THE Kiwi has landed.

Whether or not Daniel Snee proves to be the catalyst which lifts Wharfedale up the table remains to be seen but despite remaining pointless and adrift at the foot of the table, there are a lot more positives at Wharfeside Avenue this week.

Snee's arrival is just one of the reasons to be cheerful. Another is the return of highly experienced pair John Lawn and Hedley Verity to the side for this Saturday's trip to Launceston and, perhaps most significantly, was the display against Manchester at the weekend.

But first to Snee, who is currently living in Skipton sharing a house with Adam Oldfield, one of his rivals for the No 10 jersey at Wharfedale.

He is not included in the squad to fly down to Launceston, having to prove his worth in the Foresters, who are at home to Morley on Saturday.

Director of Rugby Michael Harrison has had a look at the Kiwi in training at the start of the week and his initial verdict was that "he clearly knows his way round a rugby pitch".

But he will have to prove his spurs first which thrusts the spotlight back on Chris Meehan, who gave a mixed display against Manchester.

While at times he took the wrong option, a poor kick in particular resulting in a try conceded, what did go down well was his willingness to try different things. Nor did he let his head drop when the groans of the crowd greeted a chip ahead which went badly wrong. By the end of the game he had won them round and deserves another chance.

The return of Lawn and Verity can only improve the pack's cohesion and Alistair Allen starts in the back row with Ben Pattinson stepping down to the bench.

Harrison said there was nothing to read into that other than that the selectors were still not sure what was their best back row combination.

"To be honest it's six and two threes and we're trying all the permutations to give everyone a chance," said Harrison.

Wharfedale: J Davies, S Horsfall, C Malherbe, A Baggett (capt), A Lovatt; C Meehan, J Newton; C Ingram,J Lawn, N Dickinson, D Lister, A Capstick, H Verity, B Wade, A Allen

Replacements: B Pattinson, P Peel, A Peel, A Oldfield.