Marist lead but tight pack close behind
The battle to be in club rugby’s top four is shaping to be a very tough contest. Evan Pegden reports.
Cut-throat is an often over-used term when it comes to sporting competitions, but it is certainly not out of place in describing this year’s battle for the Waikato premier club rugby top four.
Unbeaten Hamilton Marist might have an eight-point lead at the top of the table after escaping with a draw against Hautapu last weekend, but behind them the chasing pack have little between them.
Just four points separate the next five teams, with two points covering second, third, fourth and fifth.
No-one is more conscious of the tightness of the competition than head coach of the Waikato Breweries Shield winners for the last two seasons, FraserTech’s Roger Randle.
Shenanigans Fraser-tech, who beat Hamilton Old Boys with a try deep in injury time in last year’s grand final, this year lost 13 of the 22 who played in that game, and got off to a shaky start to the season with three losses in the first four matches.
But they have clawed their way back into the top four with four wins in a row since being edged out by Marist, the most significant of those victories being last Saturday’s narrow 30-25 home win over Old Boys.
‘‘It’s closer than ever,’’ said Randle. ‘‘Last year was the first time it had gone over a full season and there was quite a big difference between fourth and fifth and one, two and three were pretty much cemented with about three or four games left.
‘‘But this year it’s really really close. Marist deserve their spot, they’ve been going outstandingly at the top but then you’ve got another five teams, plus Melville coming through now, who are all contesting for those spots.’’
This is the second year of the seasonlong 18-game round-robin where 10 teams play every other twice, home and away, with the points carried through from start to finish, and the top four making the championship semifinals. Previously 12 teams played a preliminary round and then the top eight played the main round.
‘‘You’ve seen it in the past but it was between whoever made the second round and you only had seven or eight games. It could get quite close for the top four then but over a full year, if this carries on and we’re just about halfway through it now, it’s going to be pretty tough getting in that top four.
‘‘One loss and you fall behind the pack so it’s pretty important you keep picking up points and try and accumulate as much as you can because it’s definitely a tough competition,’’ Randle said.
While Tech are coming off a win in their inner-city derby against Old Boys, Randle said they were lucky a few decisions went their way.
Tomorrow they take on Wagon Wheel Bakery Morrinsville Sports for the Styvie Cup, which means that while Morrinsville are battling down in ninth spot with just one win to their name, the 2008 champions will be motivated for this one and know they have often been Tech’s bogey team.
Fraser-tech still have Glen Robertson, Brad Mitchell and Thomas Watt on the injured list and a number of others with niggling injuries. They will also lose Fiji and Waikato lock/loosie Dominiko Waqaniburotu to a French club contract in July.
First-year senior lock Chris Humble is another who is due to head overseas in a couple of weeks.
Randle rates ex-marist and 2010 Hawke’s Bay prop Whetu Barber one of his team’s best forward performers, along with hooker Rohan Kamo, lock Peniasi Iowane, Humble, flanker Joe Scheres and standout loose forward Matt Vant Leven. In the backs the midfield of Brett O’connor and Trent Nattress and wing Jono Sullivan were singled out.
Feature match tomorrow is the top-ofthe-table clash between competition leaders Lodge City Rentals Hamilton Marist and third-placed [on countback] CBD Hamilton Old Boys at Fred Jones Park.
Both the Ron Crawford Memorial Trophy and Stag Trophy – the former a Waikato-wide challenge trophy and the other a Hamilton challenge trophy – are both being put on the line by Old Boys as they are at home, not having lost there this season.
OTC Otorohanga, who are in second place on the same points as Old Boys by virtue of having beaten them, host Ecolab Te Awamutu Sports at Island Reserve, with Te Awamutu just one point out of the top four.
APL Direct Hautapu are seeking their first win in four weeks at home in Cambridge to TDO Melville, who have won two on the trot.
University will be seeking to kick further away from the bottom of the table when they host bottom-placed Mcpherson Contractors Hinuera at the varsity.