Hamilton Marist’s Wharenui Hawera in action over Hautapu in week five action vs Hautapu at Marist Park. Photo / Matt Gould
Hamilton Marist’s Wharenui Hawera in action over Hautapu in week five action vs Hautapu at Marist Park. Photo / Matt Gould
Semi-final weekend is upon us for the Under 85kg Competition and Premier A and B sides, while Division 1, Colts and Division 2 head into the last weeks of regular season competition.
The pointy end of the Waikato Draught Breweries Shield Premiership is upon us and sees top side Hautapu host fourth-place Hamilton Old Boys in the semi-final one in Cambridge, while second-placed Te Awamutu Sports host Hamilton Marist at Albert Park – their first home semi-final in 32 years.
Both Hamilton sides travel to Cambridge and Te Awamutu respectively in what is a repeat of a fortnight ago where the home sides confirmed hosting rights to this weekend beating both the Hamilton-based clubs.
Te Awamutu heads into this weekend coming off a 33-31 win over Hamilton Marist and will be looking to make it two in a row against their Hamilton rivals. Meanwhile, Hamilton Marist only has to look back to their impressive home victory last week over top side Hautapu for belief, and the added motivation of heading back to Te Awamutu and looking to make amends for a fortnight ago.
Hamilton Marist has the competition’s lead points scorer Wharenui Hawera lining up at first five, like he has done all season, and will be tasked with guiding his side around the park and utilising that first-class rugby experience. Dylan Bower will suit up in his 100th Premier game on a special occasion for the loyal Marist man. Meanwhile, Te Awamutu Sports boasts the competition’s second leading try scorer Shauncy Waho – a man Hamilton Marist will need to keep a keen eye on.
The Te Awamutu Premier Bs host Hamilton Old Boys Premier Bs at 1pm in another home semi-final for that side. In their last encounter, the home side picked up a 27-17 victory.
Hamilton Marist U85kgs in action last weekend in their one-off MATES Matter jerseys when they hosted Melville at Marist Park. Photo / Hamilton Marist
Over in Cambridge, Hautapu hosts Hamilton Old Boys in the other Waikato Draught Breweries ShieldPremiership semi-final. This season Hautapu are two from two vs Hamilton Old Boys so will take plenty of confidence from those two outings in this winner takes all fixture.
In a further special milestone for the home side, their Scottish-born second rower Hamilton Burr will run out for his 50th cap for Hautapu and will be presented with his blazer tomorrow evening. Waikato NPC captain Ayden Johnstone will start in his second game of the season and will provide some strong power up front.
Hamilton Old Boys will be looking to make a statement following that 41-5 defeat to Hautapu a fortnight ago. Returning for Old Boys is Solomone Tukuafu who will captain the side in the front row, with former All Black Adam Thomson lining up in the familiar number six jersey. Liam Wilson caps off a special day where he suits up in his blazer game and will be presented that tomorrow afternoon.
The other Premier B semi-final is Hamilton Marist Premier B hosting Ōtorohanga Premier B at Marist Park. Hamilton Marist has been too strong on both occasions this season against Ōtorohanga – but as we know, play-off rugby is a totally different beast so they will need to be on point if they are to make it three from three in 2023 vs Ōtorohanga.
The Lone Star Championship heads into play-off rugby with top side Fraser Tech hosting University who scraped into the play-offs with a quality road win vs United Matamata Sports last weekend. Fraser Tech is two from two this season vs the students and will head into this match as firm favorites.
The other match is United Matamata Sports hosting Morrinsville Sports at Bedford Park in Matamata. Both sides have played each other twice this season with the spoils going to Matamata on both occasions – both by no more than nine points.
These two matches will be very tight affairs and quality matches. The winners earn their spot in next weekend’s Lone Star Championship Final.
The Mooloo Shield and Division One Championship Competitions wrap up this weekend with the top two sides in each competition respectively playing a straight final next weekend.
Hautapu’s Jason Thomasen carries into contact in week five action vs Hamilton Marist at Marist Park. Photo / Matt Gould
The Mooloo Shield final will be a repeat of this weekend’s Putāruru vs Leamington game at Nola Block. Both sides have locked in a final next weekend, with the chasing Southern United not able to catch either side when they play Pirongia. The winner of the Putāruru vs Leamington match will earn hosting rights to next weekend’s Mooloo Shield Final.
The other Mooloo Shield match, Pirongia vs Southern United is a three vs five affair – Pirongia is chasing its first win of the round, while Southern United will finish the season in the third spot regardless of tomorrow’s result.
In the Division One Championship, top-of-the-table Suburbs travels to Murphy Lane and take on second-placed Taupiri. Suburbs have secured a final spot, a win or close loss vs Taupiri will lock them in the top spot, while a comprehensive Taupiri win could see Suburbs drop to second place and head back to Taupiri next weekend for the final.
The other match sees Te Rapa host Hinuera at St Andrews Park, both sides with plenty to play for. A Suburbs win in Taupiri will see the winner of this match likely pass Taupiri and sneak into the second spot on the ladder for a final’s showdown vs Suburbs next week. It was back on May 6 when these sides last went head-to-head, and it was Hinuera who picked up a comprehensive 30-0 win.
The Under 85kg Competition is into their play-offs where top seed Morrinsville Sports host Melville at Campbell Park, and Hamilton Marist host Fraser Tech in another big match at Marist Park. The home sides will head into both matches as odds on favourites due to their dominant form throughout the season.
Fraser Tech will make the trip across town being the only side to have beaten Hamilton Marist this season. Hamilton Marist have lost two games all year – both at the hands of Fraser Tech.
Can the Tech men repeat that tomorrow, or will Hamilton Marist get on the score sheet and earn one more week of competition?
The Colts Competition is into their second to last weekend. Hamilton Marist now remains the only unbeaten side and for consecutive weeks will face the team directly behind them on the ladder. Last week they picked up a tough-fought win over Hamilton Old Boys, this weekend, they will need to repeat that when they play Hautapu at Marist Park.
The other big match-up of the weekend is fourth side Morrinsville Sports hosting third-placed Hamilton Old Boys at Campbell Park. Both sides only lost one and two games respectively throughout the year and will provide an entertaining spectacle for fans who make the trip.
United Matamata Sports hosts Leamington on a special day at Bedford Park prior to the Premier semi-final, while Te Awamutu Sports kick off another big day at Albert Park with plenty of action there.
