{"id":19678,"date":"2023-10-06T12:30:23","date_gmt":"2023-10-05T23:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/?p=19678"},"modified":"2023-10-06T16:57:33","modified_gmt":"2023-10-06T03:57:33","slug":"lions-off-to-mooloo-safari-and-heartland-championship-semi-finals-tomorrow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/2023\/10\/06\/lions-off-to-mooloo-safari-and-heartland-championship-semi-finals-tomorrow\/","title":{"rendered":"Lions off to Mooloo Safari and Heartland Championship semi-finals tomorrow"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Rob Law Max flanker Du Plesssis Kirifi takes on Waikato&#8217;s halfback Xavier Roe when the Lions and Mooloo met in Wellington last year. The two teams return to the same venue tomorrow in their quarter-final.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\n\t\t<style>\n\t\t\t#wpls-logo-showcase-slider-1 .wpls-fix-box,\n\t\t\t#wpls-logo-showcase-slider-1 .wpls-fix-box img.wp-post-image{max-height:250px; }\n\t\t<\/style>\n\n\t\t<div class=\"wpls-wrap wpls-logo-showcase-slider-wrp wpls-logo-clearfix wpls-design-1 \" data-conf=\"{&quot;slides_column&quot;:4,&quot;slides_scroll&quot;:1,&quot;dots&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;arrows&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;autoplay&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;autoplay_interval&quot;:3000,&quot;loop&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;rtl&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;speed&quot;:800,&quot;center_mode&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;lazyload&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wpls-logo-showcase logo_showcase wpls-logo-slider  sliderimage_hide_border \" id=\"wpls-logo-showcase-slider-1\" >\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.roblawmax.co.nz\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/rmax24.jpg?fit=220%2C120&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.geeksonwheels.co.nz\/locations\/wellington-computer-repair\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/images.jpg?fit=296%2C170&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/thecallcentre.co.nz\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/TCC-Logo-400x260-1.jpg?fit=400%2C260&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.partnersfinance.co.nz\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/part2.jpg?fit=300%2C195&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Wellington Lions<\/strong> will be hoping to put the disappointment of losing their 21-match unbeaten streak and relinquishing the Ranfurly Shield to Hawke\u2019s Bay behind them when they host <strong>Waikato<\/strong> in their NPC quarter-final tomorrow afternoon, kick-off 4.35pm.<\/p>\n<p>Their perfect season was left shattered and the Ranfurly Shield itself later went the same way when Hawke\u2019s Bay won 20-18 with a late try to Wainuiomata flanker Sam Smith. The silver lining was that the Lions had already qualified top for this weekend\u2019s quarter-finals and it was just their opponent that had to be decided.<\/p>\n<p>Waikato beat Canterbury 37-35 to secure that berth, their third consecutive win, following victories over Auckland (27-12) and Otago (47-7) prior in the preceding fortnight.<\/p>\n<p>The winner of this match will play the winner of the Bay of Plenty versus Hawke\u2019s Bay quarter-final in next week\u2019s semi-finals.<\/p>\n<p>Visitors Waikato are coached by Petone\u2019s Ross Filipo and contain few stars, but a handful of experienced Super Rugby players and a couple who have worn the All Blacks jersey.<\/p>\n<p>Wellington beat Waikato 41-24 when they met back in Round 6 in Hamilton \u2013 a scoreline typical of Wellington-Waikato matches, which are invariably high scoring as both teams like to open the afterburners up when they clash.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, the 19 points the Lions scored to beat Waikato in Hamilton in 2013 (19-14) was the lowest winning score that scoreboard operators in this contest have posted in their past 37 clashes dating back to 1991.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, the 33 combined points scored by both teams in that 2013 match was the fourth lowest combined score in over 45 NPC matches between Wellington and Waikato. Only Waikato\u2019s 12-9 and 13-9 wins in 1983 and 1991 and Wellington\u2019s 22-4 Ranfurly Shield win in 1981 were lower, and all three of these were in the era of four-point tries.<\/p>\n<p>The number 37 is significant in this series \u2013 since 2004 Waikato have posted a final score of 37 four times against Wellington and Wellington once against Waikato (37-43 loss in 2021).<\/p>\n<p>Wellington and Waikato met for the first time in 1923, again in 1929 and they then didn\u2019t play each other again until meeting annually between 1952-1975, and again at least once every year from 1981 except in 1986.<\/p>\n<p>In 77 meetings overall, Wellington has won 41, Waikato 35 and there has been one draw.<\/p>\n<p>Wellington has scored 1,306 points and 160 tries against Waikato in NPC games and Waikato has scored 1,145 points and 135 tries in NPC matches against Wellington.<\/p>\n<p>Wellington\u2019s record against Waikato in all NPC matches in Wellington is played 19, won 14, lost five and drawn none.