Everything Still To Play For In Final Hardham Cup Round

An extraordinary Hardham Cup will culminate this weekend with the relegation of either Western Suburbs, Upper Hutt, Johnsonville or Oriental-Rongotai - but no one who has been following the competition so far would want to hazard a guess as to which one. Going into the final round the only certainty is that Wainuiomata have qualified for next week's playoffs ahead of one of the current premier clubs, one of whom will drop out of the Swindale Shield next season. In all likelihood it won't be second placed Ories, who have a two-point buffer to third, leaving a nail-biting afternoon of round seven rugby for Wests, Upper Hutt and Johnsonville, with an ensuing semi-final spot a relieving consequence of avoiding relegation.

Wainuiomata, out in front with 25 points, had their top four spot booked before their 13-13 draw with Wests last week, while Ories (23 points) should be safe after their round six bonus point win against Northern United, but Upper Hutt (21), Wests (19) and Johnsonville (18) are desperate to win their last round matches. For Johnsonville they must win - if they lose to Poneke in this week's early game at Kilbirnie Park then Upper Hutt and Wests can breathe easier when they take the field for their matches at 3 pm. But if Johnsonville wins as expected, it will be them needing either of the other two to lose.

Raising Johnsonville's hopes significantly are Upper Hutt's and Wests' respective last round opponents. Wests meet Ories at Ian Galloway Park, while Upper Hutt host Wainuiomata at Maidstone Park. Assuming Johnsonville are winners, Wests will have to defeat Ories to be safe, while Upper Hutt can still lose to Wainuiomata and qualify ahead of Wests providing Wests also lose. In the event of all teams finishing tied on 23 points it will come down to points differential.

That this remarkable situation has come down to this is due to the emergence of Wainuiomata and the absence of a clear-cut frontrunner amongst the four premier sides. Wainuiomata have been the undoubted fairytale story of the Hardham Cup so far, winning their opening five games. Their rise has superseded the ultra-competitive nature of the Hardham Cup in general, in which any team has proven they can beat any other on their day, a mirror of the Jubilee Cup and a reflection of the 2006 season overall. Several unexpected results amongst the incumbent premier teams, as well as Wainuiomata's wins over Johnsonville (13-11) and Ories (21-8) and the draw with Wests have already combined to make this year's Hardham Cup about as tight as it could possibly get.