Hardham Cup final preiview

Defending champions Wainuiomata arrive at Westpac Stadium today to contest their third consecutive Hardham Cup final against Tawa, the best team of this year's second round competition.

Both teams come here having enjoyed equally comfortable wins in last week's semi-finals, unbeaten Tawa breezing past the Wests Roosters 33-24 and Wainuiomata accounting for Avalon 26-6.?They meet each other for the third time this year following Wainuiomata's 21-12 win in the Swindale Shield round and Tawa winning 48-14 in the round-robin played several weeks ago.

While Wainuomata fans will be making their third trip in as many years to cheer their team on in the final, following a 25-12 loss to Upper Hutt in 2006 and a 26-17 win over Oriental-Rongotai last year, Tawa will be playing in their first final since 2003 when they?played the Wests Roosters in back-to-back Hardham Cup finals. After that, Tawa played in the Jubilee Cup round for four seasons round without reaching the semi-finals in any of those years.

Tawa bring a youthful team to the final today, but as many as five of the 22 players on their teamsheet today featured in their 2003 31-15 Hardham Cup final win over Wests, including Jon Masaga, Livingstone Finau, Iona Fuatai, Junior Togia and Willie Lafaele.

Left wing Togia and centre Lafaele scored 17 tries between them throughout the 2003 season and will likely hold the key again today in a backline full of fizz that also includes exciting young second five-eighth Shaun Treeby and new acquisition Makau Pokere. Treeby is the Hardham Cup leading try scorer, while Pokere who is the nephew of ex-All Black Steven Pokere has transferred from North Harbour and was recently named in the Wellington B squad. All these players will relish playing on the firm playing surface again and if they gel then Wainuiomata could have their work cut out to contain them.

The green and blacks will bring power and punch and will relish the forward exchanges against the Tawa pack. A number of their forwards are returning to play their second or third final, including Jared Beyer, Daniel Olive, Alec Leala, Genesis Mamea, and their coach Laifa Ta'ala who was locked their scrum in each of the 2006 and 2007 finals.