<\/p>\n<p>Kick-off is at 4.35pm. Head to the ground early to secure your favourite spot and avoid seat rage.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Teams:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-19690\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Wellington-Waikato-teams.jpg?resize=640%2C821&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"821\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Wellington-Waikato-teams.jpg?resize=234%2C300&amp;ssl=1 234w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Wellington-Waikato-teams.jpg?w=631&amp;ssl=1 631w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, there are two <strong>Heartland Championship semi-finals<\/strong> in close proximity to Wellington tomorrow.<\/p>\n<p>In the tier one Meads Cup, the <strong>Whanganui Butcher Boys<\/strong> host <strong>Thames Valley<\/strong> at Cooks Gardens. Kick-off is at the earlier time of 1.05pm.<\/p>\n<p>Both these teams finished the regular season with 6\/2 win\/loss records and Whanganui qualified ahead of the Swamp Foxes for this home semi-final after securing a bonus point from their 55-19 win over Horowhenua-Kapiti last week.<\/p>\n<p>Whanganui and Thames Valley met at this same venue back in the first round with the visitors winning 36-33.<\/p>\n<p>The other match is in Masterton where <strong>Wairarapa-Bush<\/strong> host <strong>West Coast<\/strong> in their tier 2 Lochore Cup semi-final. Little could separate these teams from the round-robin, both finishing with 4\/4 records and Wairarapa-Bush finishing one point ahead of West Coast on the table but the latter having a superior for and against points record. They didn\u2019t meet during the season.<\/p>\n<p>Two more Hurricanes region teams are in action in the other semi-finals, with <strong>Ng\u0101ti Porou East Coast<\/strong> travelling to Timaru to face unbeaten top qualifiers <strong>South Canterbury<\/strong> in the Meads Cup and <strong>Poverty Bay<\/strong> heading down the road to Oamaru to meet <strong>North Otago<\/strong> in the Lochore Cup.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\n\t\t<style>\n\t\t\t#wpls-logo-showcase-slider-2 .wpls-fix-box,\n\t\t\t#wpls-logo-showcase-slider-2 .wpls-fix-box img.wp-post-image{max-height:250px; }\n\t\t<\/style>\n\n\t\t<div class=\"wpls-wrap wpls-logo-showcase-slider-wrp wpls-logo-clearfix wpls-design-1 \" data-conf=\"{&quot;slides_column&quot;:4,&quot;slides_scroll&quot;:1,&quot;dots&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;arrows&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;autoplay&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;autoplay_interval&quot;:3000,&quot;loop&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;rtl&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;speed&quot;:800,&quot;center_mode&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;lazyload&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wpls-logo-showcase logo_showcase wpls-logo-slider  sliderimage_hide_border \" id=\"wpls-logo-showcase-slider-2\" >\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.roblawmax.co.nz\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/rmax24.jpg?fit=220%2C120&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.geeksonwheels.co.nz\/locations\/wellington-computer-repair\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/images.jpg?fit=296%2C170&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/thecallcentre.co.nz\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/TCC-Logo-400x260-1.jpg?fit=400%2C260&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.partnersfinance.co.nz\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/part2.jpg?fit=300%2C195&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWairarapaBushRugby%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0JcM4cFCbiCw1g2JfMQ2qopdbx2BvpxZUP8f7Y5n4pUYu6cwmyJBFWdS2WSuJWJRal&#038;show_text=true&#038;width=500\" width=\"500\" height=\"653\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWhanganuiRugbyFootballUnion%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02D6aXir5RrUs8SzYZtf7HZJZQrPtLADHQy5utPovdepXHKzAqA8KtQU1SiUzgKoYXl&#038;show_text=true&#038;width=500\" width=\"500\" height=\"341\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rob Law Max flanker Du Plesssis Kirifi takes on Waikato&#8217;s halfback Xavier Roe when the Lions and Mooloo met in Wellington last year. The two teams return to the same venue tomorrow in their quarter-final.\u00a0 The Wellington Lions will be hoping to put the disappointment of losing their 21-match unbeaten streak and relinquishing the Ranfurly&#8230;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,45,60,47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-club-rugby","category-heartland-championship","category-latest-club-rugby-news","category-npc"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Kirifi1.jpg?fit=1280%2C946&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbDiON-57o","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19678"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19693,"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19678\/revisions\/19693"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}