Final round fireworks predicted for Swindale Shield

The final chapter of what has been an enthralling first act of the club season will be played out on Saturday with the conclusion of the Swindale Shield. Not only is the trophy itself at stake in the showdown between Tawa and Marist St Pat's, but no fewer than five teams are in danger of missing the cut for the Jubilee Cup and being consigned to contesting the Hardham Cup from next week.

Kilbirnie Park will be the venue for the main showdown on Saturday as leaders Tawa take on Marist St Pat's at the Scarlets' temporary home. Only one point separates the sides on the ladder, and barring a repeat of last year's draw but with only MSP scoring a four-try bonus point, the trophy will be won outright.?

At the mid-point of the competition the defending champions were six points clear of their rivals, as in a pair of last-gasp round 6 finishes they had squeezed past Johnsonville while MSP had fallen to OBU.? In hindsight that was the point at which Tawa's blistering early season form began to fall away, not helped by losing influential players such as James So'oialo and Taniela Koroi to injuries. Losses the past two weeks to Petone (snapping a two-year unbeaten streak at home), and OBU have shown some vulnerability.? Though Koroi remains out with a broken arm So'oialo returned two weeks ago, and George Tilsley, Jono Boyd and Filisione Koloamatangi all return tomorrow after not starting against OBU.

MSP have perhaps been the more consistent side week-to-week over the course of the competition, something aided by being able to largely turn out the same backline each week and Fa'atonu Fili being in vintage form. Wing Ryan Setefano and fullback Andrew Wells return after missing one and two games respectively, while they will have the services of Hurricanes squad midfielder Cardiff Vaega for this game. His contest with Tu Umaga-Marshall in midfield will be worth watching.

With conditions forecast to be clear and still both sides may look to play expansive games; but will also look to their respective first-fives So'oialo and Fili to give them field position. With both players also in good goal-kicking form, mistakes will surely be punished. The two sides met at the same stage last year at Lyndhurst Park, where the 29-all draw was enough for Tawa to claim the Shield - ahead of Ories - for the first time. Adding to the feeling of d?j? vu is that experienced premier referee Richard Gordon will be in charge, just as he was last year.

Elsewhere there are sure to be ears on radios and eyes on text messages and social media with five teams vying for the remaining four places in the Jubilee Cup. In the matches that have implications, ?Norths (25) face the Upper Hutt Rams (30) at Porirua Park, Old Boys-University (28) travel to already-qualified Wainuiomata, while Oriental-Rongotai (27) and Hutt Old Boys Marist (27) host Poneke and Wellington respectively, with those latter two sides headed for the Hardham Cup.

The Rams were Jubilee Cup-bound until the results from Kilbirnie and the Basin Reserve rolled in, with the upshot being that they merely need a single point from their clash with Norths to progress.? They will miss out though if they fail to get that point, Norths score 4 tries in winning (thus tying them on 30 points) and OBU, Ories and HOBM all win. In that scenario the Rams will miss out on account of having lost the tiebreaking head-to-head contest. They will be without fullback Jordan Simpson-Heft with Ben Aoina deputising, but have named Hurricane Blade Thompson to start at lock.

Norths' only realistic option is to win their match, and a four-try bonus point on top would be invaluable. Even then that might not be enough if OBU, Ories and HOBM all win, and Upper Hutt get the solitary point they need. Norths could actually progress with a draw, but would need the four-try bonus and for all of those aforementioned teams to not score any competition points. They hold the tie-breaker over OBU. The two sides also play for the Terry Farrow Cup, held by Norths after their 29-13 win in the Swindale Shield round last year, and it is also the Porirua clubs Old Timers Day.

