Counting down to Finals Day at Petone
Who’s going to feature on finals day at Petone?
There are eight finals matches, up from six last year, across four grades scheduled for Finals Day on Saturday 4 August.
Some 28 teams (not including Women’s Division 2 which is a double round-robin and straight final) can start preparing for the playoffs after this Saturday’s sets of final regular season matches, with 16 to appear on Finals Day.
Finals Day returns to the Petone Rec after a successful event there in 2017, with double-headers being played on all four fields. As well as the rugby, there will be plenty going on, with food and drink options and a family friendly environment that includes the return of the Mitre 10 kids area.
Kick-off times will be staggered by 10 minutes. These being:
No. 1 field
12.30pm: Women’s Tia Paasi Cup
2.30pm: Jubilee Cup
No. 2 field
12.00pm: TBC
2.00pm: Hardham Cup
No. 3 field
12.10pm: TBC
2.10pm: TBC
No. 4 field
12.20pm: Women’s Izzy Ford Cup
2.30pm: TBC
The TBC matches will be confirmed the week of once the finalists are found. The aim will be to put the same club’s teams on the same grounds where possible.
See below for a look at where the competitions are at heading into this weekend’s final round of regular season matches for seven of the eight competitions involved on Finals Day.
Jubilee Cup
The top four is already settled with Norths (22), OBU (20), Ories (18) and HOBM (17) already guaranteed a place in the semi-finals. However who will play each other in the semis has yet to be determined.
The winner of the Andy Leslie Trophy will be settled in the OBU versus Norths meeting with the winner assured of first place and a home semi-final.
Alex Ropeti’s last minute try against Norths propelled the Magpies into the semi-finals for the seventh time in eight years. Ories, with another win on Saturday against struggling Tawa, could host a semi.
HOBM had the bye and are on 17 points in fourth position, but only five points behind leaders Norths. With a repeat win against Poneke, the Eagles could earn a home semi-final if results from the other games tumble favourably.
Hardham Cup
The Upper Hutt Rams were narrow losers to Petone last Saturday and because of this setback still need a home win against bottom placed Paremata-Plimmerton to guarantee their place in the semi-finals and provide themselves with a chance to defend their title.
At Helston Park the fixture between Johnsonville and Petone will determine one of the hosts for the semi-finals with Petone second on 20 points and Johnsonville third on 15 points.
However if the Hawks stumble for a third time in a row and Wellington upset Wainuiomata, Johnsonville could miss out on the top four altogether. Johnsonville needs two competition points to be safe, as if they end up tied with Wellington it will be the Axemen who go through.
The order of the top four might change, but it would be a surprise if the teams did. At present the standings read: Wainuiomata (22), Petone (20), Johnsonville (15) and Upper Hutt (14).
Premier Reserve: Ed Chaney Cup
Top of the table Marist St Pat’s (22 points) are guaranteed to host a semi-final while Ories on 20 points should join them with hosting duties. However if third placed Norths (16 points) win and Ories stumble that could change. Norths only need a bonus point to absolutely guarantee their home semi-final berth
Hutt Old Boys Marist are fourth on 11 points with the remaining three clubs OBU, Tawa and Poneke all on 9 points. HOBM should account for last-placed Poneke to secure the last semi-final spot, but if the Eagles fall and OBU upset Norths and Tawa stun Ories then it might be time to get out the WRFU bylaws and the calculators.
Premier Reserve: HD Morgan Cup
Petone are the runaway leaders with five wins in as many matches and will host the 1 v 4 semi-final.
Wellington and Wainuiomata are each on 15 points and the winner of this tussle will secure their semi-final place and likely home ground advantage next week.
Second-placed Johnsonville (16 points) host Petone and need a win to stay in that position with fifth placed Upper Hutt (14 points) likely to beat Paremata-Plimmerton who have only beaten Avalon.
Women Division 1: Tia Passi Memorial Cup
Oriental-Rongotai beat Northern United 43-36 last Saturday to inflict defeat upon Norths for the first time this season. However both sides will host the two semi-finals next week, with Petone and Paremata-Plimmerton to sort out third and fourth when they meet at the Petone Rec on Saturday. Ories will take top spot with a win over already-eliminated Marist St Pat’s at Evans Bay.
Women Division 2: Izzy Ford Trophy
The two finalists for a fortnight’s time have already been found with Hutt Old Boys Marist and Old Boys-University far enough ahead that they can’t be caught. Those two meet in their penultimate round on Saturday with the final games of the double round-robin next weekend.
Les Colts Division 1: John E Kelly Memorial Cup
The top four at present is Norths 25, HOBM 24, MSP 18 and OBU 17. The former two will host semi-finals, but the opposition and finishing order is yet to be determined.
Tawa in fifth place on 15 points will be hoping to upset Norths which gives them a sniff of the top four if HOBM and OBU lose.
The Kid Goats should take care of wooden-spooners Petone, but MSP will have their work cut out work at home against the Eagles.
Les Mills Colts Division 2: Vic Calcinai Memorial Trophy
The order in Division 2 of the Colts is: Ories 27, Poneke 26, Wainuiomata 23, Wellington 17, OBU Black 14, and Avalon 10.
The first three are in the playoffs next week, and Ories and Poneke can sew up semi-final hosting rights with wins tomorrow but they face Wellington and Wainuiomata respectively so the order of the top three is still subject to change. OBU Black should have few problems in beating Avalon on Friday night, meaning that the Axemen will know if they need to beat the leaders at the Polo Ground on Saturday to make it through to next week