Whanganui, meanwhile, have to pick themselves up off the floor after last weekend’s record 38-5 loss to Thames Valley, and coach Jason Hamlin wants pride to come to the fore with important silverware still up for grabs.
“There’s so much youth in this group, so they can have a shot at doing something – at making a final in the Heartland competition – and that’s something really positive and energising for them,“ Hamlin said.
“If you look around our games, even the scores, we’ve been a grinding team with some flashes of really good stuff there.
“We’ve been able to grind out victories and even some of those losses we’re grinding away on it, so that [battlers] is probably the apt description of it.
“Just playing for the jersey is a big thing for this week – getting the boys up and running again.
“Obviously disappointed out of the effort of last Saturday, but we just talked around as a group [that] we’ve got to own up to it.”
Ironically, of the four try-scorers in the previous win over Horowhenua-Kāpiti, three are now unavailable due to injury.
Pacey backs Te Atawhai Mason and Harry Symes were both hurt against Thames Valley, with lock Matt Ashworth having previously succumbed to injury and winger Mitai Hemi still sitting it out with delayed concussion symptoms.
Hemi’s unavailability saw promising youngster Dominic Devine get his first Heartland start against the Swamp Foxes.
“Since the Barbarians finished, he’s been training with us anyway, for this sort of reason,” Hamlin said.
“It doesn’t always happen, sometimes they train with you and don’t get a chance, and sometimes they are right in the mix.”
Hamlin was happy with the returning effort of powerhouse prop Raymond Salu, who has only had one match for Whanganui Pasifika in late August since the end of club rugby.
“He held his end of the scrum up, gives you a bit more carry and he got around for the tackles – there were some big collisions.
“I thought he did a lot of things well and he’ll be better off for the run.”
Horowhenua-Kāpiti have had their own attrition rate to deal with.
Lock Dallas Wiki and former Samoan test halfback Kahn Fotuali’i did not make the trip to Timaru, the No 9 jersey going to Tema Tihema for just his second game, while three other players made debuts.
Recent outside back changes also saw Joeli Rauca come on to the starting wing – local fans will remember he played four games for Whanganui in 2021.
However, flanker Albert Hemopo, along with midfielders Emmanual Solomona and Connor Paki, are still there, having been very strong last time, while former New Zealand Heartland XV flanker Aaron Lahmert brings 92 games’ worth of experience.
“There are going to be big bodies running at us again, we know the last time we played them there was cut and thrust around it, so we’re not expecting an easy game by any stretch,” Hamlin said.
“We can’t change what’s happened, but we can have an effect on what will be this Saturday.”
Kickoff is 2.30pm.
