The Swindale Shield: It keeps getting better

The tension and drama ratchets up another gear this weekend as end of the Swindale round comes into view. With four rounds remaining and a maximum of 20 competition points still up for grabs the races for titles and promotions in the Premier and Senior grades for the next round are still well on, while the weather forecast for the weekend looks changeable, so teams may have to adapt their game plans on the fly.

It's the second of the Wellington Rugby Referees interchange weekends, this time involving referees from the lower North Island and Waikato.

Premier Swindale Shield

Once again the Swindale Shield is proving itself to be an enthralling competition, and while Tawa and Marist St Pat's have opened up a gap at the top of the table there is only five points separating the next seven teams, and even then the three below that are still not yet out of contention for a Jubilee Cup place.

The headline clash is at the Polo Ground where Oriental-Rongotai (22 points) takes on Tawa (34) in a rematch of last year's Jubilee Cup Final. The competition leaders made it 7 from 7 when they overcame the Upper Hutt Rams despite again missing James So'oialo and captain Taniela Koroi, and no matter the result of this game they will still top the table after this round though whether their six-point lead stays intact remains to be seen. Ories finally got their hands on the Bondy Memorial Cup at the third time of asking when they beat HOBM, and a win here could bring them well back into contention for the Swindale with three weeks to play. If they lose however, they could find themselves as low as sixth.

Should Tawa drop points, second-placed Marist St Pat's (28) will be looking to benefit from it when they make the trip up the Ngauranga Gorge to take on Johnsonville (9) at Helston Park. The Scarlets comfortably dealt with Petone last Saturday with Fa'atonu Fili in vintage form, and will be looking to do the same against the Hawks who failed to record a competition point from a match for the first time all season when they went down to OBU. MSP need to keep winning to maintain pressure on Tawa and have any chance of their match in the final round being for the title, while Johnsonville need the same to keep their Jubilee Cup hopes alive.

Three matches are between sides in the mid-table bunch.

Petone (17) and the Upper Hutt Rams (20) clash this week at the Petone Rec. The visitors' bright start has been dimmed with successive losses dropping them to fourth and not helped by injury and unavailability of some key backs, to the extent that industrious openside Josh Hunt played most of the second half against Tawa in the midfield. Come Saturday night they could be as high as third or as low as seventh on the table. The Villagers have been somewhat inconsistent all year, and against MSP missed the direction that Riki Flutey gave them the previous week against Poneke. The two bonus points they nabbed last week may yet prove vital in their qualification hopes, but a loss could see them on the outside of the eight.

Across the river is the first of three games that also have interclub trophies at stake. Old Boys-University (19) are this week's visitors to the Hutt Rec, seeking to not only retain the Wood Cup after winning last year's fixture 39-21, but claim the vital competition points as well. Hutt Old Boys Marist (17) are the team that occupies eighth place this week (on points difference), and although they have the benefit of playing their remaining matches at home they will be hungry for a win here and avoid too many nerves over the closing stretch.

Wainuiomata (17) head to Porirua Park for the second time this year - though this time as the away side - to face Norths (17), with the home side currently the team on the outside looking in. Both sides notched wins last weekend, over Poneke and the Axemen respectively and will be looking for another this time out. The sides play for the Alf Keating Cup, held by Wainuiomata after last year's 30-20 victory at the same venue.

The final match is at Kilbirnie Park, where the Wellington Axemen (6) make the short trip around the corner to take on Poneke (5) in a match-up between the bottom two sides on the ladder. Each side will be looking to notch their second win of the campaign with the loser probably eliminated from the Jubilee Cup race. The two sides will play for the Spud Lindsay Cup, currently held by the Axemen after their 25-3 win in a Senior 1 fixture last year; and is incidentally the first time Wellington's senior side have played Poneke away from Hataitai since a Senior 2 match in June 2011.

Senior 1 Harper Lock Shield

Things are clearer in the Senior 1 Harper Lock Shield where four teams have opened up a gap on the chasing pack, though that could just as easily change this weekend. There are four early kickoffs, all mirroring the Premier fixtures that follow. Fifth and sixth clash when HOBM (20) and OBU (21) meet at the Hutt Rec, where victory will keep the winner in the hunt for Hardham Cup qualification but a loss will make things very difficult. Norths (17) can get back in the race when they face winless Wainuiomata (0), while for Petone (15) and the Upper Hutt Rams (19) a loss when they meet will probably be the end of their chances. Third-placed Tawa (25) would be favoured to get the points in their clash against Ories (12).

In the two 3.00 pm kickoffs bottom-side Wests (-4) take on MSP (26) in the Cage at Ian Galloway Park, with the Scarlets looking to maintain second place and retain the interclub Viv Haigh Memorial Cup their Premiers won 28-10 last year.

The big game of the round is at Ngatitoa Domain, where fourth-placed Paremata-Plimmerton (25) takes on unbeaten frontrunners Avalon (34). The home side are looking to keep control of their Hardham Cup aspirations and stay in the top-four, while the visitors could wrap-up qualification as early as this week should they prevail with a bonus point

Under 85kg Division 1 JC Bowl

The top end of the Under 85kg grade is already starting to take on a familiar look with the two powerhouses - the MSP Blues and the Tawa Titans - showing out and it would seem likely even now that their match-up will decide the title. Both are away from home this weekend; Tawa make the trip into the city to face the MSP Reds on the St Pats College artificial at 1.30 pm, while the Blues are across the road at Kilbirnie Park against the Poneke Cavs at 3.00 pm.

The other fixtures have the Axemen taking on the Upper Hutt Rams at Hataitai at 1.15 pm, while there are 3.00 pm kickoffs for the OBU Bunnies against Stokes Valley at Prince of Wales Park, and Eastbourne against the OBU Spartans at HW Shortt Park.

Other grades

It's a bit of a muddle in the Senior 2 National Mutual Cup points table owing to Wests withdrawal, but what we do know is that the clash of the round is the early game at Kilbirnie Park where unbeaten Poneke (27) takes on one-loss Wellington (25) in a match that could determine the destination of the first-round trophy.? HOBM (28) may have something to say about that however and they lead the competition heading into their game against OBU, but have played one more match than the other three teams at the top end of the table. Avalon dropped back to fourth after going down to Poneke, but can stay in contention when they travel to Norths, while Johnsonville and MSP meet at Helston. The sole 3.00 pm kick-off in this grade is at Delaney Park where home side Stokes Valley face Petone, while the Upper Hutt Rams have the bye.

The fifth round of the Women's Fleurs Trophy sees a top-three clash between Avalon and Norths at Fraser Park, albeit after contrasting results last Saturday with Norths raising a century over Poneke and Avalon being shut out by Oriental-Rongotai. Stokes Valley host the competition-leading Magpies at Delaney Park, while Tawa face Wainuiomata at Lyndhurst, and Poneke and OBU meet at Kilbirnie.

The Paris Memorial Colts Division 1 starts the weekends action, with MSP and Ories meeting at Te Whaea at 7.30 pm on Friday night. Saturdays games are all in the early timeslots with unbeaten Norths hosting HOBM on the top fields at Porirua Park, Petone facing leaders OBU Green on the Petone Rec, and Poneke take on Wellington at Kilbirnie in the third senior match-up on the day between the two clubs.

Lastly, the college qualifying games continue with the second round of matches, while age and weight-restricted grades start this week. The Hurricanes Festival is in Palmerston North where last week's winners Scots College and Silverstream play Palmerston North BHS and Gisborne BHS respectively; while Wellington College are against Napier BHS and Naenae College face Hastings BHS.