Plenty at stake in second round Jubilee and Hardham Cup matches

If last week's opening round Jubilee and Hardham Cup salvos are an indication of the rugby to come over the rest of the season then Wellington grassroots rugby supporters are in for a roaring final two months of club rugby in 2009. There were two upsets in the Hardham Cup, while all four first-up Jubilee Cup results were the reverse of what happened in the Swindale Shield round. Reversing their outcomes from earlier in the season, Marist St. Pat's defeated Oriental-Rongotai 30-13 (Ories winning 30-24 in the first round), Poneke beat Petone 13-10 (first round Petone 38-11), Upper Hutt beat Hutt Old Boys Marist (HOBM 26-25) and Tawa overcame Northern United 24-15 (Norths 37-11).
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Tawa's nine-point win over first round Swindale Shield co-champions Norths was the most notable, Tawa getting the jump on Norths early and holding on for a famous victory over their rivals from up the motorway. For their supporters it was a dream start to the Jubilee Cup and they will be hoping their team can knock off some more of the fancied teams over the next six weeks of the round-robin and push for a semi-final place. Defending Hardham Cup champions Tawa last made the Jubilee Cup top four in 1998, beating MSP 16-12 in the semi-final and losing to the Wests Roosters 53-21 in free-flowing final at the Petone Recreation Ground.
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The Jubilee Cup is all about momentum. If a team can win its early matches, then it's just a short sprint to the semi-finals later in July when the pressure builds and the playoffs are in sight. History overwhelmingly favours teams that get off to winning starts in the second round. Looking at recent history, in each of the past 11 Jubilee Cups between 1998-2008 the eventual champion (or last year both co-champions) won its first round match.
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Additionally, In the previous eight Jubilee Cups at least, no team has lost its first two matches and gone on to reach the final. In the past five seasons from 2004-2008 there has only been two out of a possible 10 instances of a team making the final that hasn't won both its opening two games. On both occasions this was Poneke, who in 2004 and 2006 won one and lost one of its opening two round-robin matches but still made the final.
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But statistics will count for nothing when the eight teams enter the arena for this week's second round set of matches, all kicking off at the earlier time of 2.15pm on account of the All Blacks versus France Test at Westpac Stadium at 7.35pm.
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A blockbuster encounter between Marist St. Pat's and Petone at the Petone Recreation Ground is on the cards, where first round winner Marist St. Pat's will be eager to make it two from two and reverse Petone's five tries to one 37-11 win when these sides met less than two months ago at Evans Bay Park on MSP's Old Timers' Day. Petone's win back in May broke a run of three successive defeats to their arch-rivals that included two successive Jubilee Cup semi-final losses at Evans Bay Park - 23-24 in 2007 and 5-18 in 2008. It's 40 years ago this week since legendary Petone prop Ken Gray played his last All Blacks Test (against Wales in Auckland) and 40 years this week since the club won the inaugural modern Swindale Shield title. The Villagers will also be desperate to open their account after losing 10-13 to Poneke so this will be close.
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If that match doesn't interest the fair-weather fan, then the game at Kilbirnie Park between Poneke and Northern United should. Last week's winners Poneke will go a long way towards reaching the playoffs if they can overcome a Norths side smarting after their shock loss to Tawa at home in the first round. There's been some tremendous Jubilee Cup clashes between these two sides at Kilbirnie in recent seasons. Last year Norths scraped past the red and blacks 12-11, while 2004's equivalent encounter saw Norths win 6-3. There was also a 13-13 draw at Porirua Park in 2006 ahead of these two teams meeting again in that year's final.
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The remaining two clashes of the second round are no less crucial. Tawa can continue their great start by defeating Hutt Old Boys Marist at the Hutt Recreation Ground in a match the Eagles will feel they will need to target if they are to challenge for this year's title. HOBM beat Tawa 20-8 at the end of the Swindale Shield round at Lyndhurst Park just two weeks ago, but lost to Upper Hutt 11-14 at Maidstone Park in last week's opener. They then go on to meet Petone and Poneke in consecutive weeks in rounds three and four.
