Big afternoon of Anzac Day rugby on Saturday

Above: In two significant matches this Saturday, Adam Stewart and the Wellington Axemen host the Old Boys University Goats at Hataitai Park and Dean Brunsdon’s Northern United meet neighbours Paremata-Plimmerton for the Ivan Hargreaves Trophy at Ngatitoa Domain.

UPDATED: The halfway point of the Swindale Shield sees matches being played on Anzac Day and the 100th year anniversary of the landings at Gallipoli; with Saturday’s matches kicking off at roughly the same time troops would have been going ashore at Anzac Cove.

A moment's silence will be observed at the start of all seven Swindale Shield Games, with the teams lining up along their own 10-metre lines facing each other.?

It’s a three horse race at the top of the Swindale Shield, with the fight well on below that for the remaining Jubilee Cup berths. Saturday’s games could be decisive for many teams, and all seven Premier matches have an interclub trophy at stake.

It’s also a reduced slate of games, with only Premier, Premier Reserve, Colts, and Under 85kg restricted grades in action.

Premier Swindale Shield

The biggest clash of the day is at the Hutt Recreation Ground where unbeaten sides Hutt Old Boys Marist and Marist St Pat’s meet. The two sides come into this match on the back of wins over good sides; the Eagles seeing off Petone to reclaim the McBain Shield, while MSP got home over Wainuiomata. Both sides have solid defensive records, so field position and discipline will be key factors in this match. Goal kicking may be the difference and, while MSP welcome Fa'atonu Fili back from injury, HOBM may have an issue there if Sheridan Rangihuna is unable to front. The Bill Brien Challenge Cup will be at stake, along with the Father Cleary Shield the two sides play for. Fr Tom Cleary was a sportsmaster and 1st XV coach at St Pats Town and a founder of the St Pat’s Old Boys club. The shield was first played for in 1974 between the newly formed MSP and their then valley counterparts Hutt Valley Marist. It’s held by MSP after their 38-25 win last year, though HOBM won the Jubilee Cup encounter by 36-26

The third of the top trio, Tawa, make the journey down to Helston Park to face Johnsonville, with the Hawks coming off their first win of the season over Avalon. While the hosts might be long odds to upset the highest-scoring team in the competition so far, they can look back to last year where they all but took down Tawa at Lyndhurst, only undone by a late try in the corner. Tawa though will back themselves to continue their run, and could return to the outright lead. The two sides contest the Carman Cup, named for Arthur Carman who was a Johnsonville club member and first Patron of Tawa when it was formed in 1947; their entry into the WRFU was sponsored by their hosts on Saturday

Oriental-Rongotai head the pack chasing the top three, and make the short trip around Evans Bay to Kilbirnie where they’ll take on Poneke. The Magpies have won three on the trot, while Poneke got back into the winner’s circle when they beat Paremata-Plimmerton, and both would cherish the win on Saturday as they seek Jubilee Cup qualification. The two sides will also play for the Jim Grbich Memorial Shield, named for the Poneke, Wellington, and NZ Maori midfielder who died in motorway accident in 1962. That is held by Ories after they won last year’s encounter 31-10.

Just around the corner, Wellington play host to Old Boys-University at Hataitai Park. The Axemen shot out and then held on to beat Norths, while the Goats pushed Tawa but came up short. A win for the home side would go a long way towards a first Jubilee Cup appearance in many years, while the visitors themselves need one to keep their season on track. The two sides contest the Dean Gifford Memorial Cup, held by OBU after a 31-22 win last year. Gifford, who passed away in 2012, played for a number of clubs in Wellington, with both the Axemen and OBU amongst them.

Wainuiomata and Petone are two sides that both need to turn their fortunes around, having both dropped their last two matches. A third loss could put their Jubilee Cup aspirations in jeopardy, so their clash at William Jones Park could already have must-win written all over it; and with no shortage of attacking talent the vantage point offered by the bank will be a good place to watch from. The trophy at stake between these two is the Darren Larsen Cup, held by Wainuiomata after they won the corresponding match last year by 41-34, though there last meeting was the memorable 27-25 Petone comeback win their Jubilee Cup encounter. For Petone, loose forward Malakai Kafatolu plays his 100th Premier match.?

At the head of the Hutt Valley, the Upper Hutt Rams welcome Avalon to Maidstone Park. The Rams have lost their footing the past two weeks, losing to both HOBM and Ories, and will see hosting the side at the foot of the ladder as an ideal opportunity to get back on track. The Wolves will be disappointed at having dropped their match against Johnsonville at home and would like nothing more than to take down their neighbours. Their match has the Harper Vine trophy at stake, donated by the families of Tammy Harper and Bob Vine. Harper was the first elected Life Member of the Avalon club, and had a longstanding and intense rivalry with Upper Hutt’s Vine. That is held presently by Avalon after their 50-3 win over the Rams’ second side in last year’s Harper Lock Shield

Finally, Ngatitoa Domain will be the scene of the first Swindale meeting of Porirua clubs since 1987 when Northern United make the short journey to face Paremata-Plimmerton; though back then Pare-Plim’s opposition was the Porirua club. Both sides sit in the bottom four, though the hosts have two wins while the visitors are still looking for their first success. The two sides contest the Ivan Hargreaves Trophy, who was an administrator for the Titahi Bay club – the other half of the Norths merger – and a Porirua City councilor for many years. That is currently held by Paremata-Plimmerton, who won it 35-7 over Norths’ second side in a Harper Lock Shield contest last year, with Norths’ senior side prevailing 43-14 when the two met in the last round of last year’s Hardham Cup.

Premier Reserve Harper Lock Shield

Leaders Tawa are the only unbeaten side, having squeezed past OBU last weekend, and they face Johnsonville in the early game at Helston. The only clash of sides in the current top six is at William Jones Park, where second-placed Petone visit fifth-placed Wainuiomata, with the latter having dropped their first match last week. Norths are at bottom-side Paremata-Plimmerton at Ngatitoa, and Poneke host a resurgent Ories side at Kilbirnie . The remaining matches have HOBM hosting MSP at the Hutt Rec, the Upper Hutt Rams and Avalon meet at Maidstone, and Wellington are at home at Hataitai against OBU.

Colts Paris Memorial Trophy

Over the past week there has been a significant change to the grade with the number of teams being consolidated to 15 – one from each Premier club with a second from OBU and the loss of Otaki-based Rahui - in an attempt to ensure that matches go ahead. It also means a change in format with the competition now a 15-team round-robin with matches played so far counting in the standings.

This week’s matches have Norths against Paremata-Plimmerton at Ngatitoa, the Upper Hutt Rams face Avalon at Maidstone, Poneke – who ended OBU Green’s unbeaten streak last week – are at home at Kilbirnie against Ories, HOBM and MSP meet at Trentham Memorial Park, Wainuiomata and Petone are at Mary Crowther, Johnsonville and Tawa are at Newlands Park, and Wellington face OBU Black on Kilbirnie #3. OBU Green have another week to lick their wounds with the bye. All Colts matches kick off at 1pm.

JC Bowl Under 85kg Restricted Division 1

The four matches are all in the later timeslots. In three 2.30pm matches the Poneke Cavs host the Kapiti side at Kilbirnie, the Tawa Titans welcome the Wellington Axemen to Lyndhurst and pu the Centurions RFC Cup on the line after being gifted this by MSP Blues, and the Upper Hutt Rams are against Avalon at Maidstone. The remaining match is at 3.30pm on the St Pats artificial, between the MSP Reds and the OBU Bunnies; and Eastbourne have the bye.