In the midst of a tough week for the club Old Boys-University has the task of taking on Wainuiomata. Originally moved to the Petone Rec due to the poor state of William Jones Park, the two clubs and the WRFU have agreed to move the games to the Basin Reserve to pay tribute to OBU identity and former manager Richard ‘Puddy' Newsome, who died after an accident in Japan last weekend. The Billy Goats are the only side to have defeated both Tawa and MSP this year, in both cases with last-gasp penalties. They too have the services of a Hurricanes player this week with Adam Hill starting at blindside, pushing captain Ian Kennedy to lock where he will join brother Ross. If they fall behind they will be sweating on the news from Porirua, and in the event they find themselves tied for that 8th place they will be the side that misses out owing to having lost to all of the other four sides.

Wainuiomata are already qualified for the next stage, and have opted to rest a number of players from their starting side including Best & Fairest leader Ben Tupuola. Highlanders squad member Frae Wilson will start at 10.

HOBM will back themselves to take care of their own business when they take on bottom-placed Wellington at the Hutt Rec. The Eagles have been through a number of close games this season, with narrow wins over Johnsonville and Norths plus that memorable comeback against the Rams; offset by losses to Petone, Ories and Wainui by two points or less. They've named two starting debutants, Blake McGregor at fullback and last year's NZ Schools Barbarians player Fereti Soloa on the wing, as part of a young looking back division.

They will be wary of an Axemen side that have had their moments in their first season back at this level in over a decade, and should the Axemen cause a boilover then HOBM will also be nervously awaiting the result from Porirua.? If it comes to it HOBM holds the tie-breaker over Upper Hutt, Norths and OBU, but will dip out if tied for 8th with Ories. It's a consistent looking backline for Wellington; while up front standout forward Vaea Fifita moves back to blindside but openside Dean Brunsdon will be absent.

And then there is Oriental-Rongotai. Ories haven't looked like being in any sort of danger of missing out all season, yet find themselves in a situation where that is a very real prospect heading into the eastern suburbs derby on their Old Timers Day with Poneke at the Polo Ground. The match is also the 50th playing of the Jimmy Grbich Memorial Shield between the two clubs, where the hosts will undoubtedly face a fired-up Kilbirnie side. Should the red-and-blacks prevail then news from Norths' match will be eagerly sought by the Magpies faithful, but if needed they hold tie-breakers over each of HOBM, OBU and Norths. Ories openside Pau Halafihi starts in his 100th match and captain Whetu Henry returns at tighthead, while Poneke will be without their captain Galu Taufale but Samoan 7's player Greg Foe is back and will take his place.

The Jimmy Grbich trophy is currently held by Ories after their 32-24 victory on Anzac Day last year. For more about Grbich and the events marking the 50th anniversary of this match see Wednesday's Club Rugby article.

In the game that has no implications either way Johnsonville host Petone at Helston. The Villagers win over Ories last weekend saw them go through and are taking no chances with naming a near to full-strength side. The home side will be looking to bounce back after a poor outing against the Upper Hutt Rams, but have a mounting injury toll to deal with ahead of their Hardham Cup campaign.

WRFU Bylaws 6.3 & 6.4

Ties

6.3 In the event that teams are tied on WRFU CC points and there is no question of promotion or

relegation or seeding as between the tied teams then those teams shall be declared to haveachieved equal standing but if there is, then:

?? a. Unless a Circular Tie occurs the winner of the match already played??? between those teams in that WRFU CC round shall have the higher position;

b. If a Circular Tie has occurred or the teams that have tied have also drawn the match

referred to in 6.3(a) then the team having the higher differential between points

scored for and points scored against, in that WRFU CC round shall have the higher

position. If a team has been defaulted to in that round then the average points

achieved by that team for each other game in that round shall be awarded to the

team, and the average points scored against that team for each other game in that

WRFU CC round shall be awarded against that team, for the match defaulted to it;

c. Should two or more sides still be tied after applying (a) and (b) above then the

method used to determine their respective standings shall be by toss of a coin.

6.4 A "Circular Tie" means a situation where no overall single winner emerges, e.g. A beats B, B

beats C and C beats A, or A draws with B, B draws with C and C draws with A.