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First round winners Upper Hutt travel to the Polo Ground to tackle first round losers Ories and try and wrestle the Bill Brien Cup off them. There was nothing between these sides when they met last back in early April, Ories prevailing 34-22 at Maidstone Park. The time before that in this corresponding match last year, Upper Hutt had the edge, 13-12, also at Maidstone Park.
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Hardham Cup
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?This weekend's second round Hardham Cup clash between the Wests Roosters and Wainuiomata at Ian Galloway could be crucial for both sides who both suffered shock losses in the first round of 2009 Hardham Cup games last weekend. In two upset results to kick-start this year's Premier 2 competition, Wainuiomata went down to Rimutaka 3-0 and the Roosters were rocked 17-5 by Johnsonville.
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?Neither Wests or Wainuiomata will want to give up two losses in a row and find themselves playing catch-up rugby later in the round. With a close Hardham Cup predicted this year and the threat of relegation looming large, defeat this week for either side could have dire consequences come the business end of the season. Nor does it get any easier, both these sides move on to play fellow Swindale Shield opposition in round three? - Wainuiomata meeting Avalon and Wests playing OBU. Both shadowed each other throughout the Swindale Shield round, Wests winning their head-to- head clash 26-19 at William Jones Park and finishing just a point ahead of Wainuiomata on the points table in ninth.
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?Of the other Swindale Shield sides, Old Boys University and Avalon have the opportunity of getting a jump on the Hardham Cup field if they record their second wins in succession against Harper Lock Shield opposition. OBU will be making their first ever trip out to Maoribank Park to meet Rimutaka in their match and Avalon host Marist St. Pat's B at Fraser Park. With all three Swindale Shield rivals still to play after this week, both OBU and Avalon will be anxious to bank the competition points against these sides.
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The other Hardham Cup match this week sees the unlucky team from last week, Poneke B, scheduled to host Johnsonville on Kilbirnie No. 1 at 12.30pm as the curtain raiser to the Jubilee Cup match between Poneke's Premier side and Norths. Last week Poneke handed Avalon victory with an ill-conceived intercept pass, a result that could have ramifications on the competition as it unfolds, while Johnsonville accounted for Wests in a long-standing derby match.
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The win for Johnsonville over the Roosters was their eighth consecutive victory of the season, the boys in blue recovering from one win from their opening four games in 2009 to tasting success in each of their last seven Harper Lock Shield games. Ironically, their last defeat back on 18 April was to this same Poneke team they meet this weekend, going down 14-24. That previous loss to Poneke and another defeat to them two Hardham Cups ago in 2007 will be fresh on Johnsonville's mind. In 2007 their season started slipping away from them after losing 13-23 to Poneke in the first round of the Hardham Cup. Up to that point Johnsonville's bid for reinstatement to the Swindale Shield was going along smoothly, having won every game in the Harper Lock Shield and comfortably taking out the Senior 1 title. But the first round Hardham Cup defeat to Poneke that followed was ultimately the difference between them making the top four and regaining their Swindale Shield spot for 2008 and staying down in Senior 1 where they remain now.
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Meanwhile in other grades, first round bonus point winners Ories and Tawa will be out for their second wins of the Senior One Ed Chaney Cup when they take on Upper Hutt at the Polo Ground at 12.20pm and Petone at Petone at 12.15pm respectively. Narrow week one winners Stokes Valley and Eketahuna meet in the feature clash of the Victoria Tavern Trophy women's second round competition, while early second round joint leaders Petone and Marist St. Pat's Ace meet at Martin Luckie Park at 12.30pm in week three of the Senior Three Johnsonville Centennium Cup. Petone won the first round Senior 3 JDR Cup, MSP Ace finished third and these two teams drew 15-15 in their JDR Cup clash.
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