
Poneke’s Caleb Robson is caught in a sea of Tawa players in their match last week. The fine weather is set to continue tomorrow, as Poneke travel to Fraser Park to play Avalon and Tawa host Old Boys University. More details of these and the other five Premier matches below.
- By Scott MacLean & Steven White
Friday mid afternoon edition: It’s the fifth round of the top three men’s and the women’s club rugby competition in Wellington tomorrow, as well as the resumption of U85kg, Reserve and Presidents grades after last week off and the opening day of the college rugby season. In short, there is lots on and much to get enthused about on Star Wars Day tomorrow.
It’s Old Timers’ Days at both Fraser Park, the Hutt Rec and William Jones Park.
Draws & Lineups (as received) can be viewed here:http://www.clubrugby.co.nz/wellington/games-results.php?competition=1&season=21&round=5
This week’s radio commentary broadcast comes from Lyndhurst Park for the clash between Tawa and Old Boys University. They are on air from 2:30pm with the build-up to the 2.45pm kick-off. Find them on 1161AM, 87.6FM around the city, streaming on iHeart Radio and Whare Kōrero Apps and www.teupoko.nz
Premier Swindale Shield
Another big round of matches, but the spotlight here goes on the match at the Hutt Rec as leaders Marist St Pat’s put their unbeaten start to the season on the line when they visit their brethren Hutt Old Boys Marist for the main clash on the Eagles’ Old Timers’ Day.
The overhauled Scarlets have impressed so far this year and while three of their wins have come against sides currently in the bottom-five, they have accounted for Ories as well. The Eagles had a similarly gentle start to the year and took more than 40 minutes last Saturday to realise that OBU were a more difficult proposition, yet almost won it at the death. They’ll have been stung by that, but it’s a reminder that little separates the top sides.
Home side the Eagles have made several changes from the side that missed out to OBU in round four last week, including Fred Sunia for Harry Press at hooker and Taine Tata into the loose forwards for Sam Morgan and Aisea Mafil’eo to lock. In the backs, Albert Polu starts at second-five for his 29th Premier match but first since July 2022, with Kienan Higgins starting at centre and Jordan Glen-Bradbrook part of the four-backs bench.
Visitors MSP have a similar side to that which beat Wainuiomata last week, with representative players Keelan Whitman and Jack O’Brien joined by Hurricane Aidan Morgan who starts off the bench. Other players to impress so far include new captain and openside Milan Kriletich and first five Rique Miln who was playing Shute Shield rugby in Sydney last year.
Staying in the Hutt Valley for our next two matches, starting with Petone heading up and over the Hill to Wainuiomata. The Villagers lie in joint-fourth after surviving Johnsonville’s late surge last Saturday and will head to the confines of William Jones as favourites. The home side have lost three on the bounce and were well-handled by MSP last week, but they love nothing more than getting one over their big-name neighbours and should have a bumper Old Timers’ Day crowd behind them.
The home team have Hurricane Peter Umaga-Jensen back at centre, outside experienced five-eighths duo Andrew Wells and Tyler Tane. Jason Love starts at fullback for his 200th Premier match.
Visitors Petone will see Wainuiomata’s one Hurricane and raise them one two more, with Harry Godfrey starting at first five, Ngane Punivai at second five and Losi Filipo at centre. Throw in 94-game halfback Logan Henry, livewire wing Max Hosking, Crayfish Clarke at fullback and veteran Belgium Tuatagaloa on the other wing and that’s a handy club backline. Look out for young flankers Braith ingram and Connor Tuifao to try and win them their share of ball.
Further up the valley Avalon will be looking to get off the mark when they host Poneke on Fraser Park. It’s been a wretched start for the Wolves who find themselves looking up at everyone else and have conceded 70 points in their last two outings, but it is their Old Timers’ Day and they’ll want to perform. Poneke sit mid-table at this juncture and will back themselves to push further up the table, but injuries are becoming an early concern for them.
The Wolfpack have some tweaks to their line-up from last week, including Ezra Sione who moves from halfback to fullback and Site Timu moves across to the wing. Koli Bower comes into the starting XV at openside flanker for Fa’alolo Wright, while Semi Uluiviti and Lance Tago are this week’s locking combination.
