Scramble on for top eight places in eighth round

Above: Avalon and the Wellington Axemen meet Poneke and Ories respectively tomorrow in key games for all four sides, as the race to the Jubilee Cup intensifies.

Only four weeks remain in the Swindale Shield, with the title race seemingly down to just two sides. Below this though there is a scramble for the remaining places in the Jubilee Cup with only Avalon and Paremata-Plimmerton out of contention. There’s also plenty happening in the Premier Reserve grade as teams sort out whether they’ll be playing in the Hardham, Ed Chaney, or HD Morgan Cups in the second round. ?

One talking point this week is the decision to reduce Tawa of two competition points, and award them to OBU, following their match on April 18, where Tawa failed to field sufficient front-row forwards. The points table has been updated to reflect this. ?

Two players bring up century milestones this weekend; Upper Hutt Rams prop Apa Heemi will make his 100th Premier start for the Maidstone side against Norths, while Petone halfback Jared Kahu brings up his century of appearances in their match against Paremata-Plimmerton.?

Premier Swindale Shield ?

Hutt Old Boys Marist (33 points) retained their place at the summit with a bonus point win over OBU and this week return home to the Nest against Johnsonville (8) in a battle of the birds, with the Bill Brien Challenge Cup at stake. The Eagles are indeed flying high, but cannot afford to take their eye off the ball as they consider their showdown with Tawa in two weeks’ time. The Hawks have suffered a pair of tough losses the past two weeks, and at this point have nothing to lose and will likely throw the kitchen sink and then some into this as they look to play the spoiler role and keep their own threadbare Jubilee Cup ambitions afloat. When the two sides met on Good Friday last year HOBM ran out narrow winners by 28-23. ?

Tawa (30) likewise took a bonus point win, albeit a hard-fought one over MSP, but are now three points behind after their deduction. They make the journey to William Jones Park where Wainuiomata (18) lie in wait. The hosts have found themselves dragged back into the dogfight after their loss last week, and will be desperate to avoid giving themselves too much to do over the final three matches, while the visitors will likewise be keen to avoid a slipup that could hand the title to their rivals. The two sides also contest the Chris Stirling Cup; Stirling was the club coaching co-ordinator (CCO) for Wainuiomata from 2005 to 2007 and for Tawa in 2008 and 2009. It is held by Tawa after their 46-13 win in round 2 of last year’s Swindale Shield, with the sides drawing 19-all in their Jubilee Cup encounter. ?

Marist St Pats (26) have slipped seven points off the pace, coming out on the wrong side of five-point margins in the last two weeks against the top two, and now need considerable help from other sides to retain their title. They return home this weekend with Old Boys-University (16) the visitors to Evans Bay, where all they can do is win and hope that both HOBM and Tawa slip up at some point in the remaining weeks. It’s almost beyond desperate for the Goats who do welcome back some of their representative players, but likely need to win at least three of their last four matches to make the top 8. The two sides contest the Jack Lamason Memorial Cup; Lamason played both rugby and cricket for Wellington College OB, touring England in the latter sport in 1937 and was a Wellington rugby representative from 1929-36. Originally played for between WCOB and St Patrick’s College OB it is now contested by the respective successor clubs, and held by OBU after winning last year’s Swindale match 30-29 with a last minute penalty, though MSP turned the tables 34-20 in their last round Jubilee Cup contest. ?

Oriental-Rongotai (26) and Wellington (24) occupy fourth and fifth places on the table, with each having accounted the two winless sides last weekend. The two clash at Hataitai Park, where the winner will probably all but secure their Jubilee Cup place, but the loser could be dragged back into the mix. Both sides have plenty of firepower, but the Magpies may have to work to break down the Axemen’s defence, with the hosts having conceded the fewest points in the competition so far. The Alby Jack trophy will also be on the line between the two, it was won by a Hurricanes-laden Ories side last year by 55-7 in the teams’ only meeting. ?

The third top-eight clash of the day is at Porirua Park, where seventh-placed Norths (19) host the sixth-placed Upper Hutt Rams (23). Norths’ first half malaise seemed to have returned last week before they ran down Johnsonville to emerge with the win, and simply being switched on from the start will be something that coach Steve Haturini will demand from his charges. The Rams likewise turned on the points in the second half to pull away from Wainuiomata; and like the other matches involving sides in the mid-table pack the implications of the result are huge for both sides. The two also have the Terry Farrow Memorial Cup at stake; Farrow was a Life Member of Norths and instrumental in the merger of the Titahi Bay and Porirua clubs, while his father George was the first Life Member of the Upper Hutt club. It is held by Upper Hutt after their 27-25 triumph last year in the last round of the Swindale Shield. ?

The other two matches feature two of Wellington’s biggest clubs who find themselves presently on the outside looking in.?Petone (17) came out on top of their clash with Poneke, and head to Ngatitoa to take on Paremata-Plimmerton (1). While the hosts are out of contention they could make things difficult for the Villagers, who themselves will see this match as an ideal opportunity to start a late run, given that they follow this match with ones against the other two sides in the bottom three. The two teams will contest the Ken Gray Cup for the very first time in this match. While Gray’s contribution to Petone, Wellington, and New Zealand rugby is well known, what’s lesser known is that he first played for the then-Paremata club in the mid-1950’s, making the Wellington B side from there in 1958. In 1959 he moved to Petone, beginning his long association there. It is hoped that one of Ken’s children will be on hand to make the presentation after the match. ?

