Jubilee Finals Preview!

Northern United v Petone There is a new stronghold in Wellington rugby regardless of today?s Jubilee Cup final outcome. Following their inception in 1990, when the Porirua and Titahi Bay clubs amalgamated, the sleeping giant of Northern United finally awoke in 2003, when they won the Swindale Shield to capture their first premier title. Since then Norths went on to lift last year?s Jubilee Cup with a pulsating 20-18 win in the final over Poneke, and if they can repeat that triumph against Petone today it will reinforce their conversion into the new powerhouse of Wellington rugby.

Their opponents today know all about Jubilee Cup dynasties, winning the Cup a remarkable eight years out of ten between 1967 and 1976, and again four times between 1989 and 1993. But the Villagers have won it only once since, winning the inaugural final played at Westpac Stadium in 2000, so will be well motivated to dethrone Norths.

Today?s final pits the first and second qualifiers from the eight team round-robin against each other, with Norths going through their seven matches unbeaten and then beating Swindale Shield champions Upper Hutt 26-21 in last Sunday?s semi-final in front of a bumper crowd at Porirua Park. Petone?s path has been more precarious, losing two games in qualifying second and stealing a 19-17 last-minute semi-final victory against Poneke with a converted try from the sideline from a tighthead scrum.

Head to head, Norths have won both their matches in 2005, 28-3 in round four of the Swindale Shield, and 16-15 in a closer contest in round five of Cup play. This will mean nothing today though, and picking a champion before kick-off would be a difficult task. Both sides are strong in set pieces and in recycling their own ball, and they will attack out wide at any opportunity. These teams also bring an almost identical points scoring record into today?s final, with Norths having scored 190 points and 27 tries in their eight Cup games to date, while Petone have scored 195 points and crossed the try line on 25 occasions. So sit back and enjoy local club rugby at its best.