Key fourth round for winless sides as most grades start this weekend

UPDATED: After the opening three weeks the fencing is well and truly over, and for some sides hands are already poised over the panic buttons while others find themselves sitting in comparatively comfortable states. The week’s deluge will have also softened up the grounds, so there’s the real possibility that this round might be the first real taste of winter conditions. Also of note is that a number of players who have been on Hurricanes U20 and Development duty will be back in club colours this weekend.

It’s also the first full weekend of the season, with almost every senior club grade scheduled to be in action.

Premier Swindale Shield

Three weeks in and clear strata have formed in the standings. Four teams are unbeaten, and four are yet to open their account.

There are appetising match-ups across the schedule, each with their own sub-plot within the wider context of both the round and the Swindale season; and no fewer than five games have their respective interclub trophies at stake.

The highlight match-ups are between sides currently inside the top-six when Oriental-Rongotai and Wainuiomata put their unbeaten records on the line when they visit Petone and Marist St Pat’s respectively.

Petone and Ories had contrasting days out last weekend; the Villagers overcoming Avalon and the Magpies having to fight back to see off Tawa. The hosts welcome back James Blackwell from Hurricanes duty while Carlos Price is in line for his first game from the bench. No.8 Jack Ross plays his 50th game for the famous old club, while Jared Kahu could play game #101 after bringing up his ton against Avalon last weekend. Another interesting name on that bench is Jimmy Morgan, playing his first game for the side since 2009.

Ories’ line-up is notable for the fact that Whetu Henry will be making a rare appearance from the bench, with Alex Fidow getting his first Premier start at tighthead. Adam Deck continues at #10, while there are first appearances for the year for bruising runner Luke Tau’alupe (whose contest with Petone’s Mateaki Kafetolu should alone be worth watching), Malo Tuitama, and NZ Sevens rep Ambrose Curtis.

Petone will look to retain the interclub Jim Brown Memorial Trophy that they won last year in a stubborn 6-3 result at the Polo Ground – a high point in their trying Swindale campaign – that also ended Ories’ hopes of catching Old Boys-University for the Swindale title. That trophy was donated by Brown’s former employer Dominion Breweries following the death of the loyal Petone servant and 1965-74 Wellington representative in 2004; he is also honoured with the Jim Brown Medal given to the player of the match in the Jubilee Cup Final. The Villagers will also be making their second defence of the Bill Brien Challenge Trophy.

South across the harbour Marist St Pat’s will be looking to take down an unbeaten side for the second time in as many weeks when Wainuiomata visit Evans Bay Park. After their surprise loss to Petone two weeks ago they were far more clinical in dispatching the Upper Hutt Rams and will look to repeat that rather than the earlier performance. Wainuiomata have mastered the art of the close win so far in 2017, leaving it late in all three matches so far. They’re also one of the few sides not fazed by Evans Bay’s confines having triumphed twice there in recent seasons (2011 & 2013).

A pair of redheads bring up milestones in this match: MSP’s Isaac O’Connor (aka ‘The Red Mist’) becomes the clubs’ 40th centurion, while Wainuiomata’s Jason Love will start at fullback in his 150th outing for the green and blacks; coincidentally both players made their debuts against the same opposition. MSP make three changes to last weekend with Valentine Meachen the notable absentee and Wainuiomata shuffle their deck again, with Thomas Umaga-Jensen given clearance by the authorities to make his senior debut for his home club from the bench.

At the other end of the table is a quartet of teams hunting for their first wins of the campaign. Defending Jubilee Cup champions Tawa are in the position of looking up at everyone else on the table even if they’ve faced three of last season’s top-five teams. Tomorrow they host at Lyndhurst another that made last year’s Jubilee Cup in Wellington, who themselves need to rebound from a pair of losses to avoid falling back from the top-eight. Tawa’s woes are compounded by their injury list which last week added bruising No.8 Peniasi Tokakece to the broken bones casualty ward already occupied by Randall Bishop; and much will depend on the mercurial James So’oialo who faces the side he played for last season. TJ Fermanis takes Tokakece’s place at No.8 and will lead the side, with Tolu Fahamokioa, Kemara Hauiti-Parapara, and Ben Lam lining up after Hurricanes Development duty. Flanker Tavita Logovae plays his 50th game.

Wellington likewise have personnel issues, with lock Simon Shearer suspended after being sent-off against Norths last weekend with his place being taken by Tom Robinson. Hilton Mexted has been named at fullback, with erstwhile midfielder Peni Nabainivalu named at #10.

