Last round scramble for Jubilee Cup spots
Seven into five won’t fit.
That is the equation this Saturday for the seven teams hoping to secure the final five places for the upcoming Premier Jubilee Cup on tomorrow’s final afternoon of Swindale Shield rugby for 2019.
With Hutt Old Boys Marist crowned first round champions last weekend, the spotlight falls on the mid-table scramble to finish inside the top seven.
Five of tomorrow’s 10th round Swindale Shield matches have ramifications on the fortunes of those teams directly and indirectly involved in each match, with just the top-of-the-table HOBM and Northern United clash and the battle between Johnsonville and Avalon not part of the calculations.
There are several scenarios, with seven teams all finishing on 31 points one of the potential equations, and 32 points the ‘safe’ number of points to get to.
The WRFU tiebreaker rules can be found here.
A further look at this week’s Swindale Shield games is below.
Meanwhile, there are also several other grades heading to their conclusions tomorrow.
Marist St Pats wrapped up the Premier Reserve Harper Lock Shield with a week to spare and will be motivated to finish their first round with 10 straight wins against mid-table Oriental-Rongotai.
But the battle for the minor places is still on, with Ories in a group of six teams between 29 and 37 points. As it stands, Tawa and Norths are joint second, with Tawa playing sixth placed Upper Hutt Rams and Norths meeting HOBM.
Oriental-Rongotai have already won the Division 2Colts title, and will earn promotion to Division 1 at the expense of either Tawa or the Upper Hutt Rams who are seventh and eighth respectively in the top flight Paris Memorial Trophy.
Tawa play sixth placed Petone, while the Rams Colts will need to beat second placed Marist St Pats to stay in the top tier. For their part, MSP can still win the Paris Memorial Trophy if they beat the Rams and leaders OBU Green lose to mid-table Paremata-Plimmerton.
The first round Women’s competition starts with Ories who have the bye tomorrow and are in contention to win the first round, while Norths and Petone are safely into the top tier.
There are three women’s matches tomorrow, between third placed Petone and fifth placed OBU, sixth placed Paremata-Plimmerton and seventh placed HOBM and fourth placed MSP and Poneke. The fourth match sees Norths hosting Wainuiomata/Avalon tonight in Porirua.
The U85kg competition tomorrow sees unbeaten Avalon play the OBU Scallywags, and a feature match between second placed Upper Hutt Rams and third placed Wellington.
Hutt Old Boys Marist v Northern United
Venue: Hutt Rec
Referee: Ali Payne
If Ories had beaten HOBM last week and Norths had beaten MSP, this match could have been a virtual grand final for the Swindale Shield.
Instead the Eagles locked up the Swindale Shield with a week to spare when they defeated Ories 41-31. Hurricanes wing Salesi Rayasi scored two tries and captain Sheridan Rangihuna banked 19 points.
Norths are on 35 points and through to the second round, but will be keen to emulate their 41-26 win against the Eagles in the Jubilee Cup semi-final last year and head into the second round with some momentum.
Both clubs may rest some key individuals with an eye on the second round, though it is Old Timers’ Day at the Hutt Rec and the Eagles will be motivated to finish unbeaten.
Oriental-Rongotai v Marist St Pats
Venue: Polo Grounds
Referee: Jamie Fairmaid
Marist St Pats haven’t played Hardham Cup rugby since 1974, but a failure to win with a bonus point at the Polo Ground will see that happen and even if the Scarlets win they are not guaranteed a place in the top seven. This would also affect their second XV, who have already won the Harper Lock Shield but will go down to tier-two with them.
MSP were outstanding on their Old Timers’ Day, pumping Norths 48-31. MSP have lost four games by less than seven points, but showed on Saturday if they stay in the fight they can be very dangerous. Willie Schutz kicked 8/8 and young lock Tom Martin made a big impression.
Ories were sitting in second three weeks ago, but could miss the Jubilee Cup altogether. Two losses and the concession of 70 points has shown some fragility.
This should be a thrilling watch between the two eastern suburbs rival firms. Ories won a cracker 29-22 the last time they met. MSP were held up over the try line close to fulltime.
Watch for the midfielders Isaia Petelo (MSP) and Malachai Unasa (Ories).
This match is the Saturday Rugby Club feature commentary game on Radio Sport on 1503am and live on Radio Sport Extra on the iHeart Radio app.
Petone v Poneke
Venue: Petone Rec
Referee: Colin Te Pohe
Poneke are fourth on 31 points and Petone are fifth on 30 points. The winner of this match will advance to the second round and avoid relying upon bonus points.
Who will win? Petone have struck a purple patch since the McBain winning their last three games and scoring 194 points, though it needs to be stressed the Villagers have demolished three teams headed to the Hardham Cup.
Poneke are 6-3 and thrashed the Axemen on their Old Timers’ Day last weekend. The street kids have toppled Petone in their last three matches and were in the Jubilee Cup last season.
Greg Foe marking Tupou Sopoaga will be a ding dong battle. Both are among the best loose forwards in Wellington.
On the wing Nick Robertson (Poneke) and Willie Fine (Petone) have scored over 20 tries between them in 2019.
The two sides play for the Fred Tilyard Memorial Shield, after the famous attacking back 100 years ago.
This match will feature on Te Upoko O Te Ika radio.
Wellington v Wainuiomata
Venue: Hataitai Park
Referee: Jack Sargentina
Wainuiomata are on a roll having won three in a row and defeating Old Boys University on the road. The Wainuiomata forwards have a settled and menacing appearance and their backs have been dangerous – although neither TJ Va’a (injured) or Peter Umaga-Jensen (Hurricanes) have been named tomorrow. Veteran prop Justin Va’a comes off the bench for his first appearance of the year.
Lock James Poloniati returns from injury for the Axemen, while Hilton Mexted has been named at first five-eighth after a two-year absence and a recent season in Hawaii.
With a win Wainuiomata are in.
This match is for the Bill Jones Cup.
Johnsonville v Avalon
Venue: Helston Park
Referee: Andrew Lawler
Johnsonville showed plenty of heart against the Upper Hutt Rams last Saturday, whereas Avalon were pumped 91-5 by Petone.
Last year Avalon beat Johnsonville 34-10 in the Swindale Shield, but Johnsonville won the Hardman Cup encounter 33-15.
Old Timers’ Day at Helston Park – can the home side break their duck?
Upper Hutt Rams v Tawa
Venue: Maoribank Park
Referee: Steve Newson
Five points will almost certainly get Tawa through to the Jubilee Cup. Tawa will go up to 32 points with a four try bonus point victory, avoiding the potential 31-point log jam. Tawa have scored 53 tries which is the second best attacking record in the competition, but their defence has been fragile at times.
The Upper Hutt Rams have four wins and a Hardham Cup residence for another season.
Eli Hunt scored two tries from hooker for the Rams last weekend while Romu Senileba is enjoying his switch from Johnsonville to Tawa. He scored two tries from the wing against Paremata-Plimmerton.
Old Boys University v Paremata-Plimmerton
Venue: Nairnville Park
Referee: Jordan Price
The defending Jubilee Cup champions were stunned at home by Wainuiomata last Saturday, anrd depending on results elsewhere a 5 point win may not be enough to break back into the top 7. Could they be the one of the two unlucky teams to miss out?
Pare-Plim were seriously competitive in this match last year, eventually going down 31-20.
There were five Billygoat forwards who featured in the 2018 Jubilee Cup final against Wainuiomata, but OBU have struggled to assemble a consistent backline. This is highlighted by Josh Wilson making his first appearance since round one and his first start in the all-important 10 jersey tomorrow.
OBU simply need to catch fire and fast.