Key matches for prem club rugby
With just three rounds of qualifying matches remaining in the 2018 Tasman Tanning Wanganui premier club rugby competition the four main contenders for the semifinals have key matches involving each other this weekend.
The top two northern clubs travel to take on the two leading Metropolitan teams.
Defending titleholders McCarthy Transport Ruapehu (41 pts) clash with Waverley Harvesting Border (36 pts) at Dallison Park in a repeat of last season’s gripping final on Cooks Gardens when Craig Clare kicked an amazing drop goal in the dying seconds to snare a come-from-behind 28-26 victory for Ruapehu.
The Mountain Men held out Border 22-19 (four tries to three) on a home Rochfort Park in the first round back in mid April this campaign.
Ruapehu is ahead nine wins to eight, four times in Waverley including on the first three trips since Border returned from the Taranaki union in 2011.
The two clubs have met in the play-offs for the past three seasons with Border winning semi-finals at home in 2015 (34-13) and 2016 (34-15) and Ruapehu (28-26) on a neutral Cooks Gardens last year.
After a major shock last Saturday at Spriggens Park, when Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist well and truly avenged a 45-22 away first round loss with a fine 42-20 triumph, Border will need a major recovery in form to have any chance of lifting the Grand Hotel Challenge Shield off Ruapehu who dethroned Byford’s Readimix Taihape 22-5 of the trophy last Saturday.
Border has slipped to fourth on the table, 5 pts adrift of co-leaders Ruapehu and Black Bull Liquor Pirates and 2 pts behind Taihape. Marist is looming in fifth slot, three pts behind Border but could find Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau, on the home club’s Old Timers’ Day at the Country Club, just as troublesome as the first round when the greens snuck home 29-28.
Pirates hold a handy 23 wins to 17 advantage in 41 fixtures against Taihape during the new millennium with the teams drawing 20-all in 2013.
Taihape, beaten 23-17 at home in the first round two months ago, however, is ahead six wins to four in matches over the past six seasons but most of the success has been on Memorial Park.
There have been only two Taihape victories in the past nine games against Pirates at Spriggens Park — 10-5 in 2015 and 34-5 in 2016.
Pirates, who easily dispatched struggling Harvey Round Motors
Ra¯ tana 65-5 on Marton Park last weekend with centre Magele Meke running in five tries, however, cannot afford to take Taihape lightly. There was little in the Taihape-Ruapehu match last weekend until the visitors ran in two quick late converted tries.
The bottom two teams — Settlers Honey
Nga¯ matapo¯ uri and Ra¯ tana — play up the Waito¯ tara Valley with the hosts chasing a repeat of the 31-17 first round win at Marton Park. Ra¯ tana’s last victory was 20-14 against Utiku OB 34 games ago in 2016.
With only 8 pts between the top five clubs and the semi-finals looming fast results from Saturday are vital for the championship contenders.
Key games in the last two weekends, home team first, include Ruapehu v Marist and Kaierau v Taihape on June 30 and Pirates v Ruapehu and Marist v Taihape on July 7. Border has lifted the senior grade Stihl Shop Wanganui Challenge Shield for a second time this season with a 23-20 upset win over Marist Celtic at Spriggens Park.
Border, who took the trophy 15-13 off defending champions Speirs Food Marton on opening day, avenged an earlier 18-7 home loss to Celtic and now defend the shield against Taihape in Waverley this weekend.
If successful Border then takes he trophy to McNab Domain to tackle Counties with Marton hoping the shield is still in Waverley for a July 7th fixture.
Kelso Hunterville has a score to settle on Saturday — to avenge an unexpected 18-17 first round defeat at the hands of hosts Counties at McNab Domain.
Hunterville has been the form team in the grade this year with just the one defeat during the first round but there have been two close shaves away from home — 32-29 over unpredictable Kaierau and 15-14 v Border at Waverley
Defending champions Marton, after an unbeaten 2017 season, qualified fourth this year, dropping four games — 13-15 at home to Border and then 9-32 away to Hunterville, 17-20 home against Celtic and 20-37 away to Bennett’s Taihape in the final three qualifying matches.
Marton avenged the Taihape loss with an easy 45-7 home win and last weekend beat Counties 26-15 away.
Marton, however, will find Celtic strong opposition at Marton Park on Saturday in a fixture that will have a major bearing on semi-final hosting rights,
Border, who beat Taihape by default at the end of March, hosts Taihape.
In the senior consolation Kaierau is home to Ruapehu, who won the first game 22-12 in Ohakune, Utiku OB (27-26 home victors in round one) meet Buffalo’s on the Racecourse and Pirates have the bye.
Wanganui will host four of the oldest rugby-playing schools in the country when the 92nd annual College Quadrangular Tournament is played at Collegiate School next week.
Wanganui Collegiate, Nelson College and Christ’s College started playing in 1889 and Nelson College became the fourth participant in 1925.
Collegiate won 11 times and was involved in three tied tournaments under the old three-college format and since the entry of Nelson College has won 14 quadrangular tourneys.
Wellington College, with a much larger school role, has won 33 quadrangular tiles.
Champions for the past five years have been Christ’s (2013-2016), Wellington (2014 when last held in Wanganui) and Nelson (2014 and last year).
Last season, when Nelson won at home, the hosts beat Wellington 24-5 on opening day and Christ’s 29-5 in the final. Wanganui lost 13-7 to defending champions Christ’s and then 27-5 to Wellington in the play-off for third and fourth.
Next week Wanganui plays Nelson on Monday at 2.15pm after the Wellington v Nelson 12.30 curtain-raiser. The final on Wednesday is at 1.10pm after the losers’ curtain-raiser at 11.40am.
Collegiate has played well in CNI (Central North Island) 1st XV games his year with three wins and a draw for six matches under former NZ Heartland and Wanganui champion coach Guy Lennox.
But the standard of rugby in the quadrangular tournament is much higher.
The four participating colleges have produced a wealth of All Blacks over the years with Collegiate’s most recent including halfbacks David Kirk (1983-87) and Andrew Donald (1981-84), mid fielder Andrew Jefferd (1980-81) and hooker Roger Boon (1960).