Swindale Shield set to heat up at halfway mark

Above: Fighting for possession. Petone and Wainuiomata are two of four teams on 11 points ahead of the mid-point of the Swindale Shield this Saturday

This weekend marks the halfway point of the first round Wellington club rugby Premier Swindale Shield, Senior 1 Harper Lock Shield and Senior 2 National Mutual Cup grades. It also concludes the compressed part of the schedule with teams playing their fourth game in two weeks, and injuries are taking a toll on some of the contenders.

Premier Swindale Shield

While the easiest way to ensure Jubilee Cup qualification is to simply win games, the tight nature of the middle of the table with fourth through ninth separated by just two points, means that some teams will have one eye on the points column and trying to establish how many points might be needed.

Since 2006 it has taken an average of 4.5 wins minimum in the Swindale Shield to qualify for the Jubilee Cup, with the ninth-placed team at the conclusion of the Swindale averaging 20.5 competition points, so bonus points will be a factor. However that bar has risen in the past four years with 24 points being the ninth-placed average, and even then Norths (in 2013) and OBU (in 2011) missed out despite tallying 27 and 26 competition points respectively. That contrasts with 2009 when Tawa qualified despite recording only 3 wins and 18 points.

The Wellington Axemen (4 points) sit bottom after the weekend with just one win in the season so far, but clawed their way back into the match against Upper Hutt last week and will feel that the final scoreline flattered the Rams. This week they make the journey across to Wainuiomata (11), who notched their first win of the year when they defeated Petone at the Rec. The home side can take a step out of the mid-table pack with a win, but the visitors will be desperate to drag themselves back into the mix. The two sides will also contest the Bill Jones Cup, held by the Axemen after their 39-3 win in a Senior 1 game last year. It is also thought that this will also be the first time the two clubs have met in a Swindale Shield match since 1987.

Poneke (5) are another team in danger of losing touch with the pack, and will need a win in the annual FJ Tilyard Memorial Shield match against Petone (11) or otherwise find themselves with much work to do over the remaining weeks. For the Villagers they come in on the back of two narrow losses and will want to get their season back on track.

The trophy's namesake, Fred Tilyard, played on four championship-winning Poneke sides in the post-World War I years, was an All Black in 1923, and an administrator for 20 years. His brothers Harry, Brun and Jimmy also all played for Wellington, with Jimmy also an All Black. These matches have always been fiercely contested, and stories of previous encounters are surely going to be told in the clubrooms after the match. Petone are the holders after their 25-24 win last season.

Johnsonville (8), kept themselves in touch with their upset of Oriental-Rongotai. The Hawks' first Swindale win since 2006 ironically came against the same opponent, at the same venue (Polo), by the same margin (3 points), and at the same time of year (then 15 April 2006) as their last. On Saturday they become the fifth team in six rounds to head to Lyndhurst and take on competition leaders Tawa (25), who are in no danger of missing the Jubilee Cup and will look to keep racking up the points in defence of their Swindale crown. However Johnsonville have been a stubborn opponent and after last week will hold no fears for the short trip up the motorway. ?The two sides will contest the Bill Brien Challenge Cup, as well as the interclub Carman Cup.

Two of the sides in the mid-table scrum meet at Porirua Park when Norths face Ories after contrasting Easter rounds. Ories firstly blew a handy lead away against the Upper Hutt Rams before falling at home to Johnsonville, and another loss here would threaten to derail their campaign. On the other hand Norths cashed in a pair of ‘get out of jail' cards, with Perry Hayman firstly tiptoeing in at the death to beat Petone, and then following that up by kicking a 50m penalty to cap a remarkable comeback against OBU. The sides contest the To'omaga Alex Iona Memorial Cup, named after the former Ories player who later became a life member of Norths. Ories are the holders after last year's 50-19 victory.

Old Boys-University (11) continue their nomadic ways, playing this week's game against Marist St Pats (22) at Wellington College. The Fighting Billy Goats left it late to beat Poneke on Friday, but had the tables turned on them Monday by Norths, while MSP returned to winning ways by beating HOBM after their 30-all draw with Wainuiomata on Thursday night. The Jack Lamason Cup will be a stake between the sides, with OBU the holders after their 21-15 on opening day last year.

The final match sees Hutt Old Boys Marist (11) finally play their first game of the year on the Hutt Rec after the ground saw its annual period of maintenance. The visitors are the Upper Hutt Rams (18) who sit in third after two wins over Easter and have made a bright start after the amalgamation. The Eagles have misfired somewhat and will hope that a return to the familiar surrounds of the Nest, where they play all of their remaining Swindale matches, will spark them into life.

All Premier matches kickoff at the earlier time of 2.15 pm owing to the Hurricanes match against the Reds at Westpac Stadium.

Senior 1 Harper Lock Shield

Five of the six Senior 1 matches this week are early kickoffs. At 12.15 pm OBU face MSP at Martin Luckie Park, with 12.30 pm kickoffs for Norths against Ories, HOBM against the Upper Hutt Rams, and winless Wainuomata against unbeaten leaders Avalon. The final early kickoff is Tawa at home to the West Roosters, who last week defaulted their match against Ories.

The sole 2.15 pm kickoff is at Ngatitoa Domain, where third-placed home side Paremata-Plimmerton face mid-table Petone.

Colts Division 1 Paris Memorial Trophy

There are three Division 1 Colts games this week. The Wellington Axemen face HOBM at Hataitai at 12 pm while at 12.30pm Norths host Ories at Porirua and Poneke takes on Petone Blue at Kilbirnie 12.30pm. The fourth game in this round was played last Friday night with OBU defeating MSP 45-9.

Other grades

Saturday's six Senior 2 National Mutual Cup games are all early matches. At 12.15 pm OBU face MSP at Martin Luckie, while Wests are scheduled to host Johnsonville at Ian Galloway. There are 12.30 pm kickoffs for Norths against the Rams, second-placed Poneke against Petone, third-placed Avalon face leaders Wellington, and HOBM host Stokes Valley.

In the Women's Fleurs Trophy action on Saturday Avalon face Wainuiomata at Fraser Park, Norths host OBU at Porirua, Ories play Tawa at the Polo Ground, and Stokes Valley take on MSP-Poneke at Delaney. All games are 11 am kickoffs this week.

The weekend's action all starts though at 1pm on Friday in the all-MSP clash between the Blues and Reds in the Under 85kg division 1 JC Bowl on the St Patricks College artificial. On Saturday the OBU Spartans and Upper Hutt Rams meet at 12.30pm at Te Whaea, while there at 2.15pm kickoffs for Poneke and the OBU Bunnies at Kilbirnie, the Tawa Titans and Stokes Valley meet at Redwood Park, while Eastbourne make their first appearance by the sea at HW Shortt when they host the Axemen.

As well as these games, there is a full slate of lower division Colts and U85s matches, as well as Reserve and President's grade games.

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