing - it's new territory for us.
"We're looking forward to it, actually. I hope it doesn't get changed and the weather's not going to affect it."
Ngamatapouri RFC is fostering a good reputation for their hospitality, but at the time of article writing on Thursday there was the prospect of problems with severe weather forecast for the North Island.
The New Zealand Transport Agency was advising caution for motorists with the prospects of flooding, slips and rock falls on the Easter break.
Ngamatapouri has had to deal with the Waitotara Valley road being cut off before in their previous seasons of Senior rugby, which saw actions taken like helicopter trips for their players out of the valley, while other matches were moved to McNab Domain, home of the Counties club, due to extreme wet.
Another potential option today, if the weather packed in over Good Friday, was for the match being moved to the Wanganui Racecourse fields.
However, Ngamatapouri and Steelform Wanganui No8 Bryn Hudson, who works in town, was confident the roads will be clear for the game, which should be a cracker with two attack-positive teams.
"We're looking forward to the challenge. Hopefully we will have a few more on the park."
"You'll get a good tucker and some cheap beers."
Wherever the game is played, 2016's runnersup Taihape are aware every point counts in this opening round which will prove much more difficult than last season.
Taihape went a perfect seven wins from seven games in the first round of 2016 - winning the Paul Mitchell Cup for the first time - but this year has added Ngamatapouri while finding Black Bull Liquor Pirates and McCarthy's Transport Ruapehu in much stronger form, as well as defending champions Waverley Harvesting Border and semifinalists Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist still being right up there.
It means not even fourth spot is guaranteed come July.
Starting with wins over bottom-teams Utiku Old Boys and Harvey Round Motors Ratana, Taihape were then beaten by Pirates 33-24 on April 1, before rebounding to hammer Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau 54-14 last weekend.
"We're going ok, we were quite baffled by the Pirates result," said Whale.
"We've just worked our way past that.
"[Ruapehu] obviously improved, but we've not thinking that far ahead."
After being injured for three months, the 2016 Premier player of the Year in Tremaine Gilbert made his comeback against Kaierau and will now resume the captaincy.
Whale is also continuing his experiment of using son Luke - a solid utility back - as a loose forward this season, which mirrors Gilbert's successful transition two seasons ago.
Otherwise the close-knit team is very settled from the group of players who have been groomed for the past 5-6 years, with a front-row of Hadlee Hay-Horton and Ritchie Iorns, athletic lock Hamish Bennett, halfback James Barrett and the brain's trust of first-five Tom Wells and fullback Dane Whale.
The current midfield combination is squad mainstays Jaye Flaws and Cyrus Paringatai, although Whale may yet make alterations, while former Highlander Glen Horton has played two matches, although he currently "comes and goes".
"This time of the year the roar of the deer usually keeps him away."
With no victories but four bonus points from their three games, Ngamatapouri remain poised to secure their first win of the season - being unlucky in their 38-31 loss to Marist when they had to play around 60 minutes with 14 men.
The status of second-five Isireli Baleitavuku is to be confirmed after his red card against Marist, coming under the new rules which govern reckless tackling around the head and neck area.
"[The Marist player] was falling forward. I didn't think it warranted a red card, but I didn't have a whistle in my hand," said Hudson.
With regular skipper Reid Belton still likely to be injured until the second round of games, Hudson's Steelform Wanganui team mate Samu Kubunavanua may continue his current club career as a winger-turned-flanker, depending on how the squad looked at training on Thursday night.
"Like a lot of teams this time of year, the big issue has been player availability," said Hudson.
"We started two weeks early and some had other commitments.
"It's been good to be competitive with missing personnel. We are just there or thereabouts."
In the other games today, Ruapehu will have a big test after two comfortable wins when they travel to Spriggens Park to meet Pirates in the battle of fourth vs fifth, while Kaierau will have to pick themselves up with Border coming to the country club.
Even this early in the season, Ratana and Utiku Old Boys will be playing for pride, and possibly their only chance of victory, when they meet at Memorial Park.