Shield at stake in Easter clash
There will be extra interest in the Easter Saturday premier match at Spriggens Park with the Grand Hotel Shield at stake in the Pirates v Kaierau match after Pirates deservedly dethroned Border of the premier challenge trophy 22-17 at Dallison Park last weekend.
A strong Black Bull Liquor Pirates forward pack controlled the game against Waverley Harvesting Border who were without a number of key players including front rowers, and Pirates will be favourites to beat Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau in the second round of the Tasman Tanning 2018 championship qualifying series.
It was the first home defeat for Border in 21 games since McCarthy Transport Ruapehu won 25-14 in 2015. It was also the first opening round championship loss for the Waverley team since returning from the Taranaki union in 2011 and it was Pirates who handed out that setback, winning 19-12 on Spriggens Park.
For a third successive year the Grand Shield has now changed hands in the opening challenge game — Border lifting the trophy off titleholders Ruapehu 47-17 at Dallison Park in 2016 and 21-18 at Rochfort Park in Ohakune last season.
Pirates, who has only held the trophy at the end of the season once during the new millennium, in 2012 when finishing third in the championship behind Ruapehu and Border, has enjoyed brief tenures of the shield in recent seasons.
Last year the blacks lost 48-22 away to Border in a challenge game but lifted the trophy off Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist 32-29, beat Settlers Honey Ngamatapouri 38-5 away and lost 24-40 away to PGG Wrightson-Balance Taihape.
In 2016 Pirates had three shield challenges, losing 57-17 against Border and 25-18 against Ruapehu at Spriggens Park and 24-12 v Taihape at Memorial Park.
Pirates, playing at home, de-throned Border 26-5 in 2015, repelled Ruapehu 29-28 and Marist 48-19 only to go down 5-10 against Taihape.
There was no shield challenge for Pirates in 2014 after the previous season beating Marist 31-12 for the trophy, losing 15-16 to Border on Spriggens Park and later losing 5-28 away to Ruapehu in another challenge.
It was celebration year for Pirates in 2012 when the club finally held the shield for the year, lifting it 16-13 away off Ruapehu and defending it at home against Utiku OB 30-23, Border 26-20, Ruapehu 17-7 and Harvey Round Motors Ratana 24-7 and away against Speirs Food Marton 29-10 and Taihape 15-3.
Pirates’ championship hopes, however, went down the drain in 2012 with a 23-6 defeat at the hands of Border in a Spriggens Park semi-final.
Kaierau, who won the Grand Shield six times between 2002 and 2010, has not won any trophy challenges over the last five seasons, losing 20-45 at home against Taihape last year, 15-43 away to Taihape in 2016, 24-38 to Border at Waverley in 2015, 16-34 at home to Ruapehu and 24-25 away to Ratana in 2014 challenges and 8-28 away to Border and 12-55 at home against Ruapehu in two 2013 Shield games.
Pirates (formed in 1879) and Kaierau (1891) have met 36 times during the new millennium with Kaierau ahead 26 wins to 10 with half of the Pirates’ victories coming since 2013 including 43-28 at Kaierau and 74-0 on Spriggens Park last year.
The coaching of Philip (Red) Morris, a life member of Kaierau, has coincided with success for both clubs. He switched from Kaierau to Pirates in 2012 along with a contingent of Pacific Island players including former Samoan international and 89-Wanganui rep cap Denning Tyrell.
Kaierau appeared in 11 club finals between 1996 and 2011, winning the championship in 1997-1999-2004-2005 and finishing runners-up seven times including 2009-2010-2011.
Pirates won back to back premier championships in 2014-15, the first success since 1958, finished second to Ruapehu in 2013, third in 2012 and fourth last season.
Kaierau, who won the premier consolation last year and finished fifth overall, one slot lower than Pirates, started the new season with a 15-5 away loss to defending champions Ruapehu.
Former rep winger Clive Stowers, who started his career with Kaierau, has switched back from Pirates for whom he scored 42 tries including a union high of 16 in 2014. Monaghan In Form Marist goal-kicking first five Sam Monaghan has made a flying start to the new Wanganui premier club season with 26 points including a hat-trick of tries last weekend. Work kept him off the rugby field last year.
Monaghan, who scored 132 points in finishing second to Border’s Nick Harding (176) in the 2016 club season, returns at just the right time for Marist to replace Mitchell Millar (132 pts in 2017) who has switched to Ruapehu.