At Kilbirnie Park Poneke (15) host Avalon (1), knowing that they have to win here given that they face have a tougher run-in than Petone has (but possibly not as difficult as what Norths have), while the visitors will themselves look to bounceback from a disappointing outing against Wellington and try to claim at least one scalp in this part of the season. The two sides last met at Premier level in 2011, with Poneke winning 29-18. ? All Premier matches kickoff at 2.30pm ? ?

Premier Reserve Harper Lock Shield??

Like their Premier side Tawa (34) remains unbeaten, and on course to take one of the two berths in the Hardham Cup. They travel to take on a Wainuiomata (23) side at William Jones who really need a win themselves to remain in contention for a Hardham place. Second-placed Norths (30) have reeled off six straight wins and will be favourites to add to that when they host the Upper Hutt Rams (8), who have just the one win, at Porirua Park. Poneke (28) vaulted to third with their win over Petone and host Avalon (11) at Kilbirnie Park; while Petone (27), who now sit fourth, travel to bottom-side Paremata-Plimmerton (0) at Ngatitoa. ? The other matches have Wellington (25) hosting Oriental-Rongotai (18) at Hataitai, MSP (18) take on OBU (15) at Evans Bay, and HOBM (19) face winless Johnsonville (2) on the Hutt Rec. ? All Premier Reserve matches kick off at 12.45pm ? ?

Colts Paris Memorial Trophy ?

The feature game in this grade is the clash on the #2 ground at Porirua Park where unbeaten sides Norths and the Upper Hutt Rams meet, with both sides having posted four wins and taken three bonus points. Elsewhere Tawa – the only other side not to have tasted defeat so far – face Wainuiomata at Mary Crowther, Petone are at Ngatitoa Domain against Paremata-Plimmerton, Wellington face Ories at Te Whaea, and Poneke host Avalon at Kilbirnie Park, with all these matches kicking off at 12.45pm. There are later starts for MSP and OBU Green at the St Pats Artificial at 1.30pm, while OBU Black and HOBM conclude the day with a 2.30pm fixture at Te Whaea. Johnsonville have the competition bye, though have been scheduled a non-competition match against the balance of Petone’s Colts squad. ? ?

First Grade Thompson Memorial ?

The Petone Brotherhood have taken over top spot after three rounds, and their assignment this weekend takes them to Lyndhurst Park to play winless Tawa in the grades only 12.45pm kickoff. Stokes Valley is the only other undefeated side, and they are at Porirua against a Norths side that recorded their first win last week with kick-off at 2.30pm. In other matches at that time HOBM play Petone ‘A’ at Lower Hutt’s Trafalgar Park and Poneke and MSP ‘A’ meet at Kilbirnie. The final match is a 3.30pm start between the MSP Avele side and previous leaders Old Boys-University, who were beaten last weekend by HOBM. ? ?

Premier Women’s Fleurs Trophy ?

The weekends Women’s matches were looked at yesterday on Club Rugby, and revert to Saturday 11.30am kick-offs. OBU hosts Avalon at Nairnville, HOBM face a test against Oriental-Rongotai at Trafalgar Park, Poneke and Tawa meet at Kilbirnie, and Wainuiomata welcome Johnsonville to Mary Crowther. ? ?

JC Bowl Under 85kg Restricted Division 1 ?

Avalon are the competition leaders, having beaten the Poneke Cavs last weekend, and are a point clear of the Tawa Titans, albeit having played one more match. The lightweight Wolves make the trip to play Eastbourne at HW Shortt, with Tawa against the Upper Hutt Rams at Maidstone, and Poneke against the OBU Bunnies at Kilbirnie, with all three matches kicking off at 2.30pm. The sole early match is at 12.45pm between the MSP Reds and Wellington ‘A’ at Prince of Wales, with the Kapiti side having the bye. ? ?

College Rugby ?

It wasn’t a good weekend for the three Wellington schools playing in the Hawke’s Bay in the Tranzit 1st XV Festival matches. St Pat’s Town were humbled by a rampant Gisborne Boys side, while Wellington College and Silverstream lost to Napier and Hastings Boys’ respectively by similar margins. This weekend’s games are at the Rugby Institute at Massey University with Silverstream against Gisborne, Wellington College against Palmerston North, and Town against Napier. The fourth match has Hastings facing Feilding HS. ? Locally it’s the second weekend of grading matches across the grades. At the top end most results went the way of the higher ranked team from last season, with the notable exception being 2014 Premier 3 side Bishop Viard toppling Premier 1 incumbent St Bernard’s in Pool C. With Wairarapa College beating Paraparaumu, this weekend’s meeting between Wairarapa and Viard in Masterton shapes as a big game for two schools with serious Premier 1 aspirations. The matches are (home team first, 2.30pm kickoff unless stated): ? Pool A: Hutt Valley HS v Rongotai, Kapiti v Taita (1pm) Pool B: Hutt International v Wainuiomata, Porirua v Upper Hutt Pool C: Paraparaumu v St Bernard’s (1pm), Wairarapa v Bishop Viard (1pm) Pool D: Aotea v Naenae, Tawa v Newlands