Wakatipu Premiers host Arrowtown at noon this Saturday at the Queenstown Events Centre to kick off a four-match ‘super round’ which will mark the centenary of the White Horse Cup.
It’ll just be the second competition game for the two sides — Wakatipu last Thursday had a convincing 36-12 away win against Alexandra while Arrowtown were pipped 21-20 at home by Cromwell.
Following poor recent seasons, Arrowtown captain Ryan Egerton saw some promising signs last week ahead of Saturday’s derby, despite the ‘‘disappointing’’ result.
‘‘We’ve got a lot of confidence out of that game with our attack and our defence.
‘‘We’ve got a few penalties to sort out, and we’re going to have to lift another gear, but I think we can definitely tip up this Wakatipu unit.’’
New Wakatipu coach Tom Cunningham was stoked with their first game — ‘‘we knew we had a good prep, it was just awesome to put that into practice against a quality Alex opposition’’.
However, having been around the club for a few years, coaching the Wanderers, he says ‘‘you can never take past form or previous seasons’ results [into account] when it comes to the Battle of the Basin’’.
‘‘Both teams just get up for it no matter what.’’
Cunningham says his side’s really looking to perform on the big stage — ‘‘we’re honoured to have it here’’.
However, he says his coaching group will be cautioning their players — ‘‘play the game, not the occasion’’.
