Semi-finals Previews

Above: OBU and MSP will both be hoping to soar high when they host home Jubilee Cup semi-finals at the Basin Reserve and Evans Bay Park respectively tomorrow.

It's Premier semi-finals day tomorrow in Wellington. As well as the matches in both the Jubilee and Hardham Cups, there are also the semi-finals in Premier Women’s, another round in the lower grades the resumption of college rugby; and in all conditions should be close to ideal for rugby if the forecast proves correct.

The Jubilee Cup matches have the very rare oddity that not just one, but both match-ups, are repeats of last weekend’s final round-robin encounters, even down to the same venues, while the two Hardham Cup games are both reverses in terms of venue from the round-robin contests.

Jubilee Cup

Old Boys-University (1) v Oriental-Rongotai (4)

OBU ran the table in the round-robin, confirming top spot when they beat Tawa two weeks ago and with it the Andy Leslie Trophy, and after missing out last year return to the Jubilee Cup playoffs, though that 2013 appearance was their first for many years. Oriental-Rongotai are no strangers to the playoff stage, having qualified every year from 2011 onwards, but have one only one of their last five games including their last two.

The Basin Reserve has been in very good condition all year, and there is no reason to expect it shouldn’t be again on Saturday.

Both clubs have been able to name consistent sides for most of the year, bar that period for OBU when representative university and U20 duties deprived them of several players and almost cost them their Jubilee Cup place, and as a consequence there are quality matchups across the field.

Amongst those will be the contest up front between the Goats’ Finbarr Kerr-Newell and Magpies skipper Whetu Henry, in the air between Joe Beech and Liam Hallam-Eames, and in the loose between Mitch Clarke and Pau Halafihi and a pair of young No. 8s in OBU tearaway Teariki Ben-Nicholas and Ories’ Luke Tau’alupe who returns after missing several weeks.

Across the backline, focus will be on the respective #10’s, OBU’s Horowhenua-Kapiti rep Hamish Buick and Ories’ James Proctor, who must surely be in the mix for the Lions pivot spot; and there will be interest too in Goats fullback Sam Chamberlain, who’s 84 points in the round-robin are second only to MSP’s Fa’atonu Fili, and powerful Ories wing Afa Fa’atau. The match-up in midfield of OBU pair James Waddel and Wes Goosen and Magpies duo Jarrod Henry and Ben Tuiatua could prove decisive.

The two sides have split their two meetings this year. Ories won their Swindale encounter way back in April by 38-27, while OBU returned the favour last weekend by 21-13.

Marist St Pats (2) v Tawa (3)

At Evans Bay is the clash between two more sides than also have recent experience at this stage. 2012 saw MSP record their 14th Jubilee Cup crown, while the following year Tawa took their maiden title, though both sides failed to reach the playoffs in their respective title defences the following year. Across the season however these two have been the best performed with MSP winning 13 or 18 so far, one ahead of Tawa (and OBU).

After resting some players last weekend, both are back to their best available first-choice lineups. MSP make one change in the forward pack, with Dan Turner back in at lock for Nick Harrison, while Isaac O’Connor has been an ever-present in the #7 jersey all season. In the backs NZ 7’s veteran Lote Raikabula, Frankie Bryant and Isaia Petelo all return, shuffling Ryan Setefano on to the wing and Mike Buckley and Julian Tupai out of the starting side. Halfback Ken Kapeli is the only other player to start every game for MSP, and he will be there again tomorrow inside veteran Fa’atonu Fili in the halves.

Tawa are without talismanic prop Taniela Koroi who is on international duty with Fiji, while Pati Gaualofa is another absentee from the starting lineup. Telea Seumanutafa, scorer of 15 tries this season, stays at lock with TJ Fermanis shifting to 6 and Sam Tuala returning at 7, perhaps suggesting an up tempo game plan. James So’oialo, scorer of 231 points this season including the Premier season-high of 35 in the opener against Paremata-Plimmerton, returns after taking last week off, and tomorrow the backline will have six of the seven starters from that opening day at Trentham; the only exception being Ross Taurima in for Faraimo Nofoaiga on the wing.
The two respective goalkickers, Fili and So’oialo, could hold the key to determining their sides’ fates.

Evans Bay has come in for some criticism with its brown appearance likened to a 1970’s Bloemfontein pitch, but that’s a result of the grass it has been re-sown with. It’s actually in pretty good nick underfoot and shouldn’t compromise the two sides’ style of play at all.
The two sides have fought out a pair of close contests already this season. Tawa won the Swindale encounter 32-27, but MSP reversed that with last weekend’s 44-38 scoreline, despite the relative rarity of Tawa losing despite two players, winger Ross Taurima and No8 Ato Fa’amau, both bagging hattricks. The most memorable match of recent times between the two was last year’s final round Swindale Shield encounter, where MSP took home the silverware with a 28-21 victory despite playing the last 20 minutes with 14 men.

Daniel Mangin will have the whistle for this match, with Nick Hogan in charge at the Basin Reserve.

