Whanganui club rugby: Steelform Whanganui take on Hawke’s Bay Saracens in pre-season match in Taihape

Dane Whale is tackled in a previous iteration of the regular Whanganui vs Hawke's Bay Saracens pre-season fixture back in 2018.

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It will be a somewhat makeshift Steelform Whanganui line-up that takes the field for their second pre-season fixture against regular foe the Hawke’s Bay Saracens in Taihape on Saturday.

Playing on the eastern boundary of the WRFU catchment at Memorial Park, which is an easier 151-minute drive from Napier for the visitors, Whanganui will still be without some front-line players who are planning to come back next weekend against the Wellington Development XV.

Meanwhile, the active squad is dealing with injuries, the biggest being the hurt knee of vice-captain Jamie Hughes during the win over Manawatū Evergreens in last weekend’s game of three halves, as well as a handful of confirmed permanent withdrawals from those initially selected.

Unavailable for this game are halfback Lindsay Horrocks (farm commitments) and midfielder Alekesio Vakarorogo (Fiji), along with first-five Brook Tremayne, who has an upcoming physical assessment with the NZ Police.

Apprentice player Neo Tichbon is a maybe due to shin splints, while midfielder Timoci Seruwalu has not quite fully recovered from a back injury sustained in the MRU’s Hankins Shield final, where his College Old Boys team lost to Varsity 34-33 after being ahead by 21 points early in the second half.

“Hopefully he is available next week and he can have that run to build into Heartland proper,” said Whanganui coach Jason Hamlin, who had originally intended to name his finalised Bunnings Warehouse Heartland Championship squad before next weekend’s trip to Lower Hutt.

“There’s bumps and bruises.

“The amount of injuries we’ve had, we’ll have to name it after the Wellington game.

“We’ll have to play well [without] everyone there, and guys will have to sit in spots they’re not comfortable with.”

Also unavailable for this game are lock Matt Ashworth and loose forward Doug Horrocks, but this is offset by the return of incumbent lock Josh Lane, while fellow jumper Brad O’Leary will continue to fill in before leaving for his Ireland incursion.

Hamlin is likely to borrow a loose forward from the McFall Fuel Whanganui Development XV squad but, in better news, it appears promising forward Josefa Namosimalua has finally got medical clearance after his blue card in club rugby four weeks ago.

“We were at WAM [Whanganui Accident and Medical] last night [Tuesday] trying to get it sorted, and we believe we’ve got it sorted,” said Hamlin.

“Nice to get him back on track and running around.”

Namosimalua’s return is well-timed, because his predecessor at Waverley Harvesting Border - and Whanganui’s 2022 Player of the Year award co-winner - Semi Vodosese will be suiting up against his old teammates rather than with them.

Whanganui had initially named Vodosese as a player of origin in their squad, but his selection for the Saracens campaign is likely to rule him out of Heartland, given his employer in Hawke’s Bay is the manager of his club team, so understandably, there is a push for him to remain entrenched in their system.

“At this point, if he wants to stay in the mix there, he has to do what they are requesting him to do,” said Hamlin.

The one area where the squad remains stacked is props, with Hadlee Hay-Horton returning to Whanganui colours for the first time since 2021, joining the current six who all impressed last weekend.

Therefore, captain Dane Whale may look to keep the ball in the set piece for longer periods while utilising his tactical kicking, being back home at his beloved Memorial Park.

“He’ll have a big part to play. We may have to call on a few of his mates,” said Hamlin.

Even without Vakarorogo and Seruwalu, the midfield combination of Apolosi Tanoa and Silio Waqalevu was strong against the Evergreens – Whanganui making about a dozen significant line breaks and converting four of them into tries.

When changes were made in the third half against the NZDF, the number fell to four to five line breaks, which led to two close-range tries from the props.

“[We’ll] just try to fine-tune it, really. Speaking to the players, when we could do it – we could see some real benefit from the style we wanted to play,” said Hamlin.

“We were able to find some holes.”

Another facet which is crucial in Heartland, especially considering defending Meads Cup champions South Canterbury have the radar-accurate Sam Briggs, is the goal-kicking.

Fullback Sheldon Pakinga slotted five of six attempts at Cooks Gardens last weekend, receiving guidance from the WRFU’s Peter O’Shaughnessy, who had previously worked as a kicking coach in Hawke’s Bay and did wonders with former Whanganui kicker Ethan Robinson.

“They got the mechanics there, it’s just fine-tuning them. Good young player and some good coaching, really,” said Hamlin.

Last year in the pre-season against the Saracens, Whanganui emerged with a 45-27 victory at Napier’s Tremain Park, with current squad members Peceli Malanicagi and Tiari Mumby amongst the try-scorers.

Kick-off is 2.30pm.

The potential available squad is:

Forwards: Gabriel Hakaraia, Keightley Watson, Ranato Tikoisolomone, Hadlee Hay-Horton, Raymond Salu, Konradd Newland, Emmanuel Wineera, Roman Tutauha, Alesana Tofa, Peter Travis Hay-Horton, Josh Lane, Samu Kubunavanua, Josefa Namosimalua.

Backs: Winslin Klassen, Eben Claassen, Dane Whale, Josaia Bogileka, Apolosi Tanoa, Peceli Malanicagi, Tiari Mumby, Silio Waqalevu, Sheldon Pakinga.