Both sides have players with plenty of speed, so the hope is that conditions and tactics give them space to shine. They will also contest the Murray & Alan Mexted Cup interclub trophy – two men synonymous with both clubs – which is held by Wellington after their 32-19 win at Lyndhurst on Opening Day last season. Tawa won the return match in the Jubilee Cup 21-8 at Hataitai.

Poneke likewise find themselves winless after three rounds, and like Tawa host a side that contested the Jubilee Cup with them in 2016 – in their case the Upper Hutt Rams. The Rams will want better fortune than they had making the same trip into the city last weekend when MSP dealt to them in the second half, but a desperate home side will be a dangerous thing to deal with. Poneke get Ray Treviranus and Isiah Walker-Leawere back from suspension and rep duty respectively and have a couple of debutants in hooker Andrew Jones and halfback Jimmy-Lee Hongara. The Rams give Paddy Gluck a first start at halfback and Sio Luamanu comes in at blindside with brothers Hayden and Daniel Schrijvers both away at the Hong Kong 10’s.

This is another game for an interclub trophy; in their case it’s the Alby Makeham Shield named for the former Wellington representative halfback who played for both clubs and who acquired the nickname ‘Kick it again’ for the regularity he put boot to ball. That’s held by the Rams after their 21-15 win in a ‘home’ game played at Westpac Stadium as a Hurricanes curtainraiser, while Poneke won the Jubilee return 46-32 at Kilbirnie.

Avalon are also at home, and will be disappointed after a poor outing against Petone after two matches they will feel they probably should have won against Wainuiomata and Ories. They will look to atone for that when they host neighbours Hutt Old Boys Marist on the Fraser Park artificial where footing won’t be an issue. The Eagles got their first win last weekend as their annual odyssey away from the Hutt Rec continues, while the Wolves will look to claim their interclub Billy Herbert Memorial Trophy – Herbert was a HOBM prop who shifted to play for Avalon but suffered a heart attack at the final training ahead of the season – for the first time since 2014, when they played the Eagles second side in the old Senior 1 grade.

The visitors are mostly unchanged from last week, though Joe ‘Apikatoa returns and both Brandyn Laursen and Glen Walters are in the same starting XV for the first time this season. Avalon make a handful of changes with veteran Cameron Cross the notable absentee and Jordan Aquila taking his place. Sefo Aumua makes his first appearance of the year at blindside while the team hasn’t named who will start at hooker, perhaps hopeful that Sefo’s younger brother Asafo will be made available by the Hurricanes.

The only winless side looking for a result away from home is Paremata-Plimmerton, who make the trip south to face competition frontrunners Old Boys-University at Nairnville Park. The Goats are coming off the biggest win of the season so far after dispatching Johnsonville 64-11 at the same venue last weekend and make a host of changes including a first start for NZ Schools prop Tim Farrell, Hugh Renton at openside and first sighting for the year of Joe Hill on the wing.

Pare-Plim make several changes, with former OBU player James Corcoran returning to lead the side from lock in the absence of Tane McMillan-Parata, with Taisson Lealaisalanoa taking the latter’s place at the back of the scrum. They will look again to Blake Neve who has accounted for 39 of the 49 points the side has managed so far.

While OBU will go into the game as warm favourites, both sides only need to look back to last year’s match at Ngatitoa when the then-defending Jubilee Cup champs had to bring some heavy artillery off the bench to subdue their opposition in a 17-6 scoreline.

The final match of the round is at Porirua Park, where Northern United will look to maintain their own unbeaten start against Johnsonville who make the short trip up State Highway 1. The visitors are a much-improved outfit this season and a repeat of last year’s 66-0 and 104-12 shellacking’s wouldn’t seem likely, but the Hawks will want to be better than in last weekend’s loss to OBU. For the hosts another win will be a significant step in their goal of finally returning to the Jubilee Cup but a loss would undo some of the good work so far; they’ve made a host of changes but have kept most of that firepower on the bench should it be needed. Johnsonville make several changes including both props and a number in the backline, with three personnel and two positional changes.

These two will also play for their interclub Barlow Trophy, named for Bert Barlow who played for Johnsonville and later Titahi Bay where he was a prominent figure in that club’s 35-year existence before the merger with Porirua.

As usual all seven Premier matches kickoff at 2.45pm.

