Butcher Boys eye up home semi
Whanganui in second equal spot with Thames Valley
With the distinct possibility of hosting a Meads Cup semifinal, Steelform Whanganui will be hell-bent on collecting maximum points from HorowhenuaKapiti at Cooks Gardens on Saturday.
It is the eighth and final qualifying round of the 2023 Bunnings Warehouse Heartland championship, and a five-point victory this weekend would give the Butcher Boys a chance of a home semifinal.
Whanganui are in second equal spot with Thames Valley after beating the Wairarapa-Bush Stags 36-18 in Masterton last Saturday, and the Swamp Foxes being pipped 34-33 by North Otago at Maheno.
Although the Butchers have a superior points differential (plus 72 to plus 21), Valley qualify ahead of Whanganui because of a 36-33 win at Cooks Gardens on opening day.
Whanganui have managed fivepointers (four or more tries) against “Nua” in the past five years and the Levin-based side is bottom in the 12-union competition.
The Swamp Foxes, like the Butchers, have lost two of seven games this year but every outing has been close with 8 pts the highest margin.
By comparison, Whanganui have scored 146 and conceded 73 pts over the past month, scoring 36-34-40-36 pts at a game average of 37-18.
Valley come up against fourthplaced Ngati Porou East Coast at Waihi on Saturday and could struggle to score four tries.
Whanganui (18) and East Coast (19) have conceded the least tries this season.
Unbeaten South Canterbury headed Mid Canterbury 50-35 in a high-scoring match in Christchurch at the weekend and travel to play eighth-slotted Poverty Bay this weekend.
Fifth-placed North Otago (22 pts), away to West Coast (16 pts), can qualify in the Meads Cup with success at Greymouth.
It all makes for an exciting final Heartland qualifying round.
Locally, the two nearneighbouring unions clash in their 83rd match over a lengthy 120-year time span and it is fitting that there is a trophy at stake — the Bruce Steel Memorial Cup.
This has been contested since 1965, with the Butcher Boys ahead eight victories to two in trophy games involving the unions.
Wairarapa-Bush are the other Steel Cup participant. The more robust first division Manawatu union voluntarily withdrew from the annual series in 2012, handing over to the Heartland unions.
Manawatu had dominated trophy fixtures during the first 47 years, winning 103 of 110 cup fixtures. There is an agreement that the union will be re-admitted to the Steel Cup series should it play in the Heartland grade in future.
Carterton publican William Steel presented the trophy in memory of his son, Bruce, who was a prominent player with the Oroua, Masterton and Featherston clubs. He died from cancer at the age of 29 in 1964.
William Steel was the youngest son of 1920-25 All Blacks winger Jack Steel, a winger who twice captained New Zealand during his 38-cap international career.
Jack Steel, who later became a West Coast publican, was killed in a car accident at 42.
Also on the New Zealand tour of New South Wales in 1920 were Horowhenua’s first All Black, Harry Jacob, and Wanganui wing forward Moke Belliss. The team beat a combined Wanganui-Horowhenua Manawatu XV 39-0 on thePNS how Grounds.
The only other Horowhenua affiliated New Zealand rep is utility Joe Karam who played 10 times for the All Blacks between 1972-75 under Wellington colours. Karam later made media headlines when he campaigned for 15 years before success in having David Bain freed from prison and cleared of murdering family members.
Two other notable Horowhenua backs who have represented New Zealand from other unions after playing against Wanganui are Carlos Spencer and Christian Cullen.
Before moving to Auckland and being capped 44 times for the All Blacks between 1994-2004 and scoring 383 points, Spencer helped Horowhenua beat the Butcher Boys 30-22 in an NPC Div 3 semifinal at Levin in 1992 and 15-9 at Spriggens Park in the 1993 final.
Cullen, in the Horowhenua side that lost 19-8 to Wanganui at Levin in 1994 before becoming a Manawatu All Black in 1996, scored 266 points during his 60 national appearances through to 2003.
Cullen helped Central Vikings beat Wanganui 42-6 at Cooks Gardens in 1997 in his one season with Vikings before switching to Wellington the next year and then overseas to Munster (2003-07).
Horowhenua can also proudly hold claims to World Cup frontrowers Dane Coles (who became the oldest playing All Black at 36 years and 279 days against Namibia) and Codie Taylor, who both played agegrade rugby in the Levin union.
Whanganui have lifted the Steel Cup eight times in 34 trophy fixtures and Horowhenua-Kapiti thrice in six fixtures.
In the two successful Horowhenua challenges against the Butcher Boys, James So’oialo landed five penalties in a 15-8 home victory at Levin in 2017. Perry Hayman kicked 14 points in a 34-23 win at Cooks Gardens in 2014.
Whanganui have averaged 32-20 in 10 Steel Cup outings against Horowhenua and 35-19 in winning 12 of 14 Heartland games.
■ Chesters Plumbing & Bathroom Whanganui Women’s Team were pipped 19-14 in Taupo on Saturday by Trailblazers, the King Country side, in the inaugural North Island Heartland Series championship final.