Marist, who beat Settlers Honey Ngamatapouri 36-10 last weekend at Spriggens Park, is off to Marton Park on Saturday to play Ratana who lost 10-21 away to Taihape on opening day.
Ratana is ahead 23 victories to 17, with a 10-all draw at Spriggens Park, in matches since the turn of the century thanks to winning 13 of 15 fixtures between 2000 and 2006 when the Maori club won four of six championship titles.
During that period Marist came back from 18-15 and 23-12 qualifying round defeats in 2000 to upset Ratana’s dream of a 75th Jubilee Year championship title with a 23-13 upset win in the final.
That season Johnny Muir scored 147 pts, Brendon Bartley 13 tries and future All Black Chris Masoe eight tries for Marist and Leon Mason 127 pts and Corey Pardoe 23 tries (115 pts) for Ratana who lost only two games — 7-8 away to Taihape and 13-23 to Marist in the final.
Although Border has won 11 of the last 14 games against Taihape, including 54-20 at home and 30-21 away last year, It could be another tough encounter for the Waverley-based side on Saturday.
Border, who will be boosted by the return of a few strong forwards, has suffered three losses against Taihape on Memorial Park — 13-14 in 2011, 7-29 in 2014 and 30-36 in 2016.
Ngamatapouri, who showed glimpses of form against Marist last weekend with rep dynamo mid-fielder Jim Seruwalu rampant at times, has a home game against Ruapehu on Saturday.
Despite a sluggish home start against Kaierau last weekend, with only a 5-0 half-time lead, defending champions Ruapehu, who won 37-5 at Settlers Park last winter, will be tough opposition.
Night Senior Clash
History will be made at Hunterville tomorrow (Thursday) night when the home side tackles Marist Celtic in the first Tasman Tanning senior championship evening game to be played in the township.
Although seven-times champions Kelso Hunterville has by far the best record in the history of the union-wide senior competitions, Celtic has surprised the country club quite often in recent years including winning three of 10 games in the past five years and there have been three drawn fixtures since 2009.
Celtic may not have won the senior title, with the closest efforts being runners-up in 2011 (beaten 32-7 by Hunterville), and third placings in 2007-10-14 and last year, but the city team is one of the few to have won at Hunterville — 17-13 in 2014 — and there was a 15-all draw on the ground four years earlier.
The two teams also drew 13-all at Spriggens Park in 2009 and 18-all on the Racecourse in 2016.
In addition to the away victory in 2014 Celtic also won 20-15 at Spriggens Park in 2013 and fitting won 34-17 at the same venue on Queen’s Birthday last year during the Marist club’s 100th year celebrations.
The Marist premiers made it a double for the centennial weekend by beating Kaierau 35-14.
Celtic and Hunterville clashed three times during 2017 with Hunterville winning 27-24 at home in the first senior qualifying round, losing the return game at Spriggens Park 17-34 and avenging the defeat with a narrow 11-7 victory at the same park in the championship semifinals.
Unbeaten Speirs Food Marton beat Hunterville 30-0 in the final at Cooks Gardens.
This season Hunterville beat Ruapehu 52-10 at Ohakune on opening day and sat out the bye last weekend.
Celtic beat Taihape 24-17 away in round one and last Saturday came from behind at half-time to beat sister side Marist Bufffalo’s 34-17 at Spriggens Park.
Counties (plus 51 points differential) and Celtic (plus 24) share the senior championship lead with a maximum 10 points each, one clear of Border with defending champions Marton fourth on 6 pts.
In other round three Easter Saturday fixtures Border defends the Stihl Shop Wanganui Challenge Shield at home on Dallison Park against Taihape, Pirates play Kaierau at Spriggens Park, Counties host Utiku OB at McNab Domain, Marton is home to Ruapehu and Buffalos have the bye
Super Rugby Draw
The Investec Super Rugby Draw for Easter (NZ times):
Friday:
Chiefs v Highlanders, Hamilton, 7.35pm. Rebels v Hurricanes, Melbourne, 9.45pm
Saturday:
Blues v Sharks, Auckland, 7.35pm Brumbies v Waratahs, Canberra, 9.45pm.
Sunday:
Bulls v Stormers, Pretoria, 3.15am.
Lions v Crusaders, Johannesburg, 12.30am. Byres — Sunwolves, Jaguares, Reds.