Hardham Cup Unfamiliar Territory For Avalon

After a steady run of Jubilee Cup appearances in recent years, the forthcoming Hardham Cup will be unfamiliar territory for Avalon. 1998 was the last time Avalon missed out on the top eight after the first round and they have since been regular Jubilee Cup contenders. Their record in recent times has been good, winning the Swindale Shield in 2001 and finishing fourth last year. In the Jubilee Cup they featured in back-to-back semi-finals in 2003 and 2004.

But 2007 hasn't been a vintage season so far. Struggling for rhythm in their play and consistency in their results, Avalon finished the Swindale Shield with just two wins from their eleven games. This is largely due to a wretched run of injuries that has disrupted their squad. A case in point is their outstanding fullback Andrew Turner who has been mostly sidelined by a shoulder injury since round three.

But if they can finally put their top team on the field they will be hard to beat in this year's Hardham Cup, with depth and experience in such players as Turner, halfback Peter Sciascia, No.8 Piri Ngarimu and prop Errol Weston. Additionally veteran halfback John Bradbrook is in the mix, and they will likely have the services of the returning Thomas Waldrom for at least a couple of rounds. Waldrom broke his wrist in week one of the Swindale Shield.

Joining Avalon from the Swindale Shield are Wainuiomata, Oriental-Rongotai and Upper Hutt, while Johnsonville are coming up from the Senior One Harper Lock Shield. This means five clubs will be chasing four Premier spots for 2008 and one will be relegated.

In a similar scenario last year it was Johnsonville who were relegated in a remarkably close competition, which also saw Wainuiomata reach the final against Upper Hutt in their first season back in over 15 years. Far from fading, Johnsonville have dominated the Harper Lock Shield, registering a clean sweep of eleven straight wins, placing the pressure on the other four club sides to remain competitive.

The three other teams in this Hardham Cup are ‘B' teams from Poneke, Northern United and Marist St. Pat's. Neither can be promoted next year, but are sure to provide nuisance value for the big five. A sixth club team, Stokes Valley, almost made the Hardham Cup this year, but finished one point below fourth placed MSP in the Harper Lock Shield.

In two hugely anticipated first round games, Wainuiomata host Upper Hutt at William Jones Park in a repeat of last year's final and Avalon and Ories square off at Fraser Park. In the Swindale Shield, Upper Hutt beat Wainui 19-17 and Avalon defeated Ories 11-5. In the early games at 1.15 pm Johnsonville play Poneke at Kilbirnie Park and MSP and Norths meet at Evans Bay Park.

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