Key weekend for Jubilee and Hardham Cup semi-final hopefuls

Above: After missing out to unbeaten Old Boys University last Saturday, the Marist St Pat’s Premiers will be hoping to steer a course towards the Jubilee Cup semi-finals when they take on the Wellington Axemen at Hataitai Park in the fifth round tomorrow.

While the big event of the day is understandably the Super Rugby final at Westpac Stadium between the Hurricanes and Highlanders, there will still be plenty of action at club level to whet the appetite for the evening, with much on the line for sides up and down the grades.

To accommodate, all club rugby bar the Women’s, and three of the four Hardham Cup, and the four Jubilee Cup matches will kick off at 1pm, while several college games are being played in earlier timeslots than usual.

Premier Jubilee Cup

Leaders Old Boys University is the last side unbeaten in the round-robin, and tomorrow take that record to face Petone at the Petone Rec with the possibility that they could have a playoff place secured by fulltime as they look to continue to run the table. They’ve named a changed lineup with Thomas Fleming shifting to lock, two new flankers in Liam Doherty and Huey van Vliet while Hamish Buick and former New Zealand U19 player Hanipale Galo return in the five-eighth jerseys. For their part, the Villagers can’t afford the possibility that they may find themselves leapfrogged by two other sides if they lose, while a win could see them as high as second. Their side tomorrow has two changes up front with James Bowen and Mateaki Kafatolu returning, the latter allowing Dan Farani to resume coaching duties, while the only backline change is Belgium Tuatagaloa in for Willie Tufui on the wing.

The two sides didn’t meet in the Swindale Shield, so this match will also have the Marc Verhoeven Memorial Trophy the two clubs play for at stake. That is named in honour of the former Wellington captain who played for both Petone and OBU, and died in Australia in 2011 aged just 50 after complications during surgery. That is held by OBU after their 44-13 win in the second round of last year’s Swindale.

Tawa play their last home game of the round-robin when with Hutt Old Boys Marist the visitors to Lyndhurst Park. The hosts fell from the top of the ladder when tipped over last week by Petone and will want to atone for that and stay on track for a home semi-final. The Eagles title defence looked dead and buried after 50 minutes last week against Ories but they found a spark to secure a draw and will feel that they should have won it. Improved goal kicking this week is an absolute must. Tawa make a raft of changes with Lotu Nuku back at hooker, Telea Seumanutafa moving into lock and Jono Boyd at 10, with Pati Gaualofa and Randall Bishop amongst those absent, while HOBM make three; Kava Vulu and Jarrod Woodward come into the pack while Fereti Soloa replaces James Kusel on the wing. The Eagles won the their Swindale Shield encounter 28-22 six weeks ago, which determined the fate of that silverware, but the stakes are different this time around.

Third-placed Oriental-Rongotai welcomes Wainuiomata to the Polo Ground with each side looking for victory for very different reasons. Ories will be, at worst, looking to keep pace with the top two as they hunt for a home semi, but know that they wound up being lucky not to lose against HOBM. Wainuiomata will need to follow up last week’s home win over Wellington with another if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive. Ories make two changes, with Jarrod Henry and Peme Leiataua coming into the backline, while Wainui’s only changes are Kane Gush back at lock and Teru Time returning to the right wing. When the two sides met in the Swindale Shield in early April, Ories prevailed 35-28 away at William Jones.

The only match between sides both currently outside the top four is at Hataitai Park, where Wellington host Marist St Pats and both sides face the possibility that their seasons could all but be done come fulltime on Saturday. The Axemen’s named side has a few changes to the one issued last week, particularly in the outside backs while Vaea Fifita returns after being made unavailable by Hurricanes management, and much will depend on Best & Fairest leader Adam Deck. MSP have just a single change, with Frankie Bryant returning to midfield and Ryan Setefano moving to the wing in place of Lote Raikabula. These two didn’t meet in the Swindale Shield, with their last meeting all the way back in May 2014 and won 32-5 by MSP.
Premier 2 Hardham Cup

The Hardham Cup table has a contrasting look to it, with three sides tied at the top of the standings with three wins from their four games so far.

Johnsonville have the edge on top spot under the WRFU’s rules having beaten both the Upper Hutt Rams and Norths; though currently trail the Rams on points difference. Johnsonville have the chance to get their statement in before the others this weekend as well, making the short trip to Lyndhurst to take on Tawa B in the early game. For their part Tawa have managed two wins so far, winning the battle of the B-sides last weekend, and are still well in contention for the semifinals.

The other two sides, the Upper Hutt Rams and Norths, clash at Maidstone Park. Both sides’ only losses so far have been to Johnsonville and the winner of this match will be that much closer to a home semi-final; the loser however will be at risk of being dragged into the dogfight for the remaining places. The hosts have once again shuffled their lineup, with Josh Hunt back into the forwards and Joyner Key returning to midfield, while Norths do likewise; Aidan Cains returns to the lineup and Jackson Garden-Bachop has been named at fullback. When the two met at Porirua Park in the Swindale round, the Rams squeezed home 31-30 with a last-gasp converted try. Will a similar result eventuate this time?