Premier Reserve Harper Lock Shield

Perhaps the matchup of note in the second-tier is also at Evans Bay where fourth-placed MSP takes on fifth-placed Wainuiomata on the St Pats artificial in the only match between sides in the current top-six. Leaders HOBM make the short trip up to Fraser Park to face Avalon, while the other unbeaten side – Norths – play host to Johnsonville.

OBU and Paremata-Plimmerton meet at Te Whaea at 12.30pm, Petone and Ories clash at the Rec, and Poneke and the Upper Hutt Rams will be looking to improve their record when they meet at Kilbirnie Park. The remaining game is now at Redwood Park at 12.45pm when Tawa hosts the only winless team, Wellington.

Unless stated, all Premier Reserve matches kickoff at 1pm.

Women's

Our look ahead at the Womens season ran yesterday here on Club Rugby, however for completeness the opening weekends fixtures have HOBM hosting Oriental-Rongotai at Trafalgar Park and OBU heading to the top fields at Porirua Park to take on Norths in the Division 1 Fleurs Trophy, while in Division 2 Paremata-Plimmerton and Petone mark their respective returns to the grade by hosting Tawa at Ngatitoa and Poneke at the Petone Rec respectively with all four matches 11.30am starts. Wainuiomata and MSP have the byes

The remaining competitive grades are all in early-season knockout contests.

Colts

The second week of matches pit last weekend’s winners and losers against each other. In the Division 1 grade Tawa hosts OBU Green at Newlands Park at 12.45pm in the rematch of last year’s championship final while MSP and the Upper Hutt Rams meet at Prince of Wales in the other game for the right to contest the Eric Connolly Cup final next weekend. In Division 2 HOBM face Kapiti at Trentham Memorial Park and Petone visit Ngatitoa to take on Paremata-Plimmerton for places in the James Gilbert Cup contest.

In the brackets for teams that lost last weekend Johnsonville and Wainuiomata get the weekend started tonight when they meet under lights at Alex Moore Park. Tomorrow Norths host Poneke on Porirua Park #4 and Ories and Wellington meet at the Polo Ground in Division 1, while the remaining Division 2 clash pits Avalon against OBU Black at Fraser Park.

All Colts games tomorrow kick off at 1pm.

First Grade

The third-tier kicks off their season tomorrow with the first round of knockout matches. It’s an expanded competition this year, with the WRFU deciding to merge last year’s Reserve Grade Division 1 into this grade. That sees 16 teams entered, split into two divisions.

In Division 1 defending grade champions OBU head to Delaney Park to take on Stokes Valley A, who make a return after playing down in Reserve Grade last year. Runners-up HOBM cross the river to take on Petone – who revert to just one team this year – on the Petone Rec, while Poneke and MSP will stage their own battle over Evans Bay Parade on Kilbirnie #3. The remaining game was to be at Porirua Park between the two Northern United teams – up from one last year – but has been cancelled.

Division 2 is where you’ll find most of the teams that have stepped up. The remaining teams from last year’s competition – Tawa and Avalon – host stalwart sides the MSP Internationals and the Poneke Ruffnuts; Tawa and the Internationals are on neutral ground at Ian Galloway while Avalon and Poneke are on the grass at Fraser Park respectively. The Upper Hutt Pirates welcome the new Stokes Valley B side to Maidstone Park, and another new team – Wainuiomata – will take their bow against the Johnsonville Cripples at William Jones Park.

All First Grade matches remain as 2.45pm kickoffs

Under 85s

Like the Colts and First Graders, the lightweights begin their season with a knockout competition, and like those grades are also split into two divisions each of eight teams.

The highlight clash in the grade is the rematch of last year’s championship Paul Potiki Shield final where Johnsonville will seek an early measure of revenge over Tawa at Helston Park. Defending first-round JC Bowl winners Wellington host MSP Reds at Hataitai, the OBU Bunnies and Avalon are at Te Whaea, while last year’s Division 2 winners the Wests Roosters travel out to HW Shortt to take on Eastbourne.

Division 2 gets underway tonight when the Upper Hutt Rams and Stokes Valley meet under lights on the Maidstone artificial, followed tomorrow by Kapiti hosting Poneke at Paraparaumu Domain at 1pm. MSP Green host HOBM on the St Pats turf and Petone venture over the hill to face Wainuiomata at Mary Crowther in the remaining fixtures.

Unless stated, all games kickoff at 2.45pm.