Awesome April continues on Sunday

Above: Flying high. HOBM wing Elisala Solea about to score his second try against MSP on Thursday. The Eagles will be hoping for more of the same when they host Poneke at the Hutt Recreation Ground on Sunday at 3.00 pm.

The glut of rugby continues on Sunday with the third leg of the eight-day treble of Premier Swindale Shield, Senior 1 Harper Lock Shield and Senior 2 National Mutual Cup round-robin matches.

Fans and supporters can't get enough, but for many of the teams and clubs directly involved, Sunday's sixth round is about a battle of attrition as much as anything else. Depth will be tested. But for those teams that can pull through with positive results on Sunday, it's all downhill to the end of the first round after this.

As such, there's several hugely important and mouth watering clashes on Sunday, in all three of the top grades.

In the Swindale Shield, these include key fixtures at the Hutt Recreation Ground between frontrunners Hutt Old Boys Marist and Poneke, at Evans Bay Park between mid-table giants Marist St Pat's and Northern United, at the Polo Ground between Oriental-Rongotai and Old Boys University and at Maidstone Park between Upper Hutt and Petone.

Big matches in the Senior 1 Harper Lock Shield, in which the top four finishing teams qualify for the higher Hardham Cup in the second round, include those at Hataitai Park between the Wellington Axemen and OBU and at Lyndhurst Park between Tawa and Avalon.

In the Senior 2 National Mutual Cup, where the top two finishing teams earn promotion to the Senior 1 grade for the second half of the season, the clash between third placed Ories and fourth placed OBU at the Polo Ground looms as an important fixture for both teams and those around them on the points table.

With Avalon and HOBM out in front and both unbeaten, and both favoured to win their matches, Ories and OBU both want to keep in touch or it could become a two-horse race over the remaining five weeks in the National Mutual Cup.

In a tight race so far in the the Swindale Shield - with the leading five teams separated by just three points - the match at the Hutt Recreation Ground between the defending first round champions and third placed HOBM (on 19 points) and fourth placed Poneke (18) could be decisive for both clubs' chances. The winner of this will still firmly be in the hunt, while the loser could bow out of Swindale Shield title contention. If Poneke lose they could slip from fourth to sixth, pending other results.

Both have come off hard matches on Thursday, with HOBM overcoming MSP 28-13 in their first match at home this year, while Poneke lost their first encounter of the season in missing out 24-32 to eastern suburbs rivals Ories.

This could be a really exciting game, with both sides showing a willingness to play positive rugby this year. For home team HOBM, they won last year's Swindale Shield playing a fast-paced style while Poneke have played a similar style this year to date.

HOBM and Poneke play for the Roy John Trophy, one of three interclub trophies on the line in the sixth round. Roy John played for Poneke in the 1940s before moving to the Hutt club. He was an outstanding sportsman, representing Wellington at first five-eighth and halfback at a time when the whole Hutt club backline made up Wellington's set of backs. He also played senior cricket in Wellington.

Head-to-head, HOBM won this match last year 18-15, in their one and only encounter in Premier rugby in 2012, but before that Poneke had won their last eight straight Swindale Shield and Jubilee Cup matches against the Eagles in a streak going back to 2007.

At the Polo Ground, second placed Ories (19 points) Ories and sixth placed OBU (15) meet in another important clash for both sides, but more so the students who with victory will certainly move back into the top four with victory and possibly be as high as second but with defeat will slip to seventh and be leapfrogged by either MSP or Norths (unless they draw).

Both have had contrasting fortunes from their last two games. Ories have beaten Wainuiomata 33-26 away and Poneke 32-24 at home. They also won their third round match 21-18 over MSP, so they are coming off three tight wins.

After a rocking start to the season in which they won their first three matches, OBU have hit the speed wobbles, losing to Upper Hutt 23-30 and then the Wests Roosters 22-32.

In their one and only clash at Premier level last year Ories prevailed 21-0, but their Swindale Shield clash in 2011 is worth recalling. OBU won 27-24 in a thriller. A see-sawing match had OBU up 13-0 at one stage, before Ories came back to lead 14-13. The lead changed hands twice more, before OBU scored a late converted try to seal victory.

