College semi-finals and club and representative transition weekend

By Scott MacLean

The bulk of the club season might be over, but there’s still plenty of rugby happening and some big matches over the next two weekends.

College

Top billing this weekend goes to the school ranks, with semi-finals in both the Premiership and Premier 2.

After the smoke cleared from last week’s results, it was Wellington College and Hutt International Boys’ School that made it through to join Scots College and St Pat’s Silverstream in the Premiership playoffs. Top-flight semi-finalists for the first time, HIBS have the significant task of facing unbeaten top qualifiers Scots out on the peninsula, while Wellington College head up the Hutt Valley to face Silverstream and looking to reverse the result from the Traditional clash earlier in the season.

Some of the other sides are also in action to conclude their campaigns with Town hosting Wairarapa College with the latter looking to make amends after having a semis place slip through their hands last weekend, while St Bernard’s are at Rongotai who achieved that noteworthy win over Wairarapa in what has been a tough season for them.

In Premier 2 the unbeaten Silverstream 2nds host their Town counterparts (at 11.00am), with Wellington College’s 2^nd XV welcoming Paraparaumu in the other.

All these matches are at 12.30pm this weekend unless stated.

There are a trio of grade finals on tomorrow. In Premier 3 the Silverstream 3rds take on the Rongotai 2nds for the Paul Cameron Cup at Silverstream at 11am, while in the top two Under 65kg divisions Kapiti hosts Rongotai in the Ina Hansen Cup decider with Paraparaumu facing Town in the Division 2 final.

Club

Just two weeks remain in the club season.

In the Under 85s grade Tawa (20) and Old Boys-University (15) are already certain to meet in next week’s Paul Potiki Shield championship decider, but first will take on Poneke at Kilbirnie (12pm) and Petone at Nairnville respectively (12.30pm), while Pare-Plim and Stokes Valley are scheduled to conclude their seasons when they met at Ngati Toa.

In the Division 2 Tony O’Brien Shield MSP (13) and Johnsonville (11) will squabble at Helston over top spot for the final, but the loser could miss out entirely with HOBM (10) hosting already-eliminated Wellington (5) at the Hutt Rec and a bonus-point win for the Eagles would put them through.

The Reserve Grade are also at the semi-final stage. In the championship John Davies Cup first-round winners the Upper Hutt J8s host the Johnsonville Cripples at Maidstone while there’s a cross-Parade battle at Kilbirnie with the Poneke Ruffnuts facing neighbours the MSP Internationals. In Division 2 Tawa hosts Wellington at Lyndhurst, with Petone taking on the OBU Righteous Brothers/Pink Ginners at the Rec.

Representative

It’s almost all systems go on the representative front with most of the unions teams in action. The Wellington Lions get the defence of the NPC title underway against Manawatu in Palmerston North tomorrow evening, while the Wellington Pride will try once again for their first win of their Farah Palmer Cup when they host Hawkes Bay at the Hutt Rec on Sunday in their last home game of the campaign.

The Centurions, Maori, and Samoans senior men’s teams also open their seasons tomorrow providing the final opposition for the wider region’s Heartland sides ahead of that competition starting next week. In the games here, the Samoans are at William Jones against Wairarapa-Bush and the Centurions are on Porirua Park #2 against Whanganui, while Te Upoko are in Levin to face Horowhenua-Kapiti.

The Wellington U19s are also in action for the first time in 2023 tomorrow, playing their Waikato counterparts at Taihape.

Te Upoko o Te Ika has live commentary of Farah Palmer Cup Wellington Pride v Hawkes Bay Tui on Sunday, kickoff 12:05pm. The E Tu Whanau Footy Show will be on air from 11:50am.

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