Whanganui’s playoff record intact
Butcher Boys feature in every Heartland series
Steelform Whanganui have maintained a 100 per cent record of reaching every Heartland rugby playoff series since the national championship competition started in 2006, after scoring a comprehensive 55-19 victory against Horowhenua-Kāpiti last Saturday.
The Butcher Boys not only retained the Bruce Steel Memorial Cup for the season, out-scoring the “Hua Boys” nine tries to three, but qualified for a home Meads Cup semifinal against Thames Valley this weekend.
It will be the ninth Meads home semi to be hosted at Cooks Gardens with two Lochore Cup cut-throat playoffs also staged locally.
Including collecting a bonus point (four or more tries) last Saturday, Whanganui also have Ngati Porou East Coast to thank for claiming the 2023 Meads home semi because the Coasters restricted the Swamp Foxes to three tries in a 31-26 win at Waihī.
Otherwise, Valley would be hosting the Butchers this weekend in a 1.05pm televised match.
Defending champions South Canterbury, who beat Poverty Bay 41-31, meet East Coast at Pleasant Point at 3.05pm in the other Meads semi.
In the Lochore Cup semis, Wairarapa-Bush (who beat Mid Canterbury 33-28) host West Coast (27-12 winners against North Otago) at 2.30pm and North Otago is home to Poverty Bay at 2pm.
The Whanganui v Thames Valley clash will be the fourth Meads semi between the two unions since 2018, the Foxes winning 17-7 here in 2018 and the Butchers 20-15 at Paeroa in 2019 and 25-18 at Cooks Gardens last year. Valley beat Whanganui 36-33 here in the opening qualifying round on August 12 this year.
Whanganui’s home Meads Cup semifinals record — 2022: Beat Thames Valley 25-18. 2018: Lost to Thames Valley 7-17. 2016: Beat Wairarapa-Bush 58-26. 2012: Beat Wairarapa-Bush 23-20. 2011: Beat Mid Canterbury 32-22. 2010: Beat Poverty Bay 31-24. 2009: Beat Poverty Bay 48-13. 2008; Beat West Coast 40-18. 2006: Beat Mid Canterbury 30-17.
Away Meads Cup semifinals — 2019 at Paeroa: Beat Thames Valley 20-15. 2017 at Timaru: Beat South Canterbury 29-24. 2015 at Ashburton:
Beat Mid Canterbury 26-11. 2007 at Ashburton: Beat Mid Canterbury 18-12.
Home Lochore Cup final (no semifinals) — 2021 beat North Otago 22-16.
Semifinal 2013 lost to Buller 30-40.
Away Lochore Cup semifinal – 2014 at Te Kuiti: Beat King Country 37-6.
Note — There was no Heartland rugby in 2000 because of Covid.
Two centurions
It is fitting that Lindsay Horrocks and Roman Tutauha should reach Whanganui rugby milestones within a week of each other.
The pair, who have played major roles in helping develop the Butcher Boys as the most successful team in the history of New Zealand Heartland rugby, have combined their individual talents in two vital team positions — halfback and hooker.
Horrocks played his 100th match for Whanganui last Saturday and Tutauha will hopefully reach the century mark this weekend in the 2023 Bunnings Warehouse Meads Cup semifinal against Thames Valley, also on Cooks Gardens this weekend.
If Whanganui are successful, 33-year-old Border farmer Horrocks and 37-year-old railway employee Tutauha will have the chance of each claiming a sixth national championship title.
They were in winning Meads Cup sides in 2015 (28-11 v South Canterbury in Timaru), 2016 (20-18 v Buller at Cooks Gardens) and 2017 (30-14 v Horowhenua-Kapiti at Levin) and Lochore Cup victors in 2014 (14-12 v North Otago in Oamaru) and 2021 (22-16 v North Otago again, on Cooks Gardens).
They were also in Whanganui sides that were Meads Cup runnersup to South Canterbury (36-47) last year and North Otago (19-33) in 2019 in the South Island finals.
Add in three successive Ranfurly Shield challenges — 12-32 v Waikato at Cambridge in 2015, 5-71 v Canterbury at Christchurch in 2017 and 10-33 v Taranaki at Hawera in 2018 — and the pair can lay claim as worthy Whanganui match centurions.
They will boost the number of players with 100 or more games for Whanganui to 15, joining Trevor Olney 146 (1973-90), Graeme Coleman 144 (1973-83), Bob Barrell 139 (1963-77), Adrian Bull 134 (1985-99), Peter Rowe 120 (2003-17), Bruce Middleton 119 (1974-84), Andrew Donald 118 (1976-84), Jerome Nahona 111 (1989-2000), Guy Lennox 110 (1990-98),17), Cole Baldwin 105 (2006-17), Kerry Whale 100 (1985-98), Brent Dallison100 (1975-83) and Jason Hamlin 100 1992-2001).
Hopefully, Tutauha will be fully recovered from an injury suffered in helping Whanganui retain the Bruce Steel Cup against Horowhenua-Kā piti last weekend. Horrocks, who proudly led the Butcher Boys on to Cooks Gardens for the cup defence and scored a try to reach 117 rep points, was NZ Heartland Player of the Year in 2015 and a national Heartland rep in 2015-16-21-22.
He and Tutauha have enjoyed considerable success in Tasman Tanning Whanganui premier club finals — Horrocks with winning Border sides in 2016-20-21-22-23 and Tutauha with Ruapehu in 2012-13-17-18.