Frustrations caused by suspensions, injuries and foul weather have hit three of the four Central Otago teams involved in tomorrow’s premier club rugby semifinals.
Worst hit has been Wakatipu. It was scheduled to host Upper Clutha at a saturated Queenstown Rec which has been closed for training five of the past six weeks, leaving coach Brett Anderson a frustrated man.
“We had the bye last Saturday and haven’t been able train this week because the ground is closed again,” Anderson said.
“Monday night’s snowfall didn’t help.
“There are no alternatives for training — no indoor options. It’s just so frustrating.”
Added to that, the side goes into tomorrow’s crucial encounter without experienced midfielder Rube Peina, who is out of town, while props Nick Riceman and Adam Fleming are out injured.
Its opponent, Upper Clutha, is the one semifinalist that has come through unscathed. All the players reported fit at training on Tuesday following the handsome 41-24 victory over Maniototo.
The draw in Central’s new-style competition has pitted Wakatipu and Upper Clutha against each other three times in four weeks. Wakatipu won the first two clashes, 14-0 and 17-15.
Upper Clutha coach Garry Hape said after his team’s demolition of Maniototo at Wanaka last weekend that Wakatipu would be fearing them.
“They won’t be looking forward to meeting us for a third time,” Hape said.
“We could have won those two earlier clashes and we’re still improving.”
Cromwell Goats and Arrowtown are each missing a key forward following their clash at Anderson Park a fortnight ago.
Goats lock Travis Mitchell, a standout player throughout the season, and Arrowtown prop Pricee Imlach were each red-carded following a skirmish after the final whistle. They were each suspended for six weeks, those penalties being reduced to three weeks on appeal.
Goats manager Russell Decke said Mitchell would be severely missed.
“He’s been one of our outstanding players, week in, week out,’’ Decke said.
Flanker Daniel Hurring is still nursing bruised ribs and is an unlikely starter, meaning five members of the Cromwell Cavaliers side have been promoted to the reserves.
“It demonstrates the value of having the Cavaliers team in the competition, even though they take a lot of batterings. It prepares players for promotion to the Goats team in challenging times.”
Arrowtown is down to a squad of 22 players, the bare minimum.
“That’s enough to get through this weekend,” coach Dan Eyles said, conceding that his team needed to adopt a better 80-minute game plan against the Goats.
“We were fantastic for 20 minutes against them two weeks ago, but we have tended to lose concentration during games.
“We were good for 80 minutes against Alexandra last Saturday, so here’s hoping that carries over against the Goats.”
- Bob Howitt