Hardham Cup

Johnsonville (1) v Poneke (4)

The sight of playoff Premier rugby at Helston Park is something of a rarity, with the Hawks having invariably been on the road in the years that they have made the Hardham Cup semi-finals.

Johnsonville took their lumps during the Swindale campaign, registering their only victories over the two sides that finished below them, Avalon and Paremata-Plimmerton. The Hardham Cup has been more to their liking, starting with a resounding 62-33 win over Norths and concluding with a 48-0 whitewash of Pare-Plim last weekend to record six wins from seven outings and confirm as top qualifiers.

Roy Kinikinilau has become a focal point of the Hawks attack, with the veteran midfielder having notched a try every time he’s started this season, plus one off the bench last week for 13 on the season, and Tiwi Davies has scored 61 points over the past two games and been successful with his last 18 kicks at goal. The loose forward unit tomorrow will comprise Sean Bridge, Corey Lawrence and Louis Karl (but will be without the height of Kane Leaupepe) and they’ll look to win the breakdown contest and give inside backs Declan Hay and Jack Taulapapa the platform for their outsides.

Johnsonville’s only loss in the Hardham Cup though was to tomorrow’s opponents Poneke, when the Hawks let slip an eight-point lead with only minutes to play. The current Hardham Cup holders, Poneke have endured a trying season, firstly missing out on the Jubilee Cup by a single competition point despite winning five games and amassing 30 competition points in the Swindale, then suffering a shock loss to Pare-Plim to open the Hardham. Through four rounds they had only one win, but thumping wins over the two B-sides and a narrow one over Norths saw them reach this stage.

Their side tomorrow has a very mobile look to it with Galu Taufale starting again at lock and complementing their loose forward trio of Ray Treviranus, Samoan 7s rep Greg Foe – who Johnsonville will have to work hard to neutralise – and Joseph Scheres who still sits sixth in the Best & Fairest despite points not being awarded in the Hardham Cup. Pakai Turia will again have the job have steering the side from first-five, with Greg Mullany named at fullback for the first time this season.

That 28-22 scoreline was the two side’s only meeting this year.

Upper Hutt Rams (2) v Avalon (3)

The only Premier match in the Hutt Valley is at its northern end at Maidstone Park.

After playing in the Jubilee Cup in their debut season following the amalgamation, the Rams fell back to the Hardham though like Poneke – who they had the same record as – a single competition point was all that separated them from a return to the Jubilee this time around. Overcoming a spirited Tawa B in the opening round, they ran off six wins from seven with their only loss being to Johnsonville and confirmed a home semi-final with a round to spare. Avalon returned to the Swindale Shield for the first time since 2011 this year, and despite going winless often proved difficult to overcome. As well as wins over both B-sides in the Hardham Cup they finally got a Premier scalp when they outclassed Poneke, then added Pare-Plim and overran Norths in the first-half last week to claim the must-win encounter.

The home side has made few changes to the side that beat Petone B last weekend; Wellington 7’s captain Hayden Schrijvers comes back into halfback while Sam Wasley moves forward into lock to accommodate the return of Murphy Taramai at No8, forming a formidable loose trio with Josh Hunt and Mitchell Markov. The return of Jordon Simpson Hefft has been a boost to the backline while veteran Joyner Key has been in solid goalkicking form. Avalon have made just a single change, swapping in Maile Koloto on the wing for Donell Anae; and coach Scott Waldrom will again count on the experienced pair of Cameron Cross and Shannon Bradbrook to guide his side around, while his loose forward unit of Daniel Blake, Sefo Aumua, and Daniel Sione-Leota will contest every breakdown.

The two encounters between these sides have both been high-scoring affairs with similar scorelines - 48-34 in the Swindale and 46-37 in the Hardham round-robin.

The vastly experienced David Walsh will referee this match, while Scott Kennedy will have the whistle at Helston Park.

All Jubilee and Hardham Cup semi-finals kick off at the slightly early time of 2.30 pm to allow for the possibility of extra-time. Should extra-time be required it comprises two periods of 10 minutes, and if still tied the winner will be determined firstly by which team scored the most tries in the match, and if equal the side that won the most recent round-robin match between the two sides. As none of those matches were drawn then OBU, MSP, Upper Hutt Rams, and Poneke would be declared the winners of their respective contests if it reached that point.

Women’s Victoria Tavern Trophy

The first set of semi-finals tomorrow are those in the Premier Women’s grade. Oriental-Rongotai earned top spot through going unbeaten over the past five games and mostly due to winning the crunch clash with Norths by 29-27 two weeks ago. The Lady Magpies have dropped only one game all year – to Norths in the Fleurs Trophy – and a chock full of talent including current Women’s Player of the Year Lizzie Goulden. Avalon are the visitors to the Polo Ground, and after having finished fifth in the Fleurs Trophy, their only win in this round over HOBM was enough to make it to her. Much will depend on national 7’s rep Kat Whata-Simpkins and 15’s trialist Carol Sio.

