Close game expected at Frankton

THE Central Otago premier club rugby competition starts again tomorrow after having Easter off.

The match of the round should be at Frankton, where Arrowtown takes on another firstround winner in Upper Clutha.

Both sides had good wins in the opening round and this should be a close encounter. Arrowtown opened with a trip to the Maniototo and came away with a solid win, while Upper Clutha demolished a newlook Clyde Earnscleugh side, scoring 12 tries in the process.

Arrowtown looks to have a familiar lineup with experience in the forwards and some speed out wide with threetry hero Liam Jenkins lurking on the right wing.

Upper Clutha, for its part, will be keen to get the ball wide through their tidy inside back pairing of Jared Cunningham and Josh Roberts.

Cromwell hosts Matakanui Combined and will be wary of the Omakaubased side in the first White Horse Cup challenge of the new season. The Combined club has a history second to none in holding the prestigious cup and, although perhaps not the team of yesteryear, nonetheless will be well aware of the significance of the game.

Matakanui faces a Cromwell side coming off a high after a good firstup win over Alexandra. Cromwell has a new coaching setup and plenty of players to choose from but the result could be close.

It had more than 50 players at preseason, so had plenty to pick from for its team.

Clyde Earnscleugh faces Maniototo at the Clyde Domain and should be a lot better for its first game of the season. It was touch and go for a while whether the side would make the competition and it may take a few rounds before combinations become settled. Players have come down the gorge from the Cromwell club.

Maniototo also started with a firstup loss but should be too strong for the home side.

Wakatipu hosts Alexandra at the Queenstown Recreation ground and should be too big and too strong. Brad Cross and Chris Young were in devastating form in round one, with Young contributing 23 points in the win.

Alexandra is better than its first showing against Cromwell suggests but it is hard to see it threatening the defending champion.