Big third round for winless teams

It's crunch time for Northern United this weekend in the Swindale Shield who are one of five winless teams after the opening two rounds.

The replay of last year's Jubilee Cup Final between Marist St. Pat's and Oriental-Rongotai and the match at Lyndhurst Park between early frontrunners Tawa and Petone are the two feature battles of the third round of the Swindale Shield this Saturday.

But they're not the most important clashes of the afternoon.

MSP and Ories have both had a win and a loss in opening up their 2013 seasons. A loss for either in this contest will be an early setback but it won't be a blow. Similarly, both Tawa and Petone want to keep winning, but third round defeats for either shouldn't dent their chances of challenging for the Swindale Shield title in early June.

Instead the spotlight in round three falls on those five teams without a win so far - two of whom - Northern United and Wainuiomata - were Jubilee Cup semi-finalists last year.

It's too early in the year to be predicting the make-up of the second round Jubilee Cup, but, statistically, three losses on the trot will undoubtedly spell the end of these clubs' 2013 Swindale Shield title challenges.

In recent years, Norths have twice come back from losing their opening two games of the season to win the Swindale Shield (2003 and 2009). But no team in recent history has lost three times this early in the year and gone on to claim the first round title.

Of these five winless teams, Norths and Upper Hutt meet each other at Maidstone Park, while the other three all play sides that have won one or both of their first two matches.

Wainuiomata play Old Boys University at Nairnville Park in OBU's first home game and first defence of the Bill Brien Challenge Cup, the Wests Roosters host Hutt Old Boys Marist at Ian Galloway Park and Rimutaka meet Poneke at Kilbirnie Park who are also playing at home for the first time this year.

All Premier matches this Saturday kick-off at their usual times of 3.00 pm.

The Ories - MSP match at the Polo Ground has all the hallmarks of an epic clash between the two rivals. MSP beat Ories 14-8 to win last year's Jubilee Cup Final in pouring rain at the Hutt Recreation Ground. The preceding round-robin clash was a 9-9 draw, while MSP finished on top, 32-10, when they met earlier in the 2012 season.

Both have several prominent names missing in their starting line-ups from those that played in the Final last August, including for Ories (not counting their current Hurricanes players) talisman prop and captain Donal McNamara (now with Petone), midfielder Ahtun Masum (Wests) and Simon Tevita (Poneke), and for MSP? prop Kas Lealamanua and lock Bernie Upton (both retired) and? flankers Sio Tuia and Lua Lokotui (overseas).

The significant change to the ranks of both teams - if not for this game then for this season - is the move by champion MSP first five-eighth and goal kicker Fa'atonu Fili from MSP to Ories. Fili's start to 2013 has been delayed due to early season injuries but the stage is set in this game for him to make his comeback - for his new club Ories against his old MSP.

There's no such thing as guaranteed excitement in club rugby, but in predicting Tawa versus Petone matches you can often go close.

Both enter this clash with two bonus point wins and both are looking fit and sharp. Petone will also be out to reverse their two big losses to Tawa last year, going down by over 30 points on both occasions.

Tawa fullback Randall Bishop scored 23 and 17 points respectively in his two encounters last year against Petone, while he also kicked the match winning penalty against them in their 16-15 win in 2011.? Their clash before that was a 33-33 draw.

At Maidstone Park Norths will be desperate to ignite their season against home side Upper Hutt who are in a similar predicament. Norths are yet to gel but when they do all teams know to watch out as have too many quality players and too much recent winning history to lie down for long.

Upper Hutt are always tough at home, and their supporters only need look back to this corresponding match last year for inspiration when Upper Hutt beat Norths 46-34 at Porirua Park.

A high injury toll at present is a concern for Upper Hutt, particularly in their tight five ranks where several players are sidelined. They also lost Wellington Lions halfback Kayne Hammington to an ankle injury midway through last week's 16-37 to MSP. They need him fit to be operating on all cylinders.

Upper Hutt are defending the Terry Farrow Memorial Cup against Norths. This cup was donated by the Farrow family in memory of Terry Farrow, Past Life Member of Norths RFC, who passed away in 1999. Terry was instrumental in the amalgamation of the Titahi Bay & Porirua clubs, which formed the Northern United RFC in 1990. Terry's father, George wa^{s the first} Life Member of the Upper Hutt club.? Other family connections with Upper Hutt include Kerry Farrow, who was a long time player and captain of their premier side.

Reports out of Wainuiomata have their team looking flat and needing to fire up fast. They will need to hit the ground running against an Old Boys University team that has started impressively with wins over MSP (21-15) and Rimutaka (85-3).

The mercurial Wests Roosters have yet to leave their coop in 2013 and will also need to be on-song to record their first win of the season against the Hutt Old Boys Marist Eagles at Ian Galloway Park, while Poneke can make it three from three and 12 on the trot including last year's Hardham Cup if they overcome Rimutaka at Kilbirnie Park.

Third round matches in the Senior 1 Harper Lock Shield include Avalon and Old Boys University each playing to win their third consecutive bonus point wins and to get a likely jump on the field.

Avalon (on 10 points after two rounds) host winless Paremata-Plimmerton at Fraser Park at 3.00 pm, while OBU (10) host Wainuiomata (8) who are also unbeaten after the first two rounds in the 1.15 pm game at Nairnville Park.

Johnsonville, after two torrid battles to open their season against Wellington (won 5-3) and Old Boys University (lost 28-29), could find the going a bit easier in their third round clash against winless Poneke at Kilbirnie Park at 1.15 pm.

The Wellington Axemen meet MSP's second XV, hosting them at 3.00 pm at Hataitai Park. Both these sides have recorded a win and a loss after two rounds.

Petone and Tawa have both had a win and a loss and play in the early game at Lyndhurst Park at 1.15 pm, while Upper Hutt's second XV is also playing for its first win, hosting Norths a Maidstone Park at 1.15 pm.

In round 3 National Mutual Cup Senior 2 matches on Saturday, two of the three unbeaten teams so far, Avalon and Norths, clash at Fraser Park at 1.15 pm, while the third, HOBM meets the Wests Rooster at Ian Galloway Park at Ian Galloway Park at 1.15 pm.

OBU and Wainuiomata's third XVs clash at Prince of Wales Park at 1.15 pm, as do Ories' and MSP's at the Polo Ground at 1.15 pm.

Poneke, who defaulted their first game, can get back in the black on the points table if they beat Johnsonville on Kilbirnie Park 2 at 3.00 pm. Stokes Valley host Petone in the other clash at Delaney Park.

Lower grades take to the field for the first time in 2013 on Friday night and Saturday, with a full round of 11 Colts and 10 U85 kg restricted grading games scheduled.

The Senior 3, Reserves, Presidents and Women's (non competition) grades all start up on Saturday.

That's 61 Senior matches underway throughout Wellington, Porirua and Mana and the Hutt Valley on Saturday.

In a secondary school Traditional, Wellington College host Hastings Boys' High School. Several teams are playing, with the First XVs kicking off at 11.30 am.

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