RUGBY - Ground closure aftershocks may hit playoffs race

A decision to close the rugby grounds in Whangarei at the weekend may yet cause some serious aftershocks in the hotly contested Joe Morgan Memorial club rugby competition after a game was unexpectedly postponed on Saturday.
Mid Northern are the current championship frontrunners, with a bevy of experienced stars determined to defend the title they won last year. But even with a handy record of 11 wins, one draw and two losses to date, the highly fancied "scarlet runners" are still not a semifinal certainty in a white-hot race for the title.
So a decision to abandon a game between semifinal hopefuls Hora Hora and Wellsford on Saturday after grounds were closed for the weekend could yet have a far bigger impact on proceedings than anticipated.
The game will still be played, but now as a midweek fixture, which will pile on the pressure as the competition hurtles towards the sudden-death phase.
Even without the points from Saturday's postponed fixture, Hora Hora and Wellsford are both still within striking distance of the semifinals. It may even transpire that their delayed game will be the one that could eventually determine the playoffs spots.
The prospect of a crucial midweek clash is not something Hora Hora coach Mark Seymour is savouring. Efforts to find a venue on Saturday fell flat, so Seymour is forced to prepare his team for a three games in seven days stretch some time in the next five weeks.
"I guess we will have to play midweek under lights at Okara Park. But I can't see anyone wanting a game being played on Okara Park with the weather like it is now so we will just have to play it when we can," Seymour said.
"It is a situation where we both need the points, or somebody will need the points, because the competition is so close for a place in the semis."
The clash between Hora Hora and Wellsford was set to be the most intriguing of the weekend, one that Hora Hora were approaching as a must-win fixture heading into the business end of proceedings.
But once postponed focus swung to Dargaville where Mid Northern were asked serious questions by a dogged Western Sharks outfit. Mid Northern won 23-17 but only after Dana Young scored a brace and their forward pack had finally subdued a Sharks unit that started with all guns blazing.
Mid Western were dealt a solid 37-0 hiding by Marist at Pompallier College but were far more competitive than the scoreline suggested, thanks to some sterling defensive work from teenage fullback Brooke Gilmore.
Marist, even with star winger Fetu Vainikolo and a collection of pacy backs, struggled to dominate proceedings and were under the hammer at scrum time as well.
It was a testy game with several boisterous bust-ups between the two forward packs, but a game Marist nailed with two tries from new centre Viliami Nai and patches of eye-catching running from fullback Luke Muggeridge.
Kamo took a while to get the upperhand before they produced a 43-0 shut-out over Waipu. Forced to move from their homeground at Kamo and travel to Waipu for the game, it took Kamo 30 minutes to get their rhythm but once they did Waipu had no answer.
Flanker Freddie van Loggerenburg was to the fore in the Kamo pack again and youthful utility back Hunia Kingi staked another claim as a player with a bright future with a two-try effort.
Hikurangi were never threatened by Old Boys as they cruised to a 77-0 win at Hikurangi in the only game unaffected by the ground closures.
Winger Glenn Martin scored four tries, making a mockery of a disorganised Old Boys defence, as the entire Hikurangi team went on the rampage.
It is proving to be a long season for the Old Boys crew who have only come close to tasting a victory ale three this season, once against bitter rivals Kamo in the first game of the competition.
Next week: Wellsford v Hikurangi; Waipu v Hora Hora; Mid Northern v Kamo; Whangarei Old Boys v Marist; Mid Western v Western Sharks.