Clubs could not agree on a senior format and the CoC Operations Committee, under chairman Marty McGrath, decided on the Town-Country qualifying splits.
The top three teams in each group will have five rounds of championship qualifying matches.
The Town-Country first round series will result in shorter travelling for most of the dozen teams with three Northern Whanganui and three Rangitikei sides in the Country group which will consist of Taihape, Utiku OB, Ruapehu, Hunterville, Marton and Ratana.
Border and Counties meet the four city teams – Kaierau, Pirates plus Marist Celtic and Buffalos – in the Town Group.
Last year's finalists, Hunterville and Ratana, clash in the third round of Country fixtures – at Ratana Pa on May 7.
Hunterville won two close tussles against 2020 champions Ratana last winter – 15-10 at the Pa and 8-6 in the thrilling final on Cooks Gardens.
Celtic and Kaierau, the leading two Metro teams last year, meet in the Town round 2, at the Devon Road Country Club on May 30.
The two teams both qualified with 37 pts each last year, Celtic edging out Kaierau for third place on the strength of a 19-5 win at Spriggens Park.
In the premiers there is an important first round fixture between regional champions Waverley Harvesting Border and Byford's Readimix Taihape, the two most successful clubs over recent seasons, at Memorial Park on May 14.
Last year Border suffered its only loss (17-28) of the campaign after winning at home (39-22).
Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau rocked Taihape's title hopes with an unexpected 5-16 semifinals defeat with Ethan Robinson scoring all of the city team's points with a converted try and three penalty goals.
Prior to the championship rounds there will be a series of early season knock-out fixtures starting this coming Saturday although not all 18 teams will be participating.
Unfortunately, the top two city sides, Kaierau and Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist, are not in the premier k'o series.
Top Northern teams, Taihape and McCarthy Transport Ruapehu, meet at Rochfort Park this weekend. Taihape won 38-22 (home) and 25-22 (in Ohakune) last season, scoring 10 tries but conceding seven.
Top 2021 side Border and tail-enders Settlers Honey Ngamatapouri have byes on Saturday.
Leading Metro senior teams from last year, Ali Arc Logistics-DNA Kennels Marist Celtic and Gemini Pepper Construction Kaierau, clash at Kaierau at 1pm with the hosts hoping to avenge a 5-19 away defeat last winter.
Black Bull Liquor Pirates, celebrating a 125th jubilee at Labour weekend, meet Utiku OB at Memorial Park while Bennett's Taihape sit out a first round bye.
Pirates beat Utiku OB 38-20 on Spriggen Park at the end of last season.
2021 champions Kelso Hunterville, runners-up Harvey Round Motors Ratana, Speirs Food Marton, McCrea Scanning Counties, Border, Marist Buffalo's and Ruapehu did not enter the knock-out competition.
Name Change
It is rare that a Whanganui rugby player has an official family name change after representing the union.
But that is the case with Ian Raisin (Rayson) who died in Tauranga earlier this month at the age of 75.
Ian Raisin was from a family that provided three sons who all played for Marist seniors, two of whom represented Whanganui, and a father (Lou) who was a club and union official.
Both Ian (17 matches between 1969 and 1972) and Allan (one game in 1968) played for Whanganui while Lou served as a club delegate on the WRFU including in 1956 when the touring Springboks beat Wanganui-King Country 36-16 at Spriggens Park.
A third son, Graeme, played grade rugby for Marist including at senior level.
Ian made his rep debut in a 0-33 home loss to Wellington under Marist coach Ron McPhun (a NZ pole vault champion), playing nine of 10 games in 1969 including the team's three victories —17-9 v Bush, 11-9 v an Auckland XV and 18-16 v Horowhenua, all local fixtures.
As a lightweight hooker, Ian was a tireless mobile front row forward who repped five times in 1970 under coaches J J Stewart, Ray Parr and Ron McPhun, the season that former Northern Wanganui clubs returned from King Country.
Future all Black trialist and North Island hooker Tom Spry (Karioi) was one of the "captured" players in the returnee clubs with Raisin chosen for the last five matches of the season including a northern tour when the Butcher Boys dew 14-all with North Auckland in Whangārei.
Under the same coaches Raisin played just one rep game in 1971 – a memorable 12-3 Queen's Birthday Monday morning win over Taranaki at Spriggens Park when Bob Barrell (2) and Mike Farrell potted drop goals and Barrell also slotted a penalty.
Ian Raisin's last two appearances for Whanganui, on home soil 50 years ago in 1972, were notable for tries from All Black Buff Milner – two in a 23-18 victory against Marlborough and one in the 22-14 scalping of Manawatu when Bob Barrell landed five penalty goals.
Brother Allan's sole rep game was in a 23-3 loss to visiting NZ Combined Services at the end of the 1968 season.
He was a notable Wanganui cricket rep, a sport in which his father Lou served as association chairman.
Ian Raisin worked for the local Post and Telegraph Department before opening a car muffler business and in Tauranga operated a successful rubbish bin collection company.
He changed his family name to Rayson just after the turn of the century.
Pirates Reunion
A number of former players, including life member Noel Frew, will be returning to the city for the Wanganui Pirates Rugby Football Club's 125th reunion over Labour weekend.
The club had originally scheduled the reunion for Queen's Birthday weekend but the Covid-19 restrictions were posing major concerns, especially for travelling visitors and attendance numbers.
The easing of international travel and size of functions, however, have resulted in the reunion subcommittee, under club captain Dave Pedley, voting in favour of Labour weekend (October 21-23).
Noel Frew, a club life member now living in Australia, has indicated he will be attending the reunion and it is hoped that former players including Tom Nielsen, Ian Prout, Basil Anderson, Kevin Gildea and Mike La Pouple will also return from across the Tasman for the weekend functions.
Pirates, formed in 1897, was affiliated to the WRFU in 1898, with George Spriggens, later to become NZRFU president in 1917 and after whom Spriggens Park was named, Pirates president in 1899.
George Spriggens is justifiably regarded as "The Father of Pirates".
The first Pirates' senior team, in 1900, included "Bronco" Seeling, later to become a 1903 Wanganui rep and a famous Auckland 1904-08 All Black loose forward.
Another Pirates rep, halfback Frank Kilby (1929), became an All Black from Wellington.
The club, winners of 14 Wanganui senior club championships between 1901 and 1965, won the union-wide combined title in 2014 and 2015,
In addition to success in numerous lower grades, including at primary school level, Pirates has also won women's titles and operated a track and field club in the 1920s as well as fielding teams in baseball (now softball), netball, tug-o'-war, cricket as well as marching.
If Whanganui is able to qualify for a 2022 Bunnings Warehouse Heartland home final the reunion would fit in perfectly with a national championship title-decider in the city.