Poneke have some changes to their pack, with two starters from the first month of the competition missing in Nathan Marsh and Jacob Turrell. They are replaced in #6 and #7 jerseys by Pasia Asiata and Hugo Ormerod. Mitchell Gough starts at hooker for Andrew Jones who scored two tries last week against Tawa. Losing fullback Nick Robertson to injury during last week’s game is a blow and WRFU employee Max Rodgers starts at fullback in his place.
Crossing the Haywards, and Tawa are hanging tough despite their slew of offseason departures. After two weeks in the eastern suburbs its back home to leafy Lyndhurst for them where they’ll face old rivals Old Boys-University. Both will be buoyed after wins last Saturday, but perhaps there’s more pressure on the Goats after they’ve faded badly in the second half the last two weeks and that will be something they’ll need to address, and the home side will look to take advantage of.
Tawa will welcome back Siale Lauaki to tighthead prop, but will miss Akira Ieremia at lock, with Weston Sao coming back from a fortnight away to start his first game at lock in his place. A change at halfback too, with Howard Lole playing his fourth match but first start in that position.
OBU are playing playmaker Callum Harkin at first-five tomorrow, with Malo Manuao dropping to the bench alongside Tom Henderson. Josh Morgan-Ranui holds his place at fullback with Jermaine Pepe still out, while Elijah Maene-Lokeni lines up at centre. In the forwards, Boston Hunt played the opening round at No. 8 and nothing since, and he comes back into the side at lock to partner the bustling Jack Riley.
Up the line is the Porirua derby between Paremata-Plimmerton and Northern United at Ngati Toa Domain, and where this year it’s the visitors who come in on the back of a win having gotten over Wellington last weekend. Last week’s draw against Upper Hutt was some solace for the hosts, but if they’re going to mount a strong defence of their Swindale crown they need to find the rampant form of last year and quickly. It could start with discipline, conceding yellow cards against the Rams at inopportune moments.
Paremata-Plimmerton have Hurricane Veneni Lasaqa at openside flanker playing his second game for them after scoring a brace on debut a fortnight ago. Tane McMillan-Parata moves to blindside flanker with Luke Omeri dropping to the bench. Recent professional hooker Leni Apisai also starts on the bench against his former side with Tony Coburn in the rake’s role, while in two other changes to the backs, Jake Tibbits starts at halfback for Zane Edwards and Dale Sabbagh at second five for Matt Goosen. Esi Komaisavai and Werdna Maligi-Leota each play their blazer game against the club they’ve both previously played for.
Norths welcome back Callum Watts-Pointer to their engine room after a short absence. He comes in at openside flanker. Two changes to the front row are Jerome Vaai at loosehead and Herman Fiu at hooker starting, while Toby Kennett returns and plays on the right wing.
Back down the highway, Johnsonville are back at their Helston fortress where they’ll await the visit of Oriental Rongotai. While they’ll undoubtedly be disappointed in their loss to Petone, the Hawks still remain in the top half of the table and poised to strike. Ories though sit above them and will have enjoyed their romp over Avalon in the Polo sun and will have the memory of last year’s Jubilee Cup semifinal between these two in their minds. This should be good.
Johnsonville have a couple of not insignificant changes to their side for tomorrow. Having started the first four rounds, Ha’amea Ahio is absent. In fact Johnsonville are fielding a new front row from last week, with props Jake Wetere and Lucas Aukuso and hooker on debut Caleb Cummings. There are some other changes too, most notably Mark Sutton moving from halfback to first-five and Jack Taulapapa starting at #9. In the midfield, captain and former Ories player Andy Ellis is at second five and Aukuso Tuitama returns after a three-week absence to centre.
Ories have named a settled team for this match, with one noted addition being Dominic Ropeti in at openside flanker. At prop, one Seumanufagai replaces another, with Jason taking his brother Salesa’s place this week. Christian Semu returns to the bench. Wellington Lion Chicago Doyle also starts on the bench for the second successive week.
And finally, just one game in the eastern suburbs this week with the Upper Hutt Rams trekking down from Maidstone to face Wellington at Hataitai Park. The Axemen will take some pride from their showing against Norths but will still be unhappy that long-awaited win eluded them. The Rams showed their mettle by coming back late against Pare-Plim and while most pundits would have them as favourites here, they’ll need to wary of their opponents improving form and belief.
The Axemen are missing their Portuguese powerhouse prop Antonio Prim, out with a minor injury (after our story with him in this space yesterday), one of several small changes to their line-up. They will look to co-captains, flanker Ami Paongo and halfback Will Cosgriff, to help lead their attack.
The Rams have maade several changes from the line-up that drew with Pare-Plim last Saturday, including three debutants on the bench. There are also three Hunts on the bench. In starting XV changes, Potene Rolls Paewai starts at first five for Tynan Barrett, Vaini Halafihi comes in for Jared Woodward at lock, Sio Fidow for Jack Wright at flanker, Leon Tuiloma for Toby Mallon at hooker, Cameron Dee for Lewis Bush at prop and last week’s Colts two-try scorer Callum Wanden for Soli Malatai.
There’s a slew of interclub trophies in play tomorrow as well.
- MSP and HOBM play for their Father Cleary Shield. A former sportsmaster and 1st XV coach at St Pats Town and founder of St Pats Old Boys, the shield in his name was donated when relations between St Pats and Marist were at a low ebb. Following amalgamation it was played between MSP and Hutt Valley Marist, and since 1993 HOBM. The Eagles are the holders after winning 59-23 last season
- The Darren Larsen Cup is the prize tomorrow for Petone and Wainuiomata. “Lardy” has ties to both clubs and well-known identity around the Wellington game with many roles over the years and is currently in the Hurricanes development setup. The Villagers won 29-8 last year.
- Johnsonville and Ories contest their Ash Pointon Cup. A big part of both clubs’ histories, Pointon played over 160 Premier matches for the Magpies and over 100 for the Hawks where he was part of their Swindale-winning side in 1998. He then later coached back at Polo but lost a battle with cancer in 2017 at just 56. Johnsonville won this match 29-26 last year, but Ories won their most recent meeting in the Jubilee semi-final 39-24.
- The Porirua Derby is for the Ivan Hardgrave Trophy. An active administrator at Titahi Bay and Porirua City councillor, Hardgrave initially put the trophy up for competition “Ranfurly Shield”-style between the four Western Bays clubs of Tawa, Titahi Bay, Porirua, and Pare-Plim. Now contested between Norths and Pare-Plim, the latter won this last year for the first time at Premier level with a 55-22 win.
- And one of the more-recent additions to the interclub slate is the Hinaki-Mei Axe, introduced two years ago for play between Wellington and the Upper Hutt Rams. It is named for George Hinaki – who today functions as the Rams kaumatua – and Jim Mei, father of Premier 2 warhorse Ainsley, who played for both clubs and it one of the more distinctive trophies in the game. Upper Hutt have won it in both playing so far, including last year’s 76-10 result.
All seven matches are time to get underway at 2.45pm
Premier 2 Harper Lock Shield
No hiding the feature game on paper here with leaders OBU heading to Redwood to take on joint-second Tawa at 12.30pm. HOBM are at home again on the Rec for the visit of MSP who got off the bottom of the log last weekend, while Poneke are just up the line at Fraser Park against winless Avalon. Working down the rest of the ladder Petone are at William Jones against Wainuiomata, midtable pair Pare-Plim and Norths meet at Ngati Toa, Ories are at Helston to face Johnsonville, and Upper Hutt are in the city to take on Wellington at Kilbirnie (also 12.30pm).
Unless noted, all matches are at 1pm.
Premier Women’s Rebecca Liua’ana Trophy
There’s a top-of-the-table feature here as unbeaten pair Wainuiomata and Petone meet in the first match of the day at William Jones. Elsewhere Avalon and Poneke/OBU are at Fraser Park each looking for their first win of the year, and Paremata-Plimmerton and Oriental Rongotai start the day at Ngati Toa. Norths have the bye this time out.
The Petone Ponies will be rolling out a strong side, that features Hurricanes Poua captain Jackie Patea-Fereti at openside flanker and Poua wing Harmony Kautai. Davina Lasini comes back into fullback and Drenna Faleniko starts at centre in another key attacking change.
In some other player news, For Avalon, captain and No. 8 Sanna Aumua plays her blazer game (30 starts) and for Paremata-Plimmerton halfback Tawny Burgess runs out for her 50th game. Paremata-Plimmerton also have the services of Hurricanes Poua player Shakira Baker at centre.
All three matches are at the regular 11.30am start time.
Paris Memorial Colts
Like their Premiers, HOBM and MSP occupy spots in the top three and they get the early billing on the Hutt Rec for their match. Fellow joint-leaders Petone are across the Hill at Mary Crowther and will be hot favourites against bottom-side Wainuiomata (12.30), and the Upper Hutt Rams likewise against Wellington in the early game at Hataitai Park. In the other matches Poneke take on Avalon at Fraser Park, midtable pair Tawa and OBU clash at Lyndhurst, Pare-Plim and Norths are at Ngati Toa, and Johnsonville and Ories can be found at Newlands Park (12.30).
These are all 1pm kickoffs, unless stated.
Under 85kg JC Bowl
After a week off, the competition resumes with the round highlighted one of the more eagerly anticipated matches of the year; the clash between grade heavyweights and unbeaten duo the Tawa Ducks and OBU Scallywags at Redwood Park. The two sides have dominated their opponents so far, and there’ll be more than just bragging rights on this one as the teams will inaugurate the Thomas Murray Memorial Taonga that the two sides will play for going forth, honouring the Scallywags openside who passed away during last season.
Also unbeaten are Poneke, and they’re at Fraser Park to face Avalon while fourth-placed HOBM are at home against MSP on the Rec. Pare-Plim and Johnsonville meet at Ngati Toa, and Eastbourne head to Kilbirnie Park and a run against Wellington in the other matches. Petone get an extended break with the bye this week.
College
The start of term two sees the college rugby season get underway with the usual rounds of grading matches before the competition season proper commences next month.
As is routine now, last year’s top four get to play in the Tranzit Festival series which is in Palmerston North tomorrow and Gisborne next week. Hutt International make their debut in this, facing Gisborne Boys, followed by Silverstream against Napier Boys and Wellington College up against Hastings Boys. The fourth is Scots, who this year have “opted to not take part” and have been replaced by Feilding High who get an early season crack at Palmerston North Boys.
For the other hopefuls looking to join those four in this year’s Premiership qualifying begins tomorrow. It’s been a while since St Pat’s Town have had to go through this, and they start with Hutt Valley HS at Evans Bay. The other Top 8 matches have Rongotai at home against Mana, St Bernard’s host Tawa, and Paraparaumu make the long trip around to Masterton to face Wairarapa College.
In the second bracket Aotea host Kapiti, Porirua welcomes Onslow, Bishop Viard takes on Upper Hutt College, and central Hutt pair Naenae and Taita meet at Naenae.
Elsewhere
The sixth round of the Manawatu Senior A is highlighted by the clash of joint-leaders Kia Toa and fourth-placed Old Boys Marist at the Arena. The other joint-leader, College Old Boys, return from the bye and should easily account for bottom-side Feilding Old Boys-Oroua. Third-placed Massey are across town against Freyberg, and Feilding Yellows host Linton Army. Te Kawau has the bye this week.
In Horowhenua-Kapiti leaders Rahui can put the first round to bed ahead of their bye in the last slate of games next week when they host second-placed Levin College Old Boys at the Domain. The other two matches have Foxton at home against winless and now-bottom-placed Paraparaumu, and Waikanae head northeast to face Shannon. Levin Wanderers, who’s four-try bonus against Rahui moved them off the bottom, have the bye.
And in Wairarapa-Bush there’s a top-three match as well as leaders Martinborough host Marist. Between them are defending champions Carterton and they’re at home against Pioneer, with the other matches seeing Eketahuna hosting winless Red Star, and Greytown heading to Whareama to face East Coast.
Hurricanes versus Waratahs tonight: