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Home / Whanganui Chronicle / Sport

Tikoisolomone back and Gilbert gone

By Jared Smith
Whanganui Chronicle·
15 Sep, 2016 11:32 AM4 mins to read

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After a week off, Renato Tikoisolomone takes his turn in the No8 jersey for Wanganui against King Country in Te Kuiti tomorrow.

After a week off, Renato Tikoisolomone takes his turn in the No8 jersey for Wanganui against King Country in Te Kuiti tomorrow.

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The revolving door in the Steelform Wanganui loose forwards continues for the bus up to Te Kuiti this weekend to face difficult neighbours King Country in the remaining game between unbeaten teams in the Mitre 10 Heartland Championship.

Recovering from injury, Bryn Hudson moves into the starting blindside flanker berth, while Renato Tikoisolomone returns to No8 after a weekend with the Development XV.

Last weekend's double tryscorer Malakai Volau moves back to the bench while Tremaine Gilbert steps down to play the Development XV's final match against Wellington Maori Development in Levin.

With 6-7 players now fit and capable of filling a starters berth on the side or back of the scrum, coach Jason Caskey will continue with rotation policy for at least this weekend as there is a second-tier game still available.

"Renato had a turn in the Development team.

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"We've got one extra so try to keep everyone interested, and Tremaine's started the last two games.

"At the end of the day you're trying to create, that's why you rotate people in an out."

The one area the team is getting low is wingers, with Samu Kubunavanua not quite reaching full extension on his injured ankle last weekend, which continued at Tuesday night training.

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"You can't really have a winger if you can't open up full noise."

Therefore, with Simon Dibben and Micheal Nabuliwaqe still out, veteran Cameron Crowley will start on the right wing and bolter Kaveni Dabenaise rejoins the team on the bench.

Caskey said a case could have been made for fullback Tupu Tavae, who was in outstanding form for the Development XV, but with centre Craig Clare and winger Te Rangatira Waitokia able to cover No15, Dabenaise suited their needs for utility backs.

"With three backs out at the moment with injury, Kaveni was one in the wider training squad to keep an eye on.

"We did talk about Tupu but he's not a specialist midfield."

The side expected to be waiting for them in Te Kuiti will likely be well settled, as the core group of King Country's side of the past few seasons have been retained, continuing a border war which since 2012 has become very tight, with the hosts able to drag Wanganui down to their level.

It is also the battle of the Cup holders as Wanganui won their fourth Meads Cup, while King Country claimed their first-ever Heartland success with the 2015 Lochore Cup.

With the exception of Wanganui's 37-6 win in the 2014 Lochore Cup semifinal - the match which defined the team's return to Meads Cup glory - all games with their near northern neighbours, including preseason fixtures, has been decided by barely a few points.

This includes last year's mudlark at Cooks Gardens, which was a 17-17 draw in very cool conditions, although Caskey felt his heavier team would be better if the wet weather returns tomorrow.

"This year, our whole preseason was in the wet, we've got more experience with it.

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"There's a lot of [King Country] guys that have been there the last few years.

"It's always a very hard place to go to.

"You have to play pretty well to come away from Te Kuiti with a win."

Both teams are undefeated, although King Country have had the tougher start with two away games and overall stronger opposition, given Wanganui swept aside West Coast and East Coast.

King Country took advantage of Wairarapa Bush's mistakes to upset them 18-16 in Masterton, and followed up with a 30-24 win over Poverty Bay in Taupo.

They were trailing late against Thames Valley in Te Aroha last Saturday, but scored a 40m try in the final minutes to tie the match 22-22, with standout halfback Zayn Tipping only just missing the conversion to win the game

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It is a big day for the King Country Rugby Union, as the William Webb Ellis trophy will be on display during the big match.

Wanganui
1. Tietie Tuimauga; 2. Roman Tutauha; 3. Viki Tofa; 4. Campbell Hart; 5. Gavin Thornbury; 6. Bryn Hudson; 7. Peter Rowe (c); 8. Renato Tikoisolomone; 9. Lindsay Horrocks; 10. Steve Crosbie; 11. Te Rangatira Waitokia; 12. Kameli Kuruyabaki; 13. Craig Clare; 14. Cameron Crowley; 15. Ace Malo.
Reserves - Forwards: 16. Cole Baldwin; 17. Hamish Mellow; 18. Jamie Hughes; 19. Malakai Volau. Backs: 20. Kane Tamou; 21. Dane Whale; 22. Kaveni Dabenaise.

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