Likewise, the MSP - Norths clash has all the hallmarks of an epic mid-competition encounter. Expect nothing less when these two heavyweights clash. Their positions on the points table will give this an extra edge, with MSP in seventh (on 12 points) and North in eighth (also on 12) making this is a make or break clash in terms of making a run for the first round Swindale Shield silverware.

The loser of this match could also be leapfrogged by both Upper Hutt and Wainuiomata and could find themselves down in 10^th on Sunday evening.

Both are smarting after ANAZC Day defeats away from home, MSP going down to HOBM 13-28 and Norths being pipped 27-28 by competition leaders Tawa after scoring what they thought was the winning try only minutes earlier. Look out for a hard fought battle in the set-pieces, at scrum and lineout time, and individually between the two experienced halfbacks Peter Sciascia (for MSP) and Tomasi Palu (Norths).

Last year MSP and Norths met three times, most recently in the Jubilee Cup semi-final at Evans Bay Park won by MSP 33-6. Their other two games were shared one apiece. MSP won their Swindale Shield game 35-27 at Porirua Park, which at the time was their first win over Norths in six attempts.

The Upper Hutt - Petone match at Maidstone Park for the Connelly Cup and for the Bill Brien Challenge Cup is a key clash for both sides.

Fifth placed Petone (on 17 points) could be the big movers of the round if they beat Upper Hutt with a bonus point.? In fact, if other results go their way, the sea could part for Petone and they could be as high as being joint leaders after this round.

Ninth placed Upper Hutt (9 points) will move into the top eight ahead of either MSP or Norths if they win their third straight match, following consecutive wins over OBU (30-23) and Rimutaka (60-5).

Giving this encounter extra spice is the recent history between the sides. They play for the Connelly Cup, in honour of the former Upper Hutt coach and life member Eric Connelly and Upper Hutt are the current holders after retaining it last year with a 22-22 draw. This was after they had won it off Petone in 2011 with a 27-26 win, and after Petone had prevailed in 2010 by 24-23. They also met in the Jubilee Cup round last year, with Upper Hutt fullback and now Melbourne Rebel Jason Woodward scoring 32 points in a 47-27 victory at Maidstone Park.

After using their get out free jail free card on Thursday, Tawa will hope to beat the Wests Roosters at home at Lyndhurst Park and maintain their position at the top end of the table.

Tawa defend the Forsyth Trophy against Wests, after winning 46-25 in their only clash last year. Their previous meeting in 2011 at Lyndhust Park was much closer, resulting in a 13-13 draw.

In the other match of the round, Wainuiomata could move into the top eight with a bonus point win over Rimutaka at Maoribank Park.

Three of the six Senior 1 Harper Lock Shield matches on Sunday are curtain-raisers to Swindale Shield games.

Tawa (fourth on 20 points) host Avalon (fifth on 19 points) at Lyndhurst Park at 1.15 pm, MSP (10^th on 5 points) host Norths (eighth on 10 points) at Evans Bay Park at 1.15 pm and Upper Hutt (12^th on 0 points) meet Petone (seventh on 10 points) at Maidstone Park at 1.15 pm.

In other Senior 1 matches, Paremata-Plimmerton (sixth on 12 points) can stay firmly in the hunt for a top four place if they overcome Poneke (eleventh on 1 point) at Kilbirnie Park at 3.00 pm, while Johnsonville (third on 20 points) host Wainuiomata (ninth on 8 points) at Helston Park at 3.00 pm. The top of the table Senior 1 clash between Wellington and OBU is at Hataitai Park at 3.00 pm.

In the Senior 2 National Mutual Cup, the match between unbeaten HOBM and winless Poneke is at the Hutt Rec at 1.15 pm is the curtain-raiser to the main Swindale Shield game, as is the encounter between third and fourth placed Ories and OBU at the Polo Ground at 1.15 pm.

In other Senior 2 matches, mid-table MSP and Norths meet at Martin Luckie Park at 1.00 pm, mid-table Johnsonville and Wainuiomata play at Helston Park at 1.15 pm, and winless Stokes Valley host the Wests Roosters at Delaney Park at 3.00 pm. The clash between leaders Avalon and mid-table Petone is at the Petone Rec at 3.00 pm.

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