Coming off their Old Timers’ Day dismantling of Poneke, Avalon make the trip over the Haywards to face Paremata-Plimmerton at Ngatitoa Domain, who put up a strong fight against neighbours Norths. There’s plenty at stake in this one, as whoever wins this will find themselves well placed to make the semi-finals, while the loser will have plenty of work to do and may have to rely on results in the other matches falling their way. This is the first meeting of the two this year, with the two then-promoted Senior 1 sides last clashing in last year’s Hardham cup, won 20-9 by Avalon. One matchup to watch in this game will be between the respective opensides, Avalon’s Logan Blake and Pare-Plim’s Shane Hedges, both wiry-built men who contest every breakdown.

The fourth match is back in the city at Kilbirnie Park, where Poneke host Petone B. While Petone being bottom of the ladder is unsurprising to most, the fact that it’s Poneke that occupies the place above that is surprising. The situation they now find themselves in means that they really need to win their last three matches – ideally with bonus points as well – if they are to be a factor in the semi-finals picture; while the Villager’s second side are almost certainly only playing for pride.

Premier Reserve Ed Chaney and HD Morgan Cups

This weekend also sees the Premier Reserve competitions reach the halfway point, with a pair each of Ed Chaney, HD Morgan and crossover games.

The major game of the day is the early one at Kilbirnie where unbeaten sides Poneke and OBU clash in an Ed Chaney match. The other match in this division is just up the road at Hataitai Park with Wellington – who have just the one win – up against winless MSP. There is also a table-topping match in the HD Morgan division when leaders Wainuiomata face Ories at the Polo Ground, and winless sides Paremata-Plimmerton and Avalon meet at Ngatitoa. The crossover matches are between the midtable sides with Ed Chaney sides Norths and HOBM visiting the Upper Hutt Rams and Johnsonville at Maidstone and Helston respectively.

Premier Victoria Tavern Trophy and Senior Women’s

The Premier Women’s competition passes the halfway point of its second round this weekend as they point towards Finals Day on 1 August, and the two matches this weekend are in close proximity to each in the Hutt Valley. At Fraser Park, Avalon – who beat Hutt Old Boys Marist last weekend – take on Oriental-Rongotai, with the Miramar side coming off the bye after their first-up win also over HOBM. Just down the road at the Hutt Rec the winless home side has the task of facing Norths, who eased away from OBU at home on Old Timers’ Day. Old Boys-University has the bye.

The senior grade also hits halfway with the end of the first of the two round-robins, with winless Johnsonville taking on leaders Wainuiomata at Helston, and Poneke and Tawa clashing at Kilbirnie Park. All Women’s matches kick off at 11.30am.

Other club grades

The feature clash of the Under 85kg Paul Potiki Shield is at Te Whaea where the two sides that have played and won two matches with maximum points – the OBU Bunnies and promoted side HOBM – clash. Nearby Wellington and the Tawa Titans meet at Prince of Wales, while neighbours the Poneke Cavs and MSP Reds do likewise at Kilbirnie Park. The final match is out at Fraser Park between home side Avalon and visitors Johnsonville. Eastbourne has this week’s bye.

First round winners the Petone Brotherhood again lead the way in the First Grade Johnsonville Centennium Cup, and they travel to Martin Luckie Park to face MSP Avele on the #1 pitch; alongside that on #2 is the match between the other MSP side – MSP ‘A’ – and Norths. The other two unbeaten sides – OBU and HOBM – meet at Nairnville Park, Stokes Valley host the Petone Saxons at Delaney Park while Poneke and Tawa, who both defaulted last week, are scheduled to play at Kilbirnie.

Norths maintained their unbeaten position at the head of the Colts Paris Memorial Trophy competition, and tomorrow host mid-table Marist St Pats at Porirua Park in a reduced round of matches due to the tertiary holidays. Wainuiomata and Avalon meet tonight under lights at Fraser Park at 7.45pm, while the remaining two games tomorrow are a top-five clash at Petone with the Villagers hosting Poneke, while Paremata-Plimmerton face HOBM at Ngatitoa. The matches between OBU Black and the Upper Hutt Rams, Ories and OBU Green, and Johnsonville and Wellington have all been deferred, while Tawa – who beat Pare-Plim in a catch-up game 29-9 on Wednesday night - has the bye this round.

Weltec College

There are just two matches scheduled in the Premiership tomorrow, both at the earlier time of 1pm. Bottom side Hutt International face a massive task to get their first win in their last round-robin match win they host leaders Scots College, with a win for the visitors will assure them of top spot regardless of other results as well as retain the Moascar and Williment Cups. The second match is another of the big traditional clashes, Wellington College against Rongotai College and comes at the end of a busy week for Wellington College; losing last Saturday to Wairarapa College, beating Christs College on Monday before surrendering their hold on the Quad title on Wednesday to Nelson College 3-6. Rongotai lost 15-22 to Silverstream on Wednesday, but the bonus point they gained mean that Wellington College can no longer host one of the quarter-final round matches.

The other games in this round are scheduled for later in the month; Tawa and Wairarapa will meet on July 18, while the St Pats Silverstream v St Pats Town traditional will be played on July 22.

The big game of the day in Premier 2 is at St Bernard’s College, where the home side takes on unbeaten leaders Bishop Viard after surprisingly being beaten by previously winless Kapiti last weekend. Viard haven’t conceded double-figures in their competition games to date and won the two sides meeting back in the grading rounds. In the other matches Kapiti put the Isberg Trophy they won off of St Bernard’s at stake against the Wellington College 2nds in the early match at the College, the St Pats Town 2nds host Upper Hutt who like Kapiti notched their first win last weekend, the Silverstream 2nds travel to take on Aotea, and Hutt Valley HS host Porirua with the latter coming off of two successive draws at home.