Kevin Hare: Heartland Rugby representative previews the final round between South Canterbury and Horowhenua-Kapiti

South Canterbury coach Nigel Walsh believes their off-field environment is a major reason for their on-field success in rugby's Heartland Championship. 

They're going for a record-setting 37th consecutive win in the competition this afternoon when they take on Horowhenua-Kapiti at Eden Park in Auckland. 

Kevin Hare out of heartlandrugby.co.nz joined D'Arcy Waldegrave to preview the latest round of the 'peoples rugby' and Eden Park clash.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the All Sport Breakfast podcast with Darcy
Waldegrave from News Talk ZEDB.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
And it's another weekend of grassroots or should I say
filthy mud action Heartland Championship. Kevin Hair always great to
have you on board. Rub your hands together, mate. What
have you got served up for us this weekend?

Speaker 3 (00:25):
Well, I can tell you it shouldn't be muddy because
I'm looking at the weather forecast for today and we've
got sunshine and lovely spring weather all throughout the country.
Today was a bit of cloud and gray mouse some
and Gisbane sun up at sung a tar down there
at Omoru, so even more we know he's going to

(00:46):
put on the sunshine. So yeah, it's still looking hopefully
good for another rousing weekend of rugby. Let's see if
they can break the five hundred point mark. They only
got the four eighty five last week.

Speaker 2 (00:59):
There's not a lot of defense in some of those games.
See Kevin. The reason I'm talking about the weathers. I'm
still getting over what happened in all this week, okay,
so just you know, give me some strength. So let's
talk about these guys. These South Canterbury are still running
away at the top of the table. I'm likely to
be touched, right or is that just me being a
bit keen about my former neighbors.

Speaker 3 (01:20):
No, they have forgotten how to lose. I mean they
were down twenty eight five to north Otago. North Otago
must have been thinking, oh, these guys are easy, and
then they ended up going down by what was it
forty one thirty one or forty four to thirty one,
and yeah, forty four thirty one, and it was like,

(01:41):
that's the amazing team. And of course you guys get
to see them in Auckland on Sunday afternoon at four
oh five.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
What do you mean Auckland Horror from there in South
Canbury doing plan up here?

Speaker 3 (01:56):
You Well, basically it's a it's a home game for
half an hour and the sort of as part of
a tripleheader. We've got Auckland Storm taking on the Hawks
Bay two at I think it's twelve o'clock, and then
something called Auckland's playing the mighty Mighty Southland Stags at
two o'clock, and then at four o'clock they've got Horrofina

(02:18):
taking on the might of South Canterbury first time since
about two thousand and two Harpen have played at the
Garden of Eden and South Canterbury last played there in
nineteen seventy nine and Division one game against the White
and Blues.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
Horror fan will be feeling pretty good about themselves and
away when war Raffle Bush of last weekend too and
quite a convincing one while they scored more points, but
again they didn't defend like their host defender depended on it.

Speaker 3 (02:49):
Today No, well, I mean both East Coast and Maira
Bush equaled the record for highest and losing score with
forty five points. As I said, it's almost like you
feel like saying to some of these all black coaches
that are all and sundry, you know, I mean, I
must be a spare all black defense coach floating around

(03:11):
somewhere to go around and teach these teams, because as
we said, you know, four hundred and eighty five points
last week. So far over thirty games, we've been getting
an average of sixty three points a game. There's already
been two hundred and sixty tries scored. So if you
have to entertainment, you know, yeah, it's sort of like

(03:33):
what basketball scores are we going to get today? It's
crazy because if we look at these games, you know,
one Minilli wire apple Bush just to kick that one off,
I mean four old wire apple Bush haven't won in
wan Minnilli since two thousand and six, and since then
I've only won twice once in two thousand and nine
a months in twenty nineteen. So of course the old

(03:56):
friends at the tav have got them at thirteen to
one and wang Ani at a dollar at a dollar
one sense I think it is. And so I mean
there's two trophies doup for grabs. It's waning in these
first offense of the bill Osmon Tonga and also the
famous Bruce Steel Cup. So there's trophies on the line
for both teams there. And then if we look at

(04:18):
the other games that are on, even if we look
at the next one down the line, Thames Aali taking
on Buller at sung Matar, that's going to be a
huge game. Last time Buller won in Thames was way
back in two thousand and six again, so you've probably
put your circle around Thames to win that. And then

(04:39):
of course we've got the big game. I think it
will be of the round, and that's the Mighty West
Coast taking on the power house of East Coast, So
it's the battle of the two coasts for the Arthur
Wicks Trophy and the favorites going into that is East Coast.
But in saying that, East Coast have not won in
Graymouth since twenty eleven and they've only picked up a

(05:02):
couple of wins there. They did win last year up
in Gisbone should I say twenty nine to twenty seven,
so that was a close match to that one. So
if you're looking at making a dollar, i'p go West
Coast and then their neighbors, probably Bay are taking Old
King Country. The Rams are going really really well, so
probably be though don't discount them. They've got five bonus

(05:26):
points four lost bonus points, so they were a try
away with all these high scoring games.

Speaker 1 (05:32):
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