Tasman's selectors have made minimal changes to their starting lineup as they look for that elusive winning formula in this year's national provincial rugby competition.
The squad is currently in Napier preparing for tomorrow night's fifth-round clash against Hawke's Bay at McLean Park and still searching for their first win of the season.
They have made just four starting changes from the side that lost to Waikato in Hamilton last Friday. None are injury-enforced, although No8 Mark Bright needs a rest after having played every minute of all four games so far and has been replaced by Jonathan Poff who started off the bench against Waikato.
The only other change up front sees the return of prop Sam Prattley to the front row, although Tasman's coaches have attempted some remedial measures to a battered scrum by switching Fai Mika to loosehead and starting Prattley at tighthead. James Hadfield moves back to the bench.
In the backs, halfback Shawn Begg gets his first start of the season ahead of Steve Alfeld, and Kieron Fonotia returns to centre in place of Jack Umaga. According to head coach Kieran Keane, Fonotia was nursing a "slight niggle" against Waikato and started off the bench.
Flanker Shane Christie had six stitches inserted to a head wound suffered during the warm-up to Friday's game. He still started in that match and earns another start tomorrow, with blindside flanker Liam Squire doing enough in the Waikato loss to also secure another start.
Keane said that he and assistant coach Leon MacDonald were attempting to find some balance between preserving players' bodies while also addressing the key areas of a poor scrum and some defensive issues exposed by Waikato.
"We had a session today [Sunday] and we'll go over some of those things again that we did today. It was very light because they are tired and they had to travel. They were in a bus for a long time and we have to be smart about how we prepare.
"We're basically cutting to the set piece for the forwards and the backs are looking at defensive systems, so those are two things high on the agenda."
Keane said that despite four straight defeats, the players were still in good spirits and working hard to try to turn the corner.
"We had a good session this morning where we delivered everything to them and they couldn't hide from it. It was all honest and open and forthright, so they know what the issues are and hopefully they can put it into practise.
"It's about people stepping up too. If they're not stepping up, then it makes life really hard."
Tasman Makos: Tom Marshall, Robbie Malneek, Kieron Fonotia, Andrew Goodman (captain), Mitchell Scott, James Marshall, Shawn Begg, Jonathan Poff, Shane Christie, Liam Squire, Pablo Huete, Filipo Levi, Sam Prattley, Quentin MacDonald, Fai Mika. Substitutes: Francis Smith, Craig Moore, Riki Hoeata, Mark Bright, Steve Alfeld, Jack Umaga, Willie McGoon, James Hadfield.
- The Nelson Mail
The squad is currently in Napier preparing for tomorrow night's fifth-round clash against Hawke's Bay at McLean Park and still searching for their first win of the season.
They have made just four starting changes from the side that lost to Waikato in Hamilton last Friday. None are injury-enforced, although No8 Mark Bright needs a rest after having played every minute of all four games so far and has been replaced by Jonathan Poff who started off the bench against Waikato.
The only other change up front sees the return of prop Sam Prattley to the front row, although Tasman's coaches have attempted some remedial measures to a battered scrum by switching Fai Mika to loosehead and starting Prattley at tighthead. James Hadfield moves back to the bench.
In the backs, halfback Shawn Begg gets his first start of the season ahead of Steve Alfeld, and Kieron Fonotia returns to centre in place of Jack Umaga. According to head coach Kieran Keane, Fonotia was nursing a "slight niggle" against Waikato and started off the bench.
Flanker Shane Christie had six stitches inserted to a head wound suffered during the warm-up to Friday's game. He still started in that match and earns another start tomorrow, with blindside flanker Liam Squire doing enough in the Waikato loss to also secure another start.
Keane said that he and assistant coach Leon MacDonald were attempting to find some balance between preserving players' bodies while also addressing the key areas of a poor scrum and some defensive issues exposed by Waikato.
"We had a session today [Sunday] and we'll go over some of those things again that we did today. It was very light because they are tired and they had to travel. They were in a bus for a long time and we have to be smart about how we prepare.
"We're basically cutting to the set piece for the forwards and the backs are looking at defensive systems, so those are two things high on the agenda."
Keane said that despite four straight defeats, the players were still in good spirits and working hard to try to turn the corner.
"We had a good session this morning where we delivered everything to them and they couldn't hide from it. It was all honest and open and forthright, so they know what the issues are and hopefully they can put it into practise.
"It's about people stepping up too. If they're not stepping up, then it makes life really hard."
Tasman Makos: Tom Marshall, Robbie Malneek, Kieron Fonotia, Andrew Goodman (captain), Mitchell Scott, James Marshall, Shawn Begg, Jonathan Poff, Shane Christie, Liam Squire, Pablo Huete, Filipo Levi, Sam Prattley, Quentin MacDonald, Fai Mika. Substitutes: Francis Smith, Craig Moore, Riki Hoeata, Mark Bright, Steve Alfeld, Jack Umaga, Willie McGoon, James Hadfield.
- The Nelson Mail
