Colossal day of community and international rugby tomorrow

Above: Oriental-Rongotai lock Karl Dumelow celebrates his side's fighting win in his 50th Premier match over Northern United last week. Photo by David Brownlie Photography

Clearly the biggest show in town tomorrow is the Second Test between the All Blacks and the British and Irish Lions at Westpac Stadium, but that takes nothing away from our local competitions which should continue to deliver great grassroots rugby, something that visitors to the region might want to get out and experience at a ground near to them.

The Test match does, however, have one knock-on effect, which most grades starting 30 minutes earlier than usual this weekend.

As usual time and venues below are subject to changes from WRFU.

Premier Jubilee Cup

With this weekend representing the mid-point in the Jubilee Cup round-robin, it starts to become critical for some teams if they are to make the playoffs. The major talking point of the week however has been a pair of points deductions with Tawa losing five for a player registration issue, and Norths two for their Colts side defaulting their match last Friday night.

One of those sides; Tawa will be looking to rebound from that setback in the biggest way possible when they take on the last unbeaten side, leaders Old Boys-University, at home at Lyndhurst. As much as the loss of points hurts, Tawa are at least still in a better position than this time last year when they were winless and bottom, and after edging their contest with MSP should still be confident on the park. They have opted not to provide a teamlist at this stage though a strong side can be expected, with James So’oialo playing his 50th for the club at second five-eighth. Best and Fairest front runner Hemi Fermanis is likely to be missing through illness.

OBU also came out on the winning side of a narrow margin, just holding on against HOBM in complete contrast to their romp against Petone the week before. While the Goats have named an unchanged backline with Tomasi Palu available from the bench, it’s a rejigged forward pack due to injuries; Morgan Poi switches to the front row for the first time this season, Paterson Carter moves to No8 and veteran Ian Kennedy comes in a lock. Daven Candy will be looking to add to his tally of 5 tries in their last two games.

The two also met at Lyndhurst during the Swindale Shield back in round two in late March, where OBU won 45-28.

Second and third meet at the Hutt Rec where the city parish – Marist St Pat’s – venture to for the second time this season to face their valley counterparts, Hutt Old Boys Marist. Both dropped from the ranks of the unbeaten last weekend losing narrowly to Tawa and OBU respectively and both sides will not only be looking to get back to winning ways, but also stake their claim for a home semi-final.

The Eagles get both James O’Reilly and Joe ‘Apikatoa back for their front row with the latter playing his 50th game for the club, and Ope Peleseuma returns to midfield. Their notable absentee is Sheridan Rangihuna with Matt Poole pulling on the halfbacks jersey, though they have plenty of depth and firepower on their reserve bench. MSP will be without two of their veterans tomorrow in skipper Valentine Meachen and Peter Sciascia with their places taken by Joe Walding-Karaitiana and Jack Taulapapa, and Isaac O’Connor takes on the captaincy. Their only other change is in the front-row where Vince Sakaria returns. Their earlier meeting came on Anzac Day, where HOBM prevailed 31-28.

Across the river at the Petone Rec are two sides battling just to stay in contention, and the reality is that for both Petone and Norths everything from this point forward is almost must-win, and whoever comes away with the loss tomorrow is likely eliminated from the race. Also of intrigue is the two teams remaining schedules; tomorrow is the Villagers last scheduled home game of the year, while Norths finish up with all three remaining games at Jerry Collins Stadium.

Facing this challenge, Petone have stuck with almost the same side that took the field last Saturday, with the only change involving Hayden Davis coming in for Charlie Pahulu, with Jack Ross moving into lock to accommodate the move. Conversely Norths have rung the changes, especially in the backs where Leon Ellison is the only player who starts again this weekend, and even then he shifts from halfback to first-five while upfront Chris Middleton returns and Johnwhite Silva moves back to prop. The two sides met all the way back on Opening Day at Awakairangi Park, where Norths won 25-19.

The final game of this section of the preview is back in the city at the Polo Ground where two sides very much used to be part of the playoffs square off with Oriental-Rongotai hosting Wainuiomata; where both sides will be wanting to continue the momentum from last weekend’s wins and keep themselves at the forefront of the table.

Both sides made three changes. For Ories Poasa Poasa, Sean Hay, and Malo Tuitama come into their starting side; the latter seeing a reshuffle amongst the backs while Hay replaces the injured Adam Deck behind the scrum. Wainuiomata’s three are straight swaps; two are upfront where Dion Lealofi and Jacob Mata’utia start, with the third in the backs where Frae Wilson starts at first-five. Their earlier meeting was a 29-25 win to Ories at William Jones, while tomorrow’s match will have international referee Mike Fraser in the middle.

Premier 2 Hardham Cup

Already two teams have gotten a jump on the rest of the field through three rounds of the Hardham Cup, putting pressure on the other four to play catch-up. Leaders the Upper Hutt Rams will be looking to keep their record intact when they make the short trip down the valley to face Avalon at Fraser Park, and have named a largely unchanged side from that that saw off Pare-Plim last weekend though Nua Fono-Hunt starts at #10 and Daniel Schrijvers is named on the bench. Avalon will be looking for a much better performance than in their last meeting – a 72-6 mauling on Anzac Day at Maidstone and amongst their side is Daniel Sione-Leota, starting for the first-time in three months.

