Round nine action between Hamilton Marist and Otorohanga at Island Reserve. Photo / Waikato Rugby Union
Round nine action between Hamilton Marist and Otorohanga at Island Reserve. Photo / Waikato Rugby Union
The long weekend is upon us, and rugby continues to march on across the senior rugby grades. We had Thursday night rugby last night and Friday night rugby this evening to get the long weekend underway, and to fill a gap Saturday afternoon - yip more club rugby!
Kings’ Birthday weekend has been a long time coming for Fraser Tech - they will celebrate their centenary this long weekend with a number of events planned across the weekend.
Saturday afternoon they will host Melville in the Lone Star Championship which will kick off at 2.15pm and feature on the Waikato Rugby Live Stream. Moana Pasifika and Waikato mid-fielder D’Angelo Leuila will feature in the midfield for Fraser Tech following a good year of Super Rugby with the experience Matt Lansdown starting at first five.
Both sides are coming off disappointing first rounds and will be looking forward to a strong back end of the competition where the Lone Star Championship is on the line. They are joined by Morrinsville and United Matamata Sports who will battle at Campbell Park in Morrinsville. The fifth team in the Championship is University which starts this second round with the bye. Back in April, United Matamata Sports hosted Morrinsville at Bedford Park and were too good for the travelling side winning 29-17.
In the Waikato Draught Breweries Shield Premiership two old foes go head-to-head to kick off round two. Current Stag Trophies Hamilton Old Boys host cross-town rivals Hamilton Marist in what will be the sole Stag Trophy challenge in round two. The winner tomorrow afternoon will lock away the Stag Trophy and tick one box off in the quest for the main prize coming July 15.
Hamilton Marist pipped Old Boys 25-24 in week five of the first round with a dominant display from their strong backline. Hamilton Old Boys will go into the match with fond memories of that afternoon with a dominant performance up front where they put Marist under plenty of pressure at scrum time. Wharenui Hawera will be key for the away team and will need to steer his team around Fred Jones Park well if his side is to pick up that Stag Trophy.
The other match-up sees Ōtorohanga hosting Te Awamutu Sports down at Island Reserve in what is a replay of their week eight match-up at the same venue. On that occasion, Ōtorohanga was too strong winning 27-13. Te Awamutu Sports have competition-leading try scorer Shauncy Waho kitted up for them who has touched down 11 times this season. Ōtorohanga will need to be strong defensively to shut down Waho. Discipline will be key for both sides as competition sharp shooters Dom Clapcott (Ōtorohanga) and Sam Toa (Te Awamutu Sports) have shown some quality form off the boot this year and will capitalise on any kick-for-goal opportunities.
Byes this weekend for Hautapu and University which will see them enjoy a quality long weekend and finish their season with four consecutive matches before the play-offs roll around early July.
The Division One competition rolls on for another week and come Saturday evening, the first-round competition will be completed.
While the top five and bottom five sides are decided - the order in which they finish is all to play for this weekend. That order has the added perk of being the order in which those teams select their bye in round two.
Suburbs and Frankton got the weekend’s action underway last night at Flagstaff Park, ensuring both teams get to enjoy a quality long weekend. Frankton may have already had one eye on the long weekend as they went across town and came up short 14-5. That currently sees Frankton sitting in the 10th spot on the ladder and barring Taupiri losing by 50+ points that is where they will wrap up the first round.
Taupiri hosts Leamington this evening under lights at Murphy Lane kicking off at 7.15pm. The new lights were installed in Taupiri earlier in the year and tonight will be a good test of how they go for senior rugby. Leamington has been in red-hot form throughout the year with seven wins and a sole draw in Putāruru back on April 1st - this will be hard to beat. Leamington will head into the match this evening with comfort knowing whatever the result, they will finish top of the pops and have the first choice of the round two bye come next week’s redraw.
Te Awamutu Sports Matt Towers leads his side onto the field in round nine action vs University in his 150th Premier match for his club. Photo / Waikato Rugby Union
Saturday afternoon matches see Ōhaupō host Te Rapa, Pirongia host Southern United and Putāruru travel over to Hinuera. All three matches will have a massive bearing on where the teams will finish at the end of the first round.
Pirongia vs Southern United is a battle for the second spot. The winner of this match can get to as high as second on the ladder depending on the Putāruru result, or worst case third come the weekend’s end. Both sides have looked good throughout the year. Pirongia’s last home match was a one-point defeat to Putāruru in what was a mud bath of an afternoon. They will be excited to be back home with the sun on the back and picking up back-to-back wins after a strong road trip last week vs Te Rapa.
Hinuera and Putāruru will be an interesting and tight affair. Putāruru is the surprise package of 2023 and will compete in the top five Mooloo Shield competition for the first time in a number of seasons. A win for them in Hinuera could see them lead Southern United and finish the first round in the second spot. Hinuera meanwhile, will be after a strong showing at home following their upset loss there to Frankton a fortnight ago. A win for Hinuera will ensure them sixth place and the first pick of the bye in the Division One Championship.
Finally, Ōhaupō and Te Rapa. Again, two teams that can make some good ground on the ladder and enhance their finishing position with a win and how other matches finish up come 4.30pm Saturday afternoon. Te Rapa will finish ahead of Frankton and Suburbs, and, depending on how Taupiri go vs Southern United, they could see themselves either sixth or seventh on the ladder. Likewise, for Ōhaupō - a win and some results their way would see them climb the ladder and get a favourable choice of the bye for round two.
The Under 85kg Competition sees a top-of-the-table battle where top side Morrinsville Sports heads into town and takes on a resurgent Fraser Tech side. Losing their first two matches vs Morrinsville Sports and Melville in weeks one and two, Fraser Tech has gone on a four-game winning streak. In Morrinsville in week two, Morrinsville Sports were too strong for Fraser Tech picking up a 19-12 victory. Can the Hamilton men make amends for that defeat and even the 2023 tally?
Third-place Melville will host the battling Kio Kio United at Collins Road. Kio Kio is searching for their first win in 2023 and will come to town with the intent of spoiling the home party. A 34-8 victory for Melville back in week two will give the home side confidence and they will be keen to repeat that in front of their home fans.
The last match of the week is Hamilton Marist hosting Leamington at Marist Park. Marist was too strong for Leamington in week two where they comfortably won 24-0 out in Cambridge. Leamington’s sole win was back in week one against Kio Kio so they will be looking for an improved performance from that initial loss to Hamilton Marist, and with that improved performance, you never know. An upset at Marist Park could be on the cards.
The Colts Competition kicks off this evening with three big match-ups. Te Awamutu Sports hosts United Matamata under lights at Albert Park while Leamington hosts the University lads at Leamington Domain. Both of those games kick off at 7pm. Out in Hinuera, they host Waitete with kick-off at the later 8pm timeslot.
In an unfortunate turn of events and following defaults in recent weeks, the Fraser Tech Colts have withdrawn from the remainder of the Colts Competition. All their fixtures will be amended to defaults with all teams receiving a 35-0 victory.
Saturday afternoon we have matches between Suburbs and Hamilton Marist at Flagstaff Park, Hamilton Boys High hosting Morrinsville Sports, and Thames Valley United are back at home hosting Hautapu.
The Gallagher Women’s Premiership pauses for the long weekend with their competition wrapping up next weekend with the finale between Hamilton Old Boys Huskies hosting Melville in a repeat of the recent finals. Kihikihi and University will go head-to-head in a three vs four battle while Taupiri will take on Southern United in a promotion-relegation battle.
