There’s a silver lining on each game
From here on out, Steelform Whanganui’s 2024 Bunnings Warehouse Heartland Championship campaign is all about trophies. After a successful two-week road campaign when title contenders Thames Valley and Mid Canterbury were dispatched, Whanganui will be staying at home, or close as possible to it, with derby fixtures for the rest of the round robin.
And therefore all of them will be for inter-union prizes and, should they keep the trophy cabinet full, it will mean their home Meads Cup semifinal spot remains intact.
It starts tomorrow against Wairarapa Bush — as Whanganui look to become the first side this campaign to successfully defend their recentlywon Bill Osborne Taonga, as well as hanging on to the inter-union Bruce Steel Memorial Cup, which they would then also defend next weekend in Levin.
Named after the 48-game Whanganui All Black and former NZR president, the Bill Osborne Taonga has been on a bit of a tour this week, including a public showing on Wednesday at the Springvale Park fields during a Rippa-Rugby tournament.
“The taonga and the Bruce Steel Cup, to be played for, those trophies are a by-product of playing well,” said coach Jason Hamlin as his side kicks off the taonga’s sixth reign since its introduction in 2021.
“Practising right and getting the squad right, keeping everybody interested.”
The squad which travelled to Ashburton to defeat Mid Canterbury returned intact with just a little wear and tear.
Young import lock Rueben Allen is still recovering from concussion but is likely to receive clearance for next weekend’s game, although winger Lafo Takiari Ah Ching will need longer due to complications from previous head knocks.
Coming out of the Mid Canterbury game, when Whanganui scored five first-half tries but had a tougher slog in the second half, Hamlin wants to see more sustained periods of execution — having gone with a flatter backline with the desire for quick catch-and-pass.
“We were running through the spaces in between them and, when we did that, we were hard to contain,” he said.
“We have to ask the question and if they don’t [answer], we’ll score points.
“[Then] we fell into the trap of ‘one off the ruck’, made it easy to defend.
“Just not getting the ball enough. Sometimes, fatigue has an aspect to it, [and] the bench takes a few minutes to get into the game.”
Ideally, Whanganui wants to be getting their dynamic centre Alekesio Vakarorogo in one-on-one situations,
after his two breathtaking solo tries in Ashburton — the first beating six tacklers from 30m out, the second just out-gassing the cover defence from deep in his own half.
“Once he got over halfway, they were never going to catch him,” said Hamlin.
The other key moment worth replication was the die-hard tackling and quick breakdown turnaround, as flankers Josefa Namosimalua and Jamie Hughes stopped rampaging lock Shepherd Mhembere inches from scoring, and earned a clearing penalty that let Whanganui get straight back to the other end to score.
“It’s marrying that attacking stuff with some defending.”
Facing their fellow Bruce Steel Cup union Horowhenua-Kāpiti last weekend, Wairarapa set a rather infamous Heartland record — the most points scored by a losing team in their 62-45 defeat.
Nonetheless, one should not underestimate a squad with veterans like fullback Tipene Hawira (67 games) and lock Sam Gammie (65), while outside back Soli Malatai (40) shares the Heartland game record of five tries in a match with Vakarorogo.
No 8 Joseva Tako scored a hattrick against Horowhenua-Kāpiti,
while hooker Bruce Kauika-Petersen is back this campaign after four seasons playing NPC rugby for Wellington and then Northland.
“They’ve got some talent and they can score points, and that’s what we’ll be driving home on Thursday night [training] and leading into the game,” said Hamlin.
He is looking forward to seeing former Whanganui Marist clubmate Ashton Coates — the first five who played local Premier rugby from 2018-2021, before heading south and earning his Heartland debut two weeks ago.
Kickoff is at 2.30pm.