Lower grade playoffs and Festival series starting tomorrow

While the Premier grades have reached the conclusion of their season, there is still final rugby in the lower club grades, while it's is also the start of the representative season in Wellington tomorrow

Premier Reserve Ed Chaney and HD Morgan Cups

In the top-six Ed Chaney Cup division the Upper Hutt Rams have emerged as top qualifiers, and following last week's 40-28 win over Norths, with an unbeaten record in the second round of matches. They take on fourth qualifiers Poneke at Maidstone Park, with the Kilbirnie side looking for their first win in three attempts over the Rams having narrowly lost the previous two, including their last outing in the very last moments of the match. The second semi-final is at the other end of the Hutt Valley, when Petone host near-neighbours and old rivals Hutt Old Boys Marist on the Petone Rec. Both come in off of wins last week over Tawa and Poneke respectively, with Petone having won both of their earlier meetings by seven-point margins.

In the bottom-six HD Morgan Cup section it is Wainuiomata who are the top qualifiers and they host Paremata-Plimmerton at William Jones. Both also won last week with Wainuiomata overcoming a spirited Johnsonville side and Pare-Plim edging a must-win game 15-14 against Wellington. The two sides have split their meetings - Pare-Plim won 41-7 way back at the start of the year and Wainuiomata by 38-5 just two weeks ago. In the other semi-final Oriental-Rongotai take on Avalon at the Polo Ground in a repeat of their meeting last week, won 29-16 by Ories.

All four Premier Reserve semi-finals kick off at 2.30pm.

First Grade Johnsonville Centennium Cup

The third-tier title will be fought out at Te Whaea between Old Boys-University and Hutt Old Boys Marist. OBU will be looking for the 'double' of titles in this grade having won the first round Thompson Memorial Cup, and defeated Norths 20-5 in their semi-final. They were then given the rights to host the final when fourth-qualifiers HOBM defeated the previously unbeaten (in the second round) Petone Brotherhood 33-19 in the other match. OBU have won the two previous meetings between these sides by 37-15 and 21-7, but anything can happen in finals. Kick-off is a 2.30pm.

Under 85kg Paul Potiki and Tony O'Brien Shields

Both lightweight divisions also conclude their campaigns tomorrow. In the Division 1 Paul Potiki Memorial Shield final the defending champion Tawa Titans will look to retain the title when they host Johnsonville at Lyndhurst Park at 2.30pm. Both sides made it to the decider on the back of typically hard-fought low-scoring encounters; Tawa saw off Eastbourne 11-3 at Lyndhurst, while Johnsonville scored something of a minor surprise in beating first-round winners Wellington 13-10 away at Te Whaea. The two sides meetings so far have also fitted that description, Tawa winning both with 10-5 and 10-3 scorelines, so a piece of brilliance or mistake tomorrow could be the difference.

In the Division 2 Tony O'Brien Shield final it's Western Suburbs who will play host in the Ian Galloway cage at 2.15pm, having reversed their only loss of the second round in narrowly beating MSP Red 13-12 in their semi-final. HOBM are the visitors, having prevailed by a single score in winning 3-0 away at Delaney Park against Stokes Valley. The two last met three weeks ago at the same venue with the Roosters winning 8-7, so expect more of the same.

The Division 1 Colts John E Kelly Memorial Cup final between Old Boys-University and Tawa was previewed here yesterday. It will now be played at Te Whaea at 1pm.

Representative

Tomorrow also sees the start of the local representative season. As earlier published the four teams this year comprise the Wellington Maori and Samoan sides as in previous years, joined this year by the U19s and the Barbarians (a combination of the 'City' and 'Suburbs' squads). The series serves a number of purposes, amongst them selection for the Wellington Development side, the Maori and Samoan sides respective campaigns, and the U19s game time ahead of the Jock Hobbs Memorial Tournament in Taupo, and keeping players playing in the event of a call up to the Lions Mitre10 Cup side.

The Samoans and Barbarians meet tomorrow at the Petone Rec in the opener at 1pm, with the Maori and U19s now playing on Wednesday night (venue and time TBC)