Two of the city clubs meet south of the tunnels as well, with Johnsonville venturing to Hataitai Park to take on Wellington. The Hawks sit only a point behind the Rams and would like to keep pace, naming a side tomorrow that has few changes from the one that saw off Avalon last weekend. The Axemen’s struggles for numbers was mentioned in last Monday’s Off the Ball and to a degree that means changes are few, though Alex Dalzell’s return will be welcomed. They will need to keep a strong eye on Johnsonville’s Tiwi Davies who has racked up 45 points so far in this campaign.

The third Hardham Cup fixture is just around the corner at Kilbirnie Park where Poneke welcome Paremata-Plimmerton for the second time in four weeks. The home side finally got their campaign underway with a win over Wellington, while the visitors are still looking to get their first for the season. Poneke make just handful of changes with Ray Treviranus returning to the side, and Apirana McMillan-Parata faces his former team which includes his brother Kewa. Pare-Plim have an unchanged backline, with robust veteran prop Teariki Kie Tonga returning after missing their game against the Rams.

All seven Premier fixtures kickoff tomorrow at the earlier time of 2.15pm.

Premier Reserve Ed Chaney and HD Morgan Memorial

The second-tier mirrors the Jubilee Cup with OBU unbeaten and clear at the top of the table after beating HOBM. They take on Tawa in the early game at Lyndhurst with the home team looking to rebound after dropping their first game of the competition last weekend to MSP.

HOBM and MSP also clash tomorrow - meeting at the Hutt Rec, Petone and Norths have the opener at the Petone Rec, while winless sides Ories and Wainuiomata face off at the Polo Ground.

In the three HD Morgan matches leaders Upper Hutt visit Avalon at Fraser Park, Johnsonville – coming off only their second win of the season – head into the city to face winless Wellington at Hataitai, and Poneke and Paremata-Plimmerton meet in the early game at Kilbirnie.

All seven games get underway tomorrow at 12.30pm

Women’s

Like the Premier men, the Premier ladies also have just four rounds left before the playoff stage. Nine points adrift of fourth, defending champions, Wainuiomata desperately need wins to get back into the picture and while they’re again at home at William Jones they face Oriental-Rongotai who are coming off the bye and still unbeaten on the year. The second Victoria Tavern Trophy match is on the top fields at Porirua Park, with Norths hosting Old Boys-University.

In the Division 2 matches leaders Petone are at home against Poneke, with winless Tawa welcoming Hutt Old Boys Marist to Redwood.

All four matches are 11am kickoffs tomorrow. Marist St Pats and Paremata-Plimmerton have the two byes.

Colts Division 1 John E Kelly Memorial

The shuffle for playoff places is well on in the Colts grade. The highlight clash of the day is at Redwood Park where joint-leaders Tawa take on OBU Green in the second rematch of last year’s final, and the hosts looking to repeat their 18-17 win from earlier in the season.

The other joint-leader – Ories – are also at home at Polo where they’ll host Pare-Plim, with the third unbeaten team, first-round winners Petone, looking to keep that intact when they face Norths on the Petone Rec with the visitors hoping to put last week’s default behind them. The final clash is across the river at the Hutt Rec where winless pair HOBM and MSP will try to get themselves back into the playoff picture.

All four matches are 12.30pm kickoffs

First Grade Division 1 Johnsonville Centennium Cup

After last Saturday’s cancellation the First Graders belatedly get their championship round underway. Defending champions the OBU Wolfpack face the team they beat in last year’s final, first-round winners the HOBM Barbarians at Nairnville while the only team to beat HOBM in the first-round, the Stokes Valley Chiefs, play host to the North’s Uso’s at Delaney Park. Elsewhere the Petone Brotherhood take on the Norths Reds at the Petone Rec, and Poneke and MSP will stage their own local derby at Kilbirnie Park.

All four matches kickoff at 2.15pm.

Under 85kg Division 1 Paul Potiki Shield

There’s an early crunch game at the top end of the lightweights competition as two of the contenders, JC Bowl winners Wellington and Avalon, take to Te Whaea at 12.30pm in what could be a playoff preview. At the same time the other two winners from last weekend, HOBM and Kapiti, also face each other at the Hutt Rec with the latter side flying high after beating defending champions Tawa last Saturday, and Johnsonville and Poneke clash at Helston.

The fourth game is at H.W. Shortt Park, where Tawa will aim to get back on track when they take on Eastbourne at 1pm.

College WelTec Premiership

Four games are on the slate tomorrow. Leaders St Pat’s Silverstream – coming off their thrashing of Palmy Boys on Wednesday - have an early 12.30pm start but should still have little difficulty in maintaining their perfect record so far with bottom side Hutt Valley High the opposition.

The remaining matches are all 2pm kickoffs. In the only other game in Wellington, Scots College sit a point off the lead after last weekend’s win over Wellington College and tomorrow welcome Rongotai around the airport to Strathmore, while the third school from east of the tunnel – St Pat’s Town – make the journey up to Masterton to take on Wairarapa College. Wellington College are also on the road as they head up the coast to take on Kapiti College.

Round six concludes on Wednesday when Porirua College hosts Tawa College in a match that also doubles as the home sides defence of the Beard Trophy with kickoff at 3pm; but before that round seven gets underway when Rongotai hosts Silverstream in their annual match, with kickoff in that presently scheduled for 1.30pm.