Taihape has an historic hurdle to overcome in Saturday's important rugby match in Waverley - the side has never won a Wanganui premier game at Dallison Park.
Border (50 pts) and Taihape (49), who currently lead in the 2016 Tasman Tanning qualifying competition, are both virtually assured of home semi-finals, and the outcome of their clash this weekend looks certain to decide who will emerge as the No 1 qualifiers for the championship play-offs.
PGG Wrightson/Balance Taihape emerged the early favourites on the strength of a 36-30 home win over Waverley Harvesting Border in the first round, out-scoring the opposition five tries to four which led to Taihape winning the Paul Mitchell Cup and a $500 Breakers Bar voucher as the top team at the half-way stage in the 14 rounds of qualifying fixtures.
It was a milestone for Taihape which went through unbeaten with seven victories to win the Mitchell Cup for the first time under the Taihape banner. The old Huia club, which merged with Taihape Pirates to form Taihape in 1999, had won the first round honours in 1992.
Taihape's unbeaten run of nine victories however, came to a halt at Spriggens Park when Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist collected a deserved 20-17 victory and lifted the Grand Hotel Challenge Shield in the process to upset Taihape's golden run.
That result enabled Border to join Taihape at the top of the points table but Taihape dropped a bonus point when held to 21-17 by Utiku OB last Saturday with Border thrashing Harvey Round Motors Ratana 89-0 to open up a one point advantage at the top of the table.
That could be a vital factor should Border and Taihape draw at Dallison Park this weekend. It was a good effort by Utiku last weekend after a 40-8 defeat in the first round local derby.
Taihape and Border have played each other 10 times since Border returned to Wanganui from Taranaki in 2011 with Border ahead seven wins to three including victory in all five games at home - 38-23 in 2011, 33-3 in 2012, 38-13 in 2013, 34-31 in 2014 and 30-13 last season.
Taihape's three victories have all been on Memorial Park - 24-13 in 2011, 29-7 in 2014 and 36-30 back at the end of April - with Border winning 21-16 at Taihape in 2013 and 15-12 last year.
This season the two clubs have been clearly the leading title contenders despite Marist's surprise when the greens turned a 44-8 away first round defeat into a 3 pt revenge victory over Taihape at Spriggens Park.
Border is the top points (575) and try scoring team (87 including 15 at Ratana last Saturday) and has conceded 21 tries. Top try scorers are Keveni Dabonaise 15, Tom Symes 12, Isaiah Hooper 10 and Nick Harding nine. Border has a massive plus points differential of 416 points from 11 matches.
Taihape has scored 368 points and conceded 167 for a differential of 201 points and has scored 57 tries and conceded 23. Jaye Flaws is top try scorer with 10 tries.
Both squads have sound inside backs, potentially dangerous three-quarters, solid forward packs and will provide some key players to the Steelform Wanganui Mitre 10 Heartland championship squad this season.
Border also has a possible match winning goal-kicker in the form of fullback Nick Harding who has scored 159 points during the season but he has been out injured and could again be in doubt for Saturday.
Taihape's goal-kicking has revolved around fullback Dane Whale ( 62 pts), winger Taylor Transom (48) and first five Tom Wells, a former quality Auckland player.
A huge crowd is expected at Waverley for what is likely to be a very close encounter between two evenly-matched teams.
In the final two qualifying rounds Border play Marist away and Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau at Waverley and Taihape host Ratana and tackle defending champions Black Bull Pirates at Spriggens Park.
The current third and fourth placed teams, Marist and Kaierau, are trying to hold off a late bid by McCarthy's Transport Ruapehu to reach the semi-finals.
After turning a 29-22 first round away loss into a 42-36 home win over Kaierau last weekend Pirates, although with no chance of winning a third straight championship title, will be seeking to de-throne Ruapehu of the Grand Hotel Challenge Shield at Spriggens Park on Saturday.
Ruapehu, who won the Shield last season, lifted the trophy 43-19 at home against Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist last weekend.
Ruapehu, a much stronger side in the second round, beat Pirates 34-20 in Ohakune in the opening round. The 'Mountain Men" face Kaierau away and Ratana at home should they beat Pirates while the city team still has to tackle Utiku OB away and Taihape at Spriggens Park in the qualifying series after Saturday.
Kaierau and Marist, who are third equal at present, will be looking for away repeat wins over Utiku OB and Ratana respectively this weekend.