Norths will host the other semi-final, on the same field at Porirua Park that will be used next weekend. That loss to Ories was the only one they’ve suffered, but having wrested the Fleurs Trophy back from the Miramar club will be looking to claim the championship title as well. They too are full of talent, have plenty of experience typified by Helena and Brenda Collins, and certainly don’t shy away from the physical side of the game. Old Boys-University provide the opposition and although they have lost all four meetings to the ‘big two’ they narrowly went down 7-10 to Norths in the last match of the Fleurs round, but were humbled 19-46 at this venue four weeks ago. Wing Bianca Lloyd-Jones has touched down 15 times this year, while Georgia Daals leads all scorers with 187 for the season.

Both matches kick off at 11.30am with Glenn Baxter and Campbell Barry the referees at Polo and Porirua respectively. The extra-time rules described above also apply to these games.

Other grades

While their season sides are either in playoff action or done for the season there are still two more rounds in the Premier Reserve Ed Chaney & HD Morgan Cup competitions to be completed. The first match of the round is Friday night, with an HD Morgan contest between leaders Ories and Avalon under lights at Fraser Park. Saturday sees the top four of the Ed Chaney division in action against each other with HOBM - who assumed top spot on points difference after last weekend’s results – taking on third place Poneke at Kilbirnie Park, while OBU – who dropped their first game of the round last Saturday – host Norths at the Basin Reserve. There is a HD Morgan contest between Wainuiomata and Johnsonville at William Jones, and crossover matches between the Upper Hutt Rams and Wellington, who were the first side eliminated from playoff contention last weekend, at Maidstone and Marist St Pats and Paremata-Plimmerton on the St Pats artificial.

Owing to the Premier semi-finals kickoff times for each game differ, but are listed in the Draws & Results section above.

The feature clash of the First Grade Johnsonville Centennium Cup is at Te Whaea at 12.45 where OBU, coming of their first loss of the round to Poneke, take on unbeaten leaders the Petone Brotherhood who won without taking the field after MSP ‘A’ defaulted. The remaining matches are all 2.45pm kickoffs with second-placed HOBM hosting Norths at the Hutt Rec, the Petone Saxons and MSP Avele are at the Petone Rec, and Poneke make the trip to Delaney Park to face Stokes Valley. MSP ‘A’ have the bye this week after Tawa were withdrawn from the competition.

The Under 85kg Division 1 Paul Potiki Shield matches are highlighted by the clash of unbeaten sides the Poneke Cav’s and Tawa Titans at Kilbirnie Park at 12.45pm in a match that could decide the location of the grade final in a few weeks’ time. The other 12.45pm kickoffs have the HOBM Howlers at home on the Hutt Rec against MSP Red, while while Johnsonville and Eastbourne provide the curtainraiser to the Hardham Cup semifinal at Helston Park. The sole 2.45pm match is at Martin Luckie Park where Wellington, coming off their first win of the round over Avalon, takes on the OBU Bunnies who still lead the competition despite last weekend’s loss to Tawa, but are yet to have the bye. Avalon has the bye.

Finally, in the Colts Paris Memorial Trophy the major clash happens on Friday night when new leaders and current holders OBU and previous leaders Norths meet under lights at Alex Moore in Johnsonville with each side having dropped only one game this season. Saturday’s matches are all at 12.45pm with a top-five clash between Poneke and the Upper Hutt Rams at Kilbirnie, HOBM are at home against Johnsonville, Wellington host MSP, and Ories travel to meet Wainuiomata at Mary Crowther. The remaining match is at Ngatitoa between Paremata-Plimmerton and OBU Black, with Avalon having the bye.

Weltec College

College rugby resumes across the grades after the secondary holidays. In the Premiership its playoff time, where not only places in next week’s semi-finals are at stake, but also the guarantee of a Premiership place next year as well. St Pat’s Town, coming off their loss to Silverstream in Wednesday’s traditional, host Wairarapa College at Evans Bay at 1pm before the Jubilee Cup semi-final, while Rongotai and Wellington College meet again in the other match after they last did three weeks ago. College were successful then but tomorrow’s game is at Rongotai, with kickoff at 2.30pm. The bottom two-sides, Tawa and Hutt International meet at Tawa in the Plate tier also at 2.30pm.

Scots and Silverstream have the weekend off with byes to the semi-finals, but Scots will be in action, hosting visiting UK school Skinner College.

In the Premier 2 grade there are two more rounds before their playoffs are reached. Leaders Bishop Viard – coming off winning the Beard Trophy off Tawa on Wednesday night – could claim top spot with a week to spare if they keep their unbeaten record against bottom-side Kapiti at home at 2.30pm. The three other matches at that time have Hutt Valley HS hosting the Wellington College 2nds, Upper Hutt face St Bernard’s, and Aotea make the short journey to Porirua for the local derby match. The remaining match is at 1pm with the second-placed Silverstream 2nds hosting their Town counterparts.