Permutations as semis beckon

PASS: Marist's Pua Tafa has plenty of support as he launches an attack in the Tui Cup match with East Coast at Memorial Park last weekend. East Coast won 20-12.PHOTO/CHRIS KILFORD

You could get giddy trying to work out all the possible permutations going into the last round of qualifying matches in the Wairarapa-Bush Rugby Union' s Tui Cup premier division competition tomorrow.

While the four semifinalists for the main championship have already been found it is still unclear who will play who next weekend and the same goes for the premier reserve semis, which will be contested by the four remaining Tui Cup sides.

The big question about tomorrow's games revolves around how seriously each of the teams will chase victory. Maybe in most cases that will take second place to having a fully fit squad on deck seven days later and that being the case the form book could count for very little in the end results.

A brief preview of the four games is:

EKETAHUNA V MARIST, Eketahuna at 2.30pm: Strangely enough Marist have more than Eketahuna to play for in this one. Eketahuna are already guaranteed a home semifinal in the Tui Cup main championship. Marist are out of the running but will earn themselves a home semi in the premier reserve competition if they take maximum points. The form book says Eketahuna by a country mile but you couldn't blame their coaching staff if they took this opportunity to freshen up some of their key players. With that in mind we'll still plump for Eketahuna but wouldn't be at all surprised if it went the other way.

PIONEER v GREYTOWN, Jeans St at 2.30pm: This is an intriguing match as depending on the result these two teams could meet again in the Tui Cup semi at Greytown seven days later. Greytown are in the same boat as Eketahuna. With a home semi in the bag the temptation must be to give their reserve players extra game time when the end result is of little importance to them. Pioneer could end up fourth after the qualifying rounds if they lose, which in turn could have them heading to Eketahuna rather than Greytown next weekend. And maybe they would prefer that considering they drew 7-7 with Eketahuna at Eketahuna last weekend. Questions, questions ... a smart punter would keep their money in their pocket here.

CARTERTON V EAST COAST, Carterton at 2.30pm: Both teams will be in the premier reserve semis next weekend and the interest will centre around whether East Coast can pick up the maximum five points which could give them home advantage. The need to win and score four or more tries won't worry East Coast who are at their most dangerous when they are throwing the ball around but they could find that difficult against a Carterton side whose last place on the points table belies the improvement they have made through the club season. It wouldn't surprise us if Carterton have their noses in front when it matters most.

GLADSTONE V MARTINBOROUGH, Gladstone at 2.30pm: Another game where the tactical approaches will be the centre of attention. Gladstone are through to the Tui Cup semis but it's still not clear whether they will be playing either Eketahuna or Greytown there. Right now they are third-equal with Pioneer but fourth on countback which means if nothing changes it will be Eketahuna. Pick up any points from tomorrow's match though and it could be Greytown. As with Pioneer you have to wonder what they would prefer. Martinborough have hit a great patch of form and will be at home for the premier reserve semis next weekend no matter what the result of this one. So again that begs the question, will they risk or spell some of their key players. We'll sit on the fence with this one too.