Wanganui rugby is fortunate this year to have acquired a sprinkling of new talented Polynesian players who have impressed in premier club play and will boost the rep ranks should they win selection in the Steelform Wanganui squad to defend the Meads Cup in the Mitre 10 Heartland national championship.
Last season some enterprising play from Samu Kubunavanua, Michael Nabuliwaqa, Poasa Waqanibau, Ranato Tikoilosomone and Malakai Volou played key roles in a very successful campaign with the Butcher Boys dropping just one game and that was only by 2 pts in the dying minutes to 2014 champions Mid Canterbury.
Rampant mid field back Waqanibau has been snapped up by Canterbury and is in that province's extended training squad this year but the others are back playing club rugby here this season and could be vital cogs in the Wanganui team.
Tikoilosomone has been playing rugby for Al Ain Amblers in the United Arab Emirates again this year, has recovered from an injury and is now back with Border. He was in the winning UAE Conference side last season as well as the champion Wanganui team as a driving loose forward.
Waqanibau will be missed but young Keveni Dabenaise has impressed as a likely replacement. He was in the 2014 Fijian team that scored a first-ever victory over the NZ U-18's, captained the Fijian team at the Under-20 World Cup tourney in Lisbon last season and is a cousin of former Fijian rugby league World Cup rep Marika Koroibete who plays for West Tigers.
Dabonaise has a snappy turn of the speed and has been in fine try scoring form for Border, scoring 15 tries.
Another international three quarter impressing this season is Pirates' 31-year-old Meki Magele who played for Samoa against Papua New Guinea in 2009 and against Japan in Tokyo in 2014.
Marist fullback Simeli Koniferedi, also 31, played seven times for Fiji in 2012-13 against Japan, Scotland, Tonga, Canada and England at Twickenham.
Koniferedi was in the Fijian side that beat the 2013 Classic All Blacks (including ex-Wanganui rep Chris Masoe, Joe Rokocoko and the late Jerry Collins) 33-14 in Suva.
Wanganui may have lost a few top players from last year's successful Heartland campaign but the arrival of the latest crop of Polynesians plus the return of ex-rep backs Dane Whale (Taihape) and Nick Harding (Border) and the acquisition of former Highlanders, Bay of Plenty and Manawatu fullback Craig Clare (Ruapehu) and tall Irish Under-20 World Cup lock Gavin Thorburn (Border) certainly adds massive strength to the Butcher Boys for 2016.
With just 10th placed Pirates to play at home and fifth-positioned Kaierau to play in the last two qualifying rounds top of the table Settlers Honey Ngamatapouri has every chance of emerging unbeaten from the 13 rounds of the Tasman Tanning senior qualifying competition.
Ngamatapouri has been in rampant form with the latest scalp Taihape, beaten 69-7 at home last weekend by the Stihl Shop Wanganui Challenge Shield holders. There is a battle royal going on for the second, third and fourth places with Speirs Food Marton (39 pts) currently a point clear of Celtic and Kelso Hunterville who meet at Spriggens Park on Saturday. Celtic and Hunterville have had some close tussles over recent years.
Marton is away to seventh-slotted Border this weekend.
With defending champions Ruapehu winning by default from Ratana and automatically picking up five points to reach 28 and facing a trip to Marton Park in the last qualifying round there will be pressure on both Border and Taihape (away to Counties) who are also on 28 points.
There are nine teams in the hunt for eight places in the senior championship play-offs.
Current points for the title contenders - Ngamatapouri 50, Marton 39, Celtic ad Hunterville 38, Kaierau 31, Counties 29, Border and Taihape 28, Ruapehu 23.
The ninth-placed team will join Pirates (14), Utiku OB (10) and Buffalos (4) in the consolation play-offs. In the Top 8 championship play-offs 1 v 8 and 4 v 5 in the top half of the draw and 2 v 7 and 3 v 6 in the bottom half with fixtures at the home fields of the higher placed clubs and the final at Cooks Gardens on Saturday, July 23.
The senior draw for the final two senior qualifying Saturdays, with the host clubs mentioned first, is -
June 25 - Ngamatapouri v Pirates, Border v Marton, Buffalo's v Utiku OB, Celtic v Hunterville, Counties v Taihape, Ruapehu beat Ratana by default, Kaierau a bye.
July 2 - Celtic v Border, Marton v Ruapehu, Counties v Pirates, Hunterville v Taihape, Kaierau v Ngamatapouri, Buffalo's beat Ratana by default, Utiku OB a bye.