Heartland semi-finals and Manawatu Pacific 10s this Saturday

• By Scott MacLean and Steven White

All three lower North Island Heartland Championship teams are in action tomorrow in the Heartland Championship Meads and Lochore Cups semi-finals, including two playing against each other.

Tomorrow also sees the annual Manawatu Pacific 10s tournament in Palmerston North.

A short preview of this follows below.

Heartland Championship

Perhaps of more interest to some of our readers are the Heartland Championship semi-finals. Having crashed their way into the top-four Meads Cup courtesy of their extra-time winner last Saturday, Wairarapa Bush will head south to Ashburton looking to upset top qualifier Mid-Canterbury and end the Hammers’ hopes of the title. The two met earlier in the competition in one of the games of the season where Mid-Canty got up late to win 36-33 and it would not surprise if something similar happened tomorrow. The Bush players may have some heavy hearts, particularly amongst the Greytown contingent, after the sudden passing of their club and former Hawke’s Bay and Manawatu NPC coach Peter Russell yesterday morning.

The second Meads Cup semi is just down the road in Timaru, where South Canterbury hosts defending champions Thames Valley.

Also on the road are Horowhenua Kapiti, though for them it’s a bus trip north to face Whanganui at Cooks Gardens in the Lochore Cup. The Nua went down swinging against South Canterbury last week, and now face a Butcher Boys outfit that will be wounded by last week’s home humiliation against the Swamp Foxes that cost them a Meads Cup place and despite losing this fixture three weeks ago, the visitors will fancy their chances.

The other semifinal is also down south, with North Otago hosting Poverty Bay in Oamaru.

NPC

With Wellington having been eliminated after the penultimate round, the attention turns to who will succeed them as NPC Champions. The playoffs start tonight with Otago (2) hosting Waikato (7) under the roof, followed tomorrow by Bay of Plenty (3) against Tasman (6) then Hawke’s Bay (4) facing Taranaki (5), and concluding on Sunday with the 1 v 8 match as Canterbury hosts Counties-Manukau.

Teams

Wairarapa Bush

1. Tupou Lea’aemanu (Carterton – captain), 2. Lewis Bush (Greytown), 3. Faka’onga Lea’aemanu (Carterton), 4. Malakai Biumaiwai (Greytown), 5. Alec Odell (Loan – Old Boys Marist), 6. Isireli Biumaiwai (Greytown), 7. Inia Katia (Carterton), 8. Folau Finau Vea (Loan – OBU), 9. Sam Walton-Sexton (Greytown), 10. Jack Eschenbach (Martinborough), 11. Soli Malatai (Greytown), 12. Fiula Tameilau (Carterton), 13. Levi Harmon (Loan – COB), 14. Charles Mataitai (Marist), 15. Jack Delaney (Loan – Feilding) | 16. Terongo Tekii (Carterton), 17. Stan Wright Jr (Marist), 18. Vea Fuli (Greytown), 19. Cody Cunningham (Martinborough), 20. Matthew Masoe (Marist), 21. Thomas Williams (East Coast), 22. Daryl Pickering (Carterton), 23. Gracyn Evans (Greytown)

Horowhenua Kapiti

1. George Jacobs (Foxton), 2. Harry Press (Loan – HOBM), 3. Ted Northcott (Rahui), 4. Dallas Wiki (Shannon), 5. Mikaere Harvey (Foxton), 6. Jeremy David (Foxton), 7. Pene To’o (Loan – Upper Hutt), 8. Albert Hemopo (Foxton) 9. Kahn Fotuali’i (Foxton), 10. Rory Woollett (Loan – Petone), 11. Joeli Rauca (Foxton), 12. Emmanuel Solomona (Loan – Upper Hutt), 13. Connor Paki (Foxton), 14. Darren Falaniko (Wanderers), 15. Max Hosking (Paraparaumu) | 16. Aaron Lahmert (Waikanae), 17. David McErlean (Foxton), 18. Stephen Burnell (Shannon), 19. Michael Laursen (Foxton), 20. TJ Barnsley Paraparaumu), 21. Brad Reilly (Paraparaumu), 22. Jayson Aquila (Paraparaumu), 23. Willie Paia’aua (Levin COB)

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Manawatu Pacific 10s

This tournament is being played at Bill Brown Park, Palmerston North, across two fields.

The opening games are at 9.00am and the Cup final is set down for 4.30pm.

There are eight men’s teams competing across two pools, these being:

There is also a three-team women’s section, with

Fullsend Whanganui
Shewolves Wellington
Manawatu Pacific Wahine

DRAW

NOTE all teams and the draw below are/